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2006-11-07 Home Front Economy

Procurement: The Saddam Speed-Up Syndrome

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Posted by Nimble Spemble 2006-11-07 09:50|| || Front Page|| [1 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 The concept started a long time ago with a sea change in Pentagon thinking: the suggestion box.

Even back in the 1980s, the system was shocked when it was decided to ask low-level military personnel what they wanted, as far as procurement went. And *any* suggestion they made had to be forwarded up the chain of command as rigidly as if it was a sexual harassment claim.

For their part, if a suggestion was approved, the individual who made the suggestion could get a monetary reward from a few hundred to thousands of dollars. And not only that, but they would be praised before their peers for initiative.

Man, did that open the flood gates. $500 light bulbs replaced with 25 cent off-the-shelf replacements. I swear half the army suggested that the snaps on the protective mask case be replaced with velcro--but that was a no-go for technical reasons.

In any event, it caused a cultural change. When GWI came along, military personnel already felt comfortable with having and using non-standard equipment as long as it was approved by their chain of command. Most commanders were thrilled with the idea--it might give their unit an edge.

There were some exceptions, things that soldiers wanted that had to be denied for practical or morale reasons. One notable was "dragon skin" body armor. That came under the same heading as a soldier having a specialty rifle sent from home--it crossed the line, so was forbidden.

But for the most part, with a friendly administration more than willing to kick the butt of any procurement officer who got in the way, the path of innovation and experimentation is wide open. And private enterprise will always be a lot more responsive to demands from the field.

Posted by Anonymoose 2006-11-07 10:42|| 2006-11-07 10:42|| Front Page Top

#2 Navy has the 'Bene-sugg' (benificail suggestion) program for just such from the floor type improvements. most of what we thought of as 'common sense' or 'Macgyvered' fixes qualified and resulted in $$. just gotta shake up the bean counters and procurement guys a bit from time to time.

Posted by USN, ret. 2006-11-07 14:04|| 2006-11-07 14:04|| Front Page Top

#3 It's not just procurement that's being shaken up. Training, paperwork, and much more is being streamlined, duplication eliminated, and lots of other "bugs in the system" worked out. It's been going on at least since 1980, according to my own personal experience. It seems to be increasing with the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now we need the rest of the government to get on board.

Posted by Old Patriot">Old Patriot 2006-11-07 16:00|| http://oldpatriot.blogspot.com/]">[http://oldpatriot.blogspot.com/] 2006-11-07 16:00|| Front Page Top

#4 While the overall procurement process is probably speeded up relative to the old days, getting stuff through contracts can take months and months and months. As a small business it can drive you nuts while you are bled dry waiting for the contract to drop.

Posted by remoteman 2006-11-07 17:13|| 2006-11-07 17:13|| Front Page Top

#5 The City of San Diego has cost-reduction incentives for our public works contracts - if the contractor can suggest a cheaper equivalent-results way of doing something, they split the savings 50-50. Doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's win-win

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2006-11-07 18:31|| 2006-11-07 18:31|| Front Page Top

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