The PECI program promotes productivity for Sheppard Air Force Base

  • Published
  • By Daniel Roberts
  • 82nd Force Support Squadron
SHEPPARD AFB, Texas --  Finding innovative ways to perform Air Force functions while increasing productivity is one of the hallmarks of good management. With the drawdown of manpower and rapid changes in technology, we continually need to generate improvements to increase operational efficiency.

The Productivity Enhancing Capital Investment program is an excellent way to finance these productivity initiatives. Each year, the PECI program invests an average of $20 million that nets an average lifecycle savings of approximately $235 million. These investments fund a wide variety of productivity improvements - from technology upgrades that increase administrative speed to major equipment purchases that increase base capabilities.

A recent PECI project involves the Air Mobility Command. To meet operational needs, the AMC Logistics Readiness Squadron and Aerial Port Squadron maintained a healthy inventory of plastic packaging materials and preformed boxes of various dimensions. Each squadron uses 20 to 25 different box sizes, which range in cost from $2 to $6 apiece. In the preformed boxes, excess space is filled with bubble wrap and foam materials costing upwards of $110 to $230 per roll or box. In analyzing operations and expenses related to packaging materials of six Air Force sites, AMC identified a combined total annual supply cost for boxes and packaging materials amounting to more than $140,000.

AMC used PECI funds to purchase and install HBM-86 heavy duty box-making machines, fastening equipment and ProfiPack 425 cardboard shredders at the six sites that were surveyed. The squadrons now make custom-sized containers from sheets of fiberboard and shred the scrap for packing material. This minimizes waste in packaging and eliminates the need to maintain an inventory of boxes and plastic packing materials, lowering supply costs and reducing the environmental impact of these materials. Total project investment: $438,000. Months to payback: 36.7. Lifecycle savings to the Air Force: $2,145,720.

Your organization too can benefit from the PECI program. All you need to do is identify a project meeting the program requirements. The turnaround time for PECI project requests is very fast and most projects are up and running within a few months of approval. If you need more information on the PECI program, don't hesitate to call either Mr. Dan Roberts or Master Sgt. Justin Nacol at 82 FSS/FSMM, ext. 6-4432.