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Show About equality Nov . , .page 10 Horscshoo Queen patQ 12 . mania . cmnnJimiTP 11 Vol. 40 JL-- M JI L- No33 SPECIAL COLLECTION cimes Friday, August 22, 1986 Hill AFB, Utah news briefs page 35 n -J 7;- i- . . . . S.:SflM(j'ft'-- fi. C .f v,:v:-, School opens Monday Hill Field will when open Monday Elementary the first bell rings at 8:25 a.m. and classes begin at 8:30. School will be dismissed early, at 1:20 p.m., on the first' day but resume normal school hours on Tuesday. Kindergarteners will attend school at the orientation time given them A1C Steven Salyers readies his aim for a kill and, with time to spare, helped others from his Robins AFB team to rescue their objective during School lunch will be served on Monday and , students planning to purchase lunches for the week should bring $3.75, Envelopes containing the money should be marked with the names of the student and his teacher. The money will be collected on Monday. Applications for the federal reduced and free lunch program will be sent home with students. Those applying need only buy lunches at the full rate for the first week while applications are be ing processed. More information, pictures plus a story on the at registration. Defender Challenge. airman from Hill AFB who made the Challenger team, on page 14. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Carrie Goeringer) i Jft Quality of life goes on By Bob Ketterer Directorate of Maintenance program m the Aircraft Division, a total of 47 projects have been completed in fiscal 1986 and 25 are in the process or planning stage. One of the major projects in progress is the interior painting of building 225. In an effort to brighten up the hangar, the doors and walls are being repainted. The Aircraft Division entry in Civil Engineer p competition program is the renoing's vation of the Material Inventory Control office in building 225. The project included installing a stud wall, plastering, installing a door and trim, painting and carpeting. The area now provides the supervisor a place to hold private conferences and meetings with personnel, as well as enhancing the morale in the office. Another project in the planning in showers lockers and of the addition is stage workers. for 220 the Paint Shop, building Self-Hel- long-rang- e bringsin showers Augustminor the weather pat- changes Relatively terns take place from July to August. In general, temperatures reach their highest level in July and start a gradual decline during August. Highs in August should average in the mid 80s and lows in the lower 60s. Also, this month is the peak month for thunderstorms. The average number of storms will increase to five during August with rainfall probably staying less than one inch for the month. A funnel cloud hovering southwest of the weather station at Hill AFB on July 11 highlighted last month's weather patterns. Other highlights were eight days of thunderstorm along with 21 days of gusting winds with a peak wind of 40 knots on the 13th. Average high during July was 84 degrees, ac-tivi- ty four degrees below normal. Average low was 63 degrees, one degree below normal. Precipitation of an inch above normal with just was .57 inches falling. Following are averages and records of temperatures and precipitation for. August: one-tent- h High Low Precaution 24 hour Precipitation Average 66 degrees 62 degrees .60 inches Records end Date 102 degrees. Aug. 2, 1969 43 degrees. Aug. 22. 1968 3 82 inches, August 1968 1.47 inches, Aug. 29, 1971 Mill takes mm vevpirkm ing the investigation of a government estimate on a radome, ZOP analysts determined the item could be repaired, negating the need for a new order costing more than $300,000. In order to scratch the new order and make the repair, equipment specialists had to be convinced to change the Air By Ernie Shannon Ogden ALC Public Affairs Office Last year, an employee working on the nose section of a Maverick missile decided that, with some modification, the window could be replaced during an overhaul rather than disposing of the whole assembly. The idea was submitted as a suggestion. Officials, however, felt the concept was impractical and rejected it. The challenger, convinced it would work, turned to the Zero Overpricing office and convinced them to pursue the proposal. The office found 68 assemblies in the disposal process and arranged to have all of them transferred back o supply for repair. In time, the suggestion proved true and all 68 parts were modified and reused, saving nearly $25,000. That story is becoming more frequent at' Hill AFB as employees and supervisors cooperate with the Zero Overpricing Program. The program here, while relatively young, has dealt with nearly 2,000 pricing challenges and has saved the Air Force millions of dollars. "Zero Overpricing has been around since the late 70s, but it's had a low profile until recently," said Jim Bowman, Zero Overpricing branch chief. "The media stories about the $700 screwdrivers really brought this program into the open." But while the overpriced screwdrivers, toilet seats and other items play well on the front page and the six o'clock news, Air Force officials are more concerned about excessive costs carefully outlined in Air Force regulation 400-1The regulation says most cases of overpricing are due to payment of a higher price for something 7. when a less expensive' alternative is available or payment in excess of prices that are fair and reasona-- . ble. What this means is that overpricing is a much more complicated problem to deal with than many would have us to believe. "We go to maintenance, material management, distribution. . .we talk to people in shop, production and scheduling and we have an extensive library in our office," Mr. Bowman said. All in an effort to keep on top of prevailing prices on numerous parts and equipment the Air Force uses. In some cases, the work comes not in devising a unique repair system, but in changing a code. Dur codes. This was done and the repair saved the Air Force more than $290,000. The activities of the ZOP office go deeper than simply comparing one price with another. In the case of a safety relief valve in an F-- researchers discovered a very similar item that could be used interchangeably with the original valve. The substitute proved less expensive and saved more than $200 on each valve. Still, the office occasionally finds outright overpricing. For instance, after a Zero Overpricing challenge, a thorough labor and materials analysis was performed on a face screen handle. It is used to pull the face screen over a pilot's face before ejection from an aircraft. The investigation showed the handle to be overpriced; however, a contract had already been signed to deliver nearly 2,500 handles to the Air Force at a price of $52.58 each. A voluntary refund letter was sent to the contractor urging him to reduce the price to a more reasonable level. The contractor agreed, saving more than five dollars per item. While the Zero Overpricing office is the focal point for price challenges, they deal strictly with pricing. "We don't deal with contractors," said Steve Wall, pricing analyst. "We determine a just price and it goes to areas like procurement." The fair price derived from people like Mr. Wall is a valuable tool for buyers and others who deal with contractors. When it comes time to purchase materials, buyers have a ready reference of prices for items. Mr. Bowman has been on the job a little more than a year. At the start, his office was looking at more than 600 pricing challenges. Through diligence and hard work, that figure has been reduced to 90. That, he says, is a workable figure that probably won't change. And neither will the need for such an 4, . office. |