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| From
ideas to innovations |
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| Dr
Tan hanging his wishes for MINDEF
and SAF on the PRIDE suggestion
tree. |
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Since the Ministry
of Defence (MINDEF) introduced its Productivity
and Innovation in Daily Effort (PRIDE) movement
in 1986, our servicemen have been transforming
their ideas into solutions to enhance training
and services in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF).
Featured here are two events and a few outstanding
WIT projects.
Army PRIDE Day
Army PRIDE Day 2003 was held on 25 April. The theme “Learning
Army, Continuous Innovations” signified the
Army’s stand on promoting a culture of learning
and innovation to meet the challenges of the changing
world.
The event’s highlight was the innovative
mobile exhibition. Two 44-seater air-conditioned
buses were modified to house 21 PRIDE projects.
The bus seats were removed and display panels were
customised to fit into the buses. The mobile exhibition
enabled more Army personnel to view the PRIDE projects
as they made their way to various Army Formations
in May and July.
At the award presentation ceremony, 119 awards
were given away to individuals and teams who had,
through their efforts and contributions, enhanced
training, upgraded services and improved cost efficiency.
MINDEF PRIDE Day
The 16th MINDEF PRIDE Day was held at Suntec City
on 16 May 2003. This annual event honours the efforts
and contributions towards organisational excellence,
innovation and productivity in MINDEF and the SAF.
The theme this year was “Transforming the
SAF with PRIDE”.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence
Dr Tony Tan presented awards to 184 individuals
and WITs for their outstanding suggestions and
projects. These projects resulted in savings of
about $167 million for MINDEF and the SAF last
year.
The MINDEF PRIDE Day Exhibition, which was held
over three days at the Suntec City Mall Atrium,
was open to the public. It featured 44 award-winning
WIT projects and suggestions, as well as other
projects from the Defence Science and Technology
Agency and Singapore Technologies Engineering.
Boosting gunners’ accuracy
Ready. Aim. Fire! These are the motions a gunner
goes through when handling the 25-mm cannon on
the Armoured Fighting Vehicle (AFV). The gunner
sits in the Ultra Overhead Weapon System (OWS)
on the AFV and uses the Day and Night Thermal Sighting
System (DNTSS) to aim at the targets during live
firing sessions.
However, as the Ultra OWS is too small to fit two
people, instructors are unable to guide the trainees
as they aim and fire. The instructor can only correct
the trainees during the brief review session conducted
after the firing sessions. However, the instructor
may not always remember the details of each gunner’s
performance.
A WIT called “Fire Force ‘G’” came
up with a simple solution. They suggested connecting
a video cassette recorder (VCR) to the DNTSS to
record the aiming and firing process. The instructors
can then use the recorded clip during the review
session to assess and correct the gunners’ performance.
The gunners can also learn from one another’s
mistakes.
This WIT project has enabled the SAF to enjoy savings
of $580,000 in ammunition and fuel costs, time
and manpower.
Smart safety device
Wham! Wham! Ouch! These sounds were heard regularly
during field training when soldiers hammered small
iron pickets into the ground.
You would hear “Wham!” when a soldier
successfully struck an iron picket with the hammer.
But as the soldier had to hold the iron picket
with one hand and a hammer with the other, you
would hear “Ouch!” when he missed and
the hammer landed on his hand. As the pain could
be unbearable, more often than not, the soldier
performed his task of hammering slowly.
A WIT called “Increate 3” came up with
a solution to improve efficiency. They developed
a device which functions as a “cap” for
the iron picket. The device consists of a metal
cylinder and a handle welded together. The iron
picket fits snugly in the open end of the cylinder.
Now, using the device, a soldier can easily knock
the “capped” picket with the hammer
without injuring himself. |
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By
Poon Shou Yi, MINDEF
Next: Secrets
of an ‘I-Class organisation’ |
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Enthusiasm
is contagious. It’s difficult
to remain neutral or indifferent in
the presence of a positive thinker.
Denis Waitley |
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