RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
A little-known program providing quick loans for productivity improvements at all Air Force bases is available at Randolph Air Force Base for organizations wanting to improve efficiency and sidestep conventional budgeting.
The Productivity Enhancing Capital Investment program identifies investment opportunities that can provide measurable savings and return money invested in it within two to four years, said Tony Riffle, a 902nd Force Support Squadron manpower analyst administering Randolph's PECI program.
"It's a loan program from the Air Force," Mr. Riffle explained. "Here's an example of how it was used recently. The recreation staff at our Canyon Lake area noticed they were spending a lot of money on putting mulch on the trails there. They knew they had a lot of wood out there and could make mulch out of it, so they asked for a loan for a $28,000 mulcher. We ran the numbers and figured it would actually be a lot cheaper for them to have a mulcher than to have to buy mulch and have it spread. So they got one."
Mr. Riffle added there were also several contracts for workers to travel to the recreation area at Canyon Lake and dig holes where barbecue grills would be placed. Again, Air Force civilians working there wondered if it would be cheaper to buy a brush tractor with a digger attached to it and do the work themselves. They requested a PECI loan.
In the vetting process, analysts at the 902nd FSS ran the numbers and found reason to grant the organization a loan to buy the tractor-digger, and the Air Force canceled the more expensive digging contract.
Mr. Riffle added monies lent under PECI don't have to be just for operations and maintenance projects. He said if an office wants a special computer program that can do an employee's job, the office can take that employee's salary and benefits off the office's books while the office reimburses the PECI loan. Meanwhile, the personnel slot can be sent to another office.
Mr. Riffle said the administrative requirements for the program are "fairly simple." Most projects are up and running within a few months of request approval.
"There's one form to fill out and you provide documentation on the needed equipment, proving that there's a way to enhance productivity and save the Air Force money. The money is out there for use after that," Mr. Riffle said.
He explained there are two sub-programs that exist under PECI. There's the Fast Capital Investment Program for projects of $200,000 or less which produce savings to offset total investment costs in two years or less, with a MAJCOM approval level; and there's the Productivity Investment Fund for projects costing more than $200,000 which produce savings to offset total investment costs in four years or less. PIF loans are approved at the Air Staff level.
Literature on the PECI program provided by the Air Force said the self-sustaining program generated savings of more than $1.2 billion on investments of just past $100 million, which is an average 12:1 return on investment.
For more information on PECI and its sub-programs, visit www.dp.hq.af.mil/dpm/peci, or contact Mr. Riffle at 652-4332.