RAF Mildenhall Airman wins Innovation of the Quarter

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Luke Milano
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  
Master Sgt. Christopher R. Monroe, 100th Civil Engineer Squadron superintendent of facilities operations, won the Team Mildenhall Innovation of the Quarter Award for October to December 2018.

During his time as the unaccompanied housing superintendent for the 100th CES, Monroe developed the idea to use dorm e-cards to replace the conventional key and lock on the doors. His idea also included a kiosk that issues temporary e-cards to Airmen who lose, break or misplace their e-card, reducing the expense and time spent on replacing dorm room keys and allowing the old door locks to be salvaged and used elsewhere on base.

“The kiosk came about because we’ve had so many lock-outs that caused stress on three people who were on-call at all times, and I wanted to alleviate that stress,” Monroe said.

After the installation of the kiosk, all dorm residents, along with their first sergeants, were trained on how to use it, and lock-outs were immediately reduced by 95 percent.

“With the 95 percent decrease, it gives responsibility back to the Airmen and keeps them accountable,” Monroe said. “If an Airman gets locked out three times, he or she then has to contact their first sergeant to come unlock their door for them, and then the first sergeant would call the unaccompanied housing office to reset their three lock-outs. This is a tracking system so the first sergeant can figure out what the Airman’s underlying issues might be.”

Besides the benefits the innovation had for the Airmen and housing office staff, it also included savings for the entire base.

“It increased morale with Airmen because they are able to take the responsibility for themselves instead of having to call someone, and it increased morale in the office because people weren’t having to answer lock-out calls at three in the morning,” Monroe said. “We saved $6,000 for the wing by reusing the locks.”

Factoring the cost of civil engineering man-hours, the kiosk has already paid for itself, added Monroe.

With innovations such as Monroe’s, the 100th CES is leading the way to keep the Bloody Hundredth a ready force and strategic forward base, projecting airpower through unrivaled air refueling across Europe and Africa.