Taking PRIDE in innovations
This year's Ministry of Defence PRIDE (PRoductivity and Innovation in Daily Efforts) Day projects brought about cost savings of more than $197 million while improving operations and productivity. We take a look at two award-winning projects and how they helped to save manpower, time and money.// REPORT Benita Teo
// PHOTOS Chai Sian Liang & Kenneth Lin
SPEEDING UP FIELD COMMS
Project: DAVION - Command and Control
Developer: 2nd People's Defence Force (2PDF) Sig Team
Type Of Savings: Time & Manpower
Award Won: Best Project (Operations & Training)
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
1 Smart comms for ops:
Developed together with ST Electronics (Info-Comm Systems), DAVION is an operations communication tool that comprises a suite of mobile apps and off-the-shelf, Android-based mobile devices with point-to-point encryption.
2 Faster than an Instagram post:
Using the tool, soldiers can snap photos and file incident reports to Headquarters (HQ) quickly. Commanders can also view their troops' location, initiate video calls or push down new instructions swiftly. This reduces communication time between HQ and troops by 95 percent. It also saves the Singapore Armed Forces about $350,000 a year.</p>
3 Keeping our homeland safe:
DAVION has been used in many big events including the National Day Parade. Its portability makes it ideal for urban operations. It is currently undergoing trials, with plans to launch in the next one to two years.
"This is an operations-driven project...2 PDF is a key player in homeland security operations. Information flow has to be fast because when things happen, how quickly we react will make a significant difference to the (outcome of the) overall situation."
Major Ang Wei Hou (pictured far right), Battalion 2nd In-Charge of 2 PDF Signals Unit, demonstrating the DAVION on a tablet. He was part of the team that developed the system.
Persistence pays off
Project: New Repair Procedure for Sighting System
Developer: Air Engineering and Logistics Department (AELD)
Type Of Savings: Money
Award Won: MINDEF Savings and Value Enhancement (SAVE)
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
1 Losing sight:
The Day Sight Subassembly (DSSA) is a part of the AH-64D Apache's Modernised Target Acquisition Designation System. When the DSSA of an Apache helicopter was damaged after a hard landing, it was sent to its Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) for damage assessment. The OEM was unable to test the frame of the DSSA to determine its airworthiness. Thus their recommendation was to replace the DSSA at a cost of about US$1.6 million ($2.15 million).
2 If it's broke, just fix it:
Air Force Engineers in AELD believed that the working components could be recovered and the DSSA fixed at a lower cost. They convinced the OEM's engineers to devise a new repair procedure.
3 New way of doing things:
Working together with the Air Force Engineers, the OEM came up with a new procedure after abouthalf a year. By replacing only the frame of the DSSA and reusing the existing working components, the Air Force saved $2.08 million.
"We were able to look at the components in depth and suggest to the OEM (engineers) to replace the structure and certify it airworthy. You need engineering knowledge to communicate with and convince them of the idea."
