Army Public Affairs press release (Nov. 19, 2003): Army Business Initiatives save time and money.

The Acting Secretary of the Army, R.L. Brownlee, has approved 13 new business initiatives as part of the Army Business Initiatives Council (ABIC), a process designed to identify and implement business reform actions.

The approved Army initiatives include a variety of cost-cutting and quality enhancing measures, to include:

* Shortening force modernization processes to speed the fielding of new systems.

* Exploring ways to reduce costs of construction equipment.

* Reducing the cost and time needed to reverse engineer obsolete parts.

* Standardizing the acquisition reporting process.

* Simplifying the process for securing approval for needed changes and improvements to the Army's 4,500 historic barracks.

Additionally, on Oct. 1, 2003, the Army became the executive agent for administration of the Department of Defense (DoD) Business Initiatives Council (BIC), which was transferred from the Air Force. That responsibility is shared among the services on a six-month rotational basis to help assure commitment and participation.

The DoD BIC was formally created in 2001 by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and both the Army and DoD councils focus on identifying ways to streamline stringent requirements, cumbersome directives, and lengthy staffing processes.

Of the 13 approved initiatives, 10 are Army only and the other three are recommended for submission to the DoD BIC for review, as they may have benefits that could be extended across all the military services. To date the Secretary of the Army has approved a total of 79 ABIC initiatives. A complete list of the Army approved initiatives can be found at <http://www.asafm.army.mil/bic.asp>.

In addition to focusing on cost savings and cost avoidances, the ABIC looks for initiatives which streamline processes and procedures in order to reduce cycle times and use soldiers' and civilians' time more efficiently.

"These initiatives continue to focus on key areas in need of improvement, such as reducing cycle time, shortening processes, and reducing costs," said Mr. Don Tison, the executive director of the Army BIC.

Tison added that a major benefit of the Army BIC program is that money saved from an approved initiative goes right back to the organization that submitted it.

"This is a great program and, with increased participation, we'll continue to improve the Army's business practices, allowing us to redirect the time and money saved to more critical needs," said Tison.

This round marks the sixth time that the Army BIC has met since 8 May 2002.