An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Team Robins receives Franz Edelman award

  • Published
  • By Damian Housman
  • Warner Robins Air Logistics Center Public Affairs
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  The engraved trophy connected to the Franz Edelman award was presented to Team Robins in January, symbolizing the base's efforts in operations research.

Mark Doherty, Executive Director of the Institute for Operations Research and Management Sciences, presented the trophy to Maj. Gen. Tom Owen, Warner Robins Air Logistics Center commander. In May 2006, INFORMS announced that WR-ALC was selected for the award following its "Streamlining Aircraft Repair and Overhaul at Warner Robins Air Logistics Center" entry.

WR-ALC used a technique called critical chain project management to reduce the number of C-5 aircraft being repaired and overhauled from 13 to seven in eight months. The time required to repair and overhaul the C-5 was reduced by 33 percent. According to INFORMS' Web site, the five additional aircraft now in operation have generated immediate additional revenue of at least $49.8 million per year. The replacement value for these aircraft is estimated at $2.37 billion. The additional workload the center is accommodating will bring in additional revenue of $119 million through 2008, with this number projected to increase to $248 million by 2009.

Mr. Doherty said he was in awe of Robins and the aircraft serviced there.

I've flown thousands, maybe millions of miles in my life, but I've never been aboard a plane that I could fit my house into," he said. "Or for that matter, Donald Trump's house.

"The aircraft you work on are special," Mr. Doherty said. "So are you and your operations research team. You have earned the Franz Edelman Award for your use of operations research, the discipline of applying advanced analytical tools to make better decisions."

In accepting the award on behalf the Center, General Owen pointed to the impact the C-5 process improvements have had for the warfighter.

"Returning airplanes to the war fighter is key and essential to our nation being able to achieve what we need to achieve today as we fight the Global War on Terrorism," the general said. "The C-5 is a cornerstone of this effort. It does the heavy lifting throughout the entire theater of war - Iraq, Afghanistan and other areas of the world."

General Owen also pointed to teamwork and partnerships, including the work of the University of Tennessee and Realization Technologies along with the 402nd Maintenance Wing, the 402nd Maintenance Group, and the 559th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, which were essential in performing the work that resulted in the award.

The award is referred to as the "Super Bowl of Operations Research" and brings together the best examples of innovation from large and small, for profit and nonprofit, corporate and governmental organizations around the world. Past winners include: GM, Motorola, Continental Airlines and the City of San Francisco Police Department.

INFORMS is an international scientific society with 10,000 members, including Nobel Prize laureates, dedicated to applying scientific methods to help improve decision-making, management, and operations. Members of INFORMS work in business, government, and academia. They are represented in fields as diverse as airlines, health care, law enforcement, the military, financial engineering, and telecommunications.