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Policy supports cost reductions

Mar 12

By Douglas DeMaio, USAG Bamberg Public Affairs

BAMBERG, Germany -- With the global economic downturn effecting businesses and governments throughout the planet, U.S. Army Garrison Bamberg and other Installation Management - Europe organizations are being more cognizant about reducing operating expenses.

By consolidating computer network updates to once a week rather than updating the system every day and by shutting down workstations at the end of each workday, except for Wednesdays, USAG Bamberg expects to save thousands of dollars in energy costs.

"The conservation of energy from this policy is a direct result of us learning to manage our resources and assets in a more effective manner," said Lt. Col. Gary A. Rosenberg, USAG Bamberg commander. "We use taxpayer dollars and they expect for us to use that money thoughtfully, conservatively and efficiently. Although we are a small community, our contribution will support the overall cost avoidance of this initiative."

According to Dieter Gerber, chief of Operations and Maintenance Division for the Directorate of Public Works, Bamberg spent a little more than $6 million on energy expenses in 2007 and $6.6 million in 2008. Between 2003 and 2008, the cost per unit of energy increased by 96.17 percent, which caused a 66.66 percent increase in energy expenses. However, if Bamberg had not reduced its energy consumption by 15.04 percent during the same period, energy expenses for Bamberg in 2008 would have amounted to near $7.8 million.

The cost reduction should save about $100 a year per computer on the network, said Greg Fobell, Plans, Analysis and Integration Office in Grafenwoehr. This is based from computers running through a 14-hour work cycle and being powered off for 10 hours, which could save Bamberg more than $100,000 per year in energy costs.

However, Gerber, estimated more than $40 savings per computer. His estimate for Bamberg incorporated a shut down period of 15 hours and a price figure of 11 cents per kilo-watt hour, which could save Bamberg around $60,000 per year.

Fobell called the initiative in Lean Six Sigma terminology as a Just Do It project, meaning the known outcome is an immediate cost savings.

"While saving energy is beneficial to the Army and the taxpayer, it's important to understand this initiative requires new responsibilities from the workforce," Rosenberg said. "The potential savings will only be realized if employees follow the new guidance."

The policy signed by Rosenberg, found at www.bamberg.army.mil, states supervisors need to ensure all computers and vacant workstations are turned on each day during normal business hours and be left on overnight on Wednesdays, excluding printers, monitors and other gadgets. The rest of the time all the equipment should be powered off.

Computers were required to be left on to instantaneously receive security patches, said Bryan Rhodes, an Information Technology specialist in Bamberg. With advances in technology, IT personnel now have the ability to remotely turn on and update most computers day or night.

However, according to Rhodes, this technology won't be the primary used for updating the computers. Updates will usually happen throughout the workday or on Wednesdays.

"The security of our network is a great priority, and for this initiative to work, we must all do our part to ensure we protect our network against vulnerabilities by following the guidance I've provided." Rosenberg said. "Our government computer networks are targeted by hackers and other individuals who want to infiltrate our systems. This puts government computer systems at a very high risk, so doing something contradictory to the guidance provided could be compromising the network."