Browse Ideas with tag 'efficiency':

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  V.A. Prescriptions - Have a "Hold Until Patient Requests" option

  We need to have an option for our healthcare providers to select that would put the prescription in a status that would not send out a patients medications until the patient requests them. When prescriptions get renewed, often the provider just wishes to add refills. Currently, our system assumes that it needs to go ahead and ship out an order. Often the patient doesn't need the medication now. This is a source of ...more »

  We need to have an option for our healthcare providers to select that would put the prescription in a status that would not send out a patients medications until the patient requests them. When prescriptions get renewed, often the provider just wishes to add refills. Currently, our system assumes that it needs to go ahead and ship out an order. Often the patient doesn't need the medication now. This is a source of waste and frustration for our patients.

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Come up with efficient ways to communicate

  We travel all the time to meet and for training. With such budget problems is travel really needed with our current technology. Why can't we make the best of it for now and use web, video and phone conferencing. When times are good we can travel again. Thanks EDIT: I found these posts buried down in the hundreds of ideas. Thanks to the authors: http://governmentreform.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Elimninate-End-of-Year-Spending/118530-13060 ...more »

  We travel all the time to meet and for training. With such budget problems is travel really needed with our current technology.

  Why can't we make the best of it for now and use web, video and phone conferencing.

  When times are good we can travel again.

  Thanks

  EDIT: I found these posts buried down in the hundreds of ideas.

  Thanks to the authors:

  http://governmentreform.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Elimninate-End-of-Year-Spending/118530-13060

  http://governmentreform.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Utilize-the-Site/120215-13060

  http://governmentreform.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Analyze-processes-and-improve-them-to-reduce-work/121196-13060

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  87 comments for Idea: Come up with efficient ways to communicate

  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Stop Double Pay to Microsoft

  We buy computers from Dell. Each computer comes with a license from Microsoft. (Sticker with license key) We then buy an Enterprise license to install Windows (any version) on that computer. Dell sells computers without Windows. We can buy our computers without Microsoft licenses, and then install our Enterprise software. (Volume Licensing) We never use the preinstalled version, and we never use the license key we pay ...more »

  We buy computers from Dell. Each computer comes with a license from Microsoft. (Sticker with license key) We then buy an Enterprise license to install Windows (any version) on that computer. Dell sells computers without Windows. We can buy our computers without Microsoft licenses, and then install our Enterprise software. (Volume Licensing)

  We never use the preinstalled version, and we never use the license key we pay for that comes with the computer. Currently, Microsoft gets payment for two copies of Windows for every computer we purchase.

  We can save millions across the government.

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Expand Telework to Full (or near-full) Time, Reduce Office Space

  Telework should be the norm on a daily basis, where possible. Those who have responsibilities that require limited office interaction should be able to reserve and utilize temporary office space. Only those who must routinely use the office should have permanent space. This will allow the following: (1) Reduction in government office space (and associated rents, utilities, office supplies). (2) Reduction in transportation ...more »

  Telework should be the norm on a daily basis, where possible. Those who have responsibilities that require limited office interaction should be able to reserve and utilize temporary office space. Only those who must routinely use the office should have permanent space. This will allow the following:

  (1) Reduction in government office space (and associated rents, utilities, office supplies).

  (2) Reduction in transportation allowances.

  (3) Reduction in COLA pay, as those who are capable of full-time telework could work from anywhere, including low-COL locations.

  (4) More qualified workforce -- as qualified applicants who otherwise would be unable or unwilling to relocate to the vicinity of a specific office would still be able to secure the job and successfully function.

  (5) Robustness -- A distributed government workforce would be less vulnerable to terrorist attacks, weather, disasters, and other external threats that might otherwise interrupt government service.

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  17 comments for Idea: Expand Telework to Full (or near-full) Time, Reduce Office Space

  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Reduce the number of contract positions in federal agencies

  More and more positions are being filled with contract employees in order for agencies to be able to show a reduction in the number of government hires. Unfortunately, the cost to the tax payer for contract employees is, in most cases, significantly higher than for a government employee in the same position. Contract fees are exorbitantly high. I have seen fees upwards of 60% in my agency...i.e., for a contract employee ...more »

  More and more positions are being filled with contract employees in order for agencies to be able to show a reduction in the number of government hires. Unfortunately, the cost to the tax payer for contract employees is, in most cases, significantly higher than for a government employee in the same position. Contract fees are exorbitantly high. I have seen fees upwards of 60% in my agency...i.e., for a contract employee being paid a salary of $50,000, the additional fees run around $30,000

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Add back the disagree button!

  Add back the disagree button!

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Eliminate the Time Keeper Position

  Many agencies still use a dedicated person in the GS-5-7 range to be a time keeper when it is fully possible to do this via WEB based TA. In the private sector I didn't have a time keeper, the supervisor verified time of his/her employees and I certified. This is an old position that can be done away with and the position removed from federal service. It is time to get managers back to doing their job which is managing ...more »

  Many agencies still use a dedicated person in the GS-5-7 range to be a time keeper when it is fully possible to do this via WEB based TA. In the private sector I didn't have a time keeper, the supervisor verified time of his/her employees and I certified. This is an old position that can be done away with and the position removed from federal service. It is time to get managers back to doing their job which is managing the work and time of their employees and WEB TA is the tool for them to use in doing this.

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Make Congress Work More Days Each Year

  What does it look like to have so many people unemployed and have a part-time Congress. Make Congress stay in session longer. They just came back from a ten (10) day break. An average of 160-190 workdays is too light for the problems that we have. Make it mandatory that a Congress' Session Calendar be posted to each Member's website, so that we can see what their workweek looks like. Basically, it is a three day week. ...more »

  What does it look like to have so many people unemployed and have a part-time Congress. Make Congress stay in session longer. They just came back from a ten (10) day break. An average of 160-190 workdays is too light for the problems that we have. Make it mandatory that a Congress' Session Calendar be posted to each Member's website, so that we can see what their workweek looks like. Basically, it is a three day week. If they are going to be part-time, they should be paid accordingly.

  http://www.thecapitol.net/FAQ/cong_numbers.html

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  8 comments for Idea: Make Congress Work More Days Each Year

  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Return unused year end funds to the Treasury

  Too often agency officials regard year end funds as their personal slush funds, from which they can buy any goodies they would like. The OMB needs to track these much more closely, and when it finds abuse of these funds, not only claw back the misused funds, but reduce the next year's budget for that agency by double that amount.

  13 comments for Idea: Return unused year end funds to the Treasury

  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Federal Employee Video Testimony

  Routinely the DOJ and US Attorneys Office will subpoena Federal employees to testify in cases outside of the employee's geographical work area. These cases can often be cross country in nature as currently my office on the West Coast is working to find funding to send an employee to the East Coast for under one hour of general background testimony. A cross country flight and hotel for less than one hour of general ...more »

  Routinely the DOJ and US Attorneys Office will subpoena Federal employees to testify in cases outside of the employee's geographical work area.

  These cases can often be cross country in nature as currently my office on the West Coast is working to find funding to send an employee to the East Coast for under one hour of general background testimony.

  A cross country flight and hotel for less than one hour of general testimony. This is our Government at work. A Government which is under a CR yet we continue to spend on travel when there is no need.

  We can do much better by having the involved employee sworn in at the local US Courthouse and testify or provide affidavit by video conference. Extensive and immediate cost savings.

  This is applicable to all agencies and bureaus to include but not limited to; BOP, CBP, CPSC, DOJ, FBI, DHS, HSI, HUD, ICE, IRS, NOAA, USDA.

  http://files.ali-aba.org/thumbs/datastorage/lacidoirep/articles/PLIT0909-Lederer_thumb.pdf

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Increasing Trade, Exports, and Overall Competitiveness »

  Add solar power to military and federal buildings!

  My building in the military had one that powered the HVAC and the hot water. We were always very comfortable and it was not at the expense of taxpayers beyond installation. What made this good was that we were a 24/7 function. We need more of these where it pays to add them and they should be made in America!

  10 comments for Idea: Add solar power to military and federal buildings!

  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Stop moving the military!

  What is the point of moving the military members every three to four years? If someone wants to stay in an area, let them. It will save a huge amount of money AND time (i.e. training time, checking in, etc.). If people want to move, switch them one for one. Otherwise, let people stay where they are!

  8 comments for Idea: Stop moving the military!

  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Wind Turbine and Solar Panels - Green Energy for Feds Buildings

  Wind turbine and solar power plant for Government offices owns by Government agencies and / or GSA and contracted out to Government agencies. This can also be applied to Military and other general buildings. The implementation of Solar Panels and or Wind Turbine could be of benefits to the organization, the installation would be an example of future enterprise or local business to the area, military, and other federal ...more »

  Wind turbine and solar power plant for Government offices owns by Government agencies and / or GSA and contracted out to Government agencies. This can also be applied to Military and other general buildings.

  The implementation of Solar Panels and or Wind Turbine could be of benefits to the organization, the installation would be an example of future enterprise or local business to the area, military, and other federal buildings.

  The Gov office could set the example by assign a pilot program especially to a NEW CONTRUCTION offices and or business. This pilot can be set and studies can be used to compare conventional usage of energy versus new Wind Turbine and / or Solar Panel.

  I have seemed the Corp of Engineer along with the local agency organization conducting and planning 2 or 3 years ago having the implementation of outdated R22 refrigerant (this Freon is being banded by the EPA effective 2008) versus Eco-Friendly R410a.

  Additionally:

  Military building can benefit from this in the long run instead of warhead expenses; by diverting some of the tomahawk and other missiles strategy cost to this Solar and Wind Turbine energy. It’ll pay back.

  See other ideas.

  http://governmentreform.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Control-AC---Heating-and-1-hour-turn-off-for-SAVING-ENERGY-/123166-13060

  http://governmentreform.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Eliminate-Government-Vehicle-for-permanent-Domicile-to-Duty/122824-13060

  http://governmentreform.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Equipment-CONSOLIDATION-and-ReUTILIZATION/123337-13060

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  6 comments for Idea: Wind Turbine and Solar Panels - Green Energy for Feds Buildings

  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Flat Tax Rate for everyone

  Enact a flat tax rate for everyone, no matter their income.

  11 comments for Idea: Flat Tax Rate for everyone

  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  83 votes

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  GET RID OF GSA AS A LEASING AGENT

  This old dinosaur of an agency has outlived its usefullness. It provides terrible customer service and they charge a large fee. Let them compete with the private sector. When we were allowed to get our own leases, we could do so quickly and usually cheaper than having GSA get in the way.

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Electronic Leave Slips

  Many offices still use paper Leave Request slips. This wastes paper, printer cartridges, man hours, and storage space. These paper forms are also frequently misplaced, whereas digital forms are easily saved. Draft a policy requiring that offices start using electronic leave slips.

  8 comments for Idea: Electronic Leave Slips

  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Make Telework Mandatory for eligible positions

  1. Saves energy in America.

  2. Saves roads / extends their life

  3. Less energy consumed in office space

  4. Focus for projects

  5. Improved morale

  6. More agile workforce able to work offsite during contingencies

  14 comments for Idea: Make Telework Mandatory for eligible positions

  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Evaluate government agencies for potential consolidation

  There are many agency programs, areas of work, programs, etc., that are redundant or nearly identical to other agencies. Consider a 20-year plan of reduction and consolidation while balancing that with the need to get something done. There may be instances where combining two small agencies would be less efficient. But this will take some study.

  11 comments for Idea: Evaluate government agencies for potential consolidation

  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Share savings with employees as motivation

  Create bonus structures tied to agency goals.

  Example: Share budget saving with employees. If agency ABC comes in under budget, share 5% of that amount with employees in the form of a bonus.

  There are disconnects between agency initiatives, and the reality of how they are achieved. Rewards should be tied to the bottom line, not the short sighted initiative.

  2 comments for Idea: Share savings with employees as motivation

  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Discipline and Remove Bad Managers

  I can't tell you how many bad federal managers I've had who've skated through multiple grievances (which they lost), "gotcha" management styles, egregious incompetence and rampant employee abuse, and gone on to promotions and bonuses and a long federal career in management. Mandate management discipline, including loss of management position, bonuses and future employability as a manager until they can prove they've ...more »

  I can't tell you how many bad federal managers I've had who've skated through multiple grievances (which they lost), "gotcha" management styles, egregious incompetence and rampant employee abuse, and gone on to promotions and bonuses and a long federal career in management.

  Mandate management discipline, including loss of management position, bonuses and future employability as a manager until they can prove they've corrected all those bad traits. Mandate that every lost grievance be added to their OPF / performance record. Remove bad managers, the number one reason for waste, fraud and abuse in the federal system.

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Don't Borrow Federal Retirement Funds

  Do not allow the Treasury Department to borrow money from Federal Retirement Funds. Removing money from any fund in the TSP will result in losses and could potentially have direct impacts on retirement funds. Stating "TSP participants should have nothing to worry about" does not guarantee there will be no impact. Even if they paid back the borrowed amount plus interest, where would we get back our "earnings" for the ...more »

  Do not allow the Treasury Department to borrow money from Federal Retirement Funds. Removing money from any fund in the TSP will result in losses and could potentially have direct impacts on retirement funds. Stating "TSP participants should have nothing to worry about" does not guarantee there will be no impact. Even if they paid back the borrowed amount plus interest, where would we get back our "earnings" for the amount? We would be out that much more money in a so-called "no-risk" account.

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Push (REEL) Mowers for Inmates

  A solution to save on fuel costs would be for Institutions to use push mowers instead of gasoline operated mowers. Not only does the government save money for fuel and maintenancer, but inmates are afforded health benefits by pushing the mowers, maintaining their physical fitness. Additionally, the environmental impact is aided in less carbon emisions. The cost of a gas powered mower is around 3 to 4 times what a manual ...more »

  A solution to save on fuel costs would be for Institutions to use push mowers instead of gasoline operated mowers. Not only does the government save money for fuel and maintenancer, but inmates are afforded health benefits by pushing the mowers, maintaining their physical fitness. Additionally, the environmental impact is aided in less carbon emisions. The cost of a gas powered mower is around 3 to 4 times what a manual push mower would cost. Also, the maintenance for a manual push mower is 10% of maintaining a gas powered mower.

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  What happened to last years ideas?

  Submitted many different ideas, yet never saw any movement on them....yet for the third year now, I am submitting them again...??? Regardless of the votes, recommend that the ideas be sent to responsible Agencies (ie., OMB) to ask them to follow up on them. You never know, a nickle her and there could equal $Trillions!

  5 comments for Idea: What happened to last years ideas?

  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Get rid of $1 bill, just have coins, SAVE BILLIONS, $5.5 of them

  The $1 bill cost more than a dollar to produce. It is time we replace it with coins like they have done in Europe. They last longer and are cheaper to make.

  9 comments for Idea: Get rid of $1 bill, just have coins, SAVE BILLIONS, $5.5 of them

  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  55 votes

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  Give teleworkers option to move to to lower cost localities

  So many more people could telework full time than do telework full time. If the government mandated telework for all who qualified and then offered opportunities to staff to move to less expensive locality pay areas the salary and benefits savings could be devoted to decreasing the deficit/federal budget size, buying needed IT infrastructure to support full time telework and supporting travel as needed for important face ...more »

  So many more people could telework full time than do telework full time. If the government mandated telework for all who qualified and then offered opportunities to staff to move to less expensive locality pay areas the salary and benefits savings could be devoted to decreasing the deficit/federal budget size, buying needed IT infrastructure to support full time telework and supporting travel as needed for important face to face meetings. Also this "diaspora" of feds would increase readiness of the Federal Government in the event of a disaster or terrorism striking the DC Metro area. There is absolutely no reason why NIH program and grants management needs to be in Bethesda. Employees in these positions should be given carte blanche over managing their travel budgets and time and attendence as long as the jobs get done via the "Best Buy" model which is being tested at the OPM. The government could mandate certain locations as priority zones based on airfairs and underutilized routes to DC.

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  3 comments for Idea: Give teleworkers option to move to to lower cost localities

  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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