Home › News › Oct 2020

SRNS Receives Multiple Awards at 2020 IdeasAmerica Global Conference

Staff Report

Wednesday, October 28th, 2020

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) recently domi- nated the competition at the 2020 IdeasAmerica Virtual Training Summit, a global conference where SRNS received a total of 19 recognitions and awards.

This event represents the 78th annual awards competition and global conference for IdeasAmerica, which was held Sept. 21-25, in a virtual setting.

IdeasAmerica is a national organization that allows American companies with lean six sigma and suggestion system programs to benchmark with one another and to compete based on innovations developed by their employees. The organization also allows its members to compete directly with international companies in sister organizations such as Ideas Arabia, Ideas Germany and Ideas United Kingdom. At this year’s conference, SRNS was the only American company among the other American-based member companies to make the finalist list for award consideration.

“It’s been an exceptional year for an exceptional group
of SRNS employees who truly understand the value of this competition,” said Blake Leaphart, SRNS Senior Productivity Specialist. “Our employees truly embrace a culture of improvement and have adopted a lean mindset to improve the processes we use here at SRS.”

IdeasAmerica’s annual awards program specifically recog- nizes the creativity of employees and offers awards that honor outstanding ideas and continuous improvement projects as well as recognizing the role leadership plays in promoting employee involvement.

The 2020 IdeasAmerica Global Awards for SRNS

Green Idea of the Year: Recognizes an idea or project that is eco-friendly and has significant positive effects on the environment.

• Hazardous Waste. Susan Cornwell and Darren Gillis, Environmental, Safety, Health & Quality (ESH&Q), Gold Award, first place globally

Evaluator of the Year: Recognizes employees within a company that go above and beyond in evalu- ating ideas and projects for implementation and who champion different improvement initiatives.

• Paula Croom, ESH&Q, Gold Award, first place globally
• Charles “Chuck” Bell, Savannah River Tritium Enterprise, Silver Award, second place globally

Best Program Administrator of the Year: Recognizes the most productive, supportive and influ- ential suggestion program administrator within a company as well as a leader of lean six sigma practices.

• Blake Leaphart, Focused Improvement Transformation/Continuous Improvement, Silver Award, second place globally

Safety Idea of the Year: Recognizes an idea or project that significantly improves safety for a company or solves a serious safety problem.

  • Molded Case Breakers. Joe Legge, David Hawver, Tico Machado, Jackie McAlhaney and Mark Muir, Silver Award, second place globally

  • SRNL Operations Fans. Alex Atkins and Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), Bronze Award, third place globally

    Advocate of the Year: Recognizes the employees within a company that go above and beyond to actively promote and assist with a company’s suggestion program and lean six sigma program.

    • Deanna Goodlove, Information Technology, Bronze Award, third place globally
    • Jennifer Scott, Enterprise Solutions Systems/PeopleSoft (ESS/PeopleSoft), Honorable Mention

    Champion of the Year Award: Recognizes employees within a company who go above and be- yond in championing ideas and lean six sigma projects within their work groups and who assist others with submitting their own ideas while actively promoting the suggestion program.

    • David Dixon, Site Services (SS), Bronze Award, third place globally

    Executive Leadership Award: Recognizes a director or senior level manager within a company who goes above and beyond to promote ideas and lean six sigma projects.

    • Freddie Grimm, Business Planning & Integration, Bronze Award, third place globally

  •  

    Communication Excellence Award: Recognizes individuals who excel at communicating various projects and coordinating improvements within a company.

    • Cynthia Boler-Melton/Karen Degange (ESS/PeopleSoft), Honorable Mention

    Team Idea of the Year: Recognizes an idea or project worked on by a team that achieved signifi- cant cost savings and successfully improved a company-wide issue.

    • Replacement Bidding Process TOPR vs. BOA. Joe Legge, Phillip Douglas, Clay Whitt and Perry Byrd, Honorable Mention

    KUDOS Award Winners: This award recognizes those that show exemplary support for a com- pany’s lean six sigma program.

    • Melody Bell, F-Area Operations
    • Kirby Thompson, Project Management & Construction Services
    • Laura Barsh, SRNL
    • Shelby Rutland, Engineering
    • Max Cavett, SS
    • Samantha Leonard, Safeguards, Security and Emergency Services  

     

    Joe Legge, SS

    In July 1942, thirty-five interested suggestion administrators met at the United Airlines Offices in Chicago, IL, and agreed to establish what was to become the National Association of Suggestion Systems (NASS). The purpose of this Association was to improve employer- employee relations, to stimulate constructive thinking on the part of both, and in general to enhance a sympathetic understanding of mutual problems toward making this a better work- ing world in which to live.

    Through years of internal and external challenges, including downturns in the economy, the Association still continues to provide a valuable service to its membership both in the United Kingdom, North America, Dubai and Germany. In order to better define the future of the Association the name was changed from the Employee Involvement Association to IdeasAmerica in October 2010. NASS was dedicated to spreading information on how to make employee sug- gestion systems work successfully and 75 years later the legacy continues.