computer as needed to troubleshoot issues without having to remove their personal
protective equipment. This innovation also saved money and made the training more fun.
You can re ad more about this here .
Lucille Lord, who taught the Back to Basics course to technicians in the Central
Service Area, noticed that new technicians had a hard time keepi ng pace with the
course. So she developed a new course designed to teach new technicians the more
administrative aspects of their jobs, like logging things in and out, etc. She also
submitted an idea suggesting this be done across the agency. In turn, Tech nical
Operations developed a course that will be taught quarterly in each Service Area. You
can read more about this, including the response from the field, by looking up Idea
#16975 on IdeaHub .
Our co - workers have also submitted good ideas in response to ATO - sponsored
IdeaHub Challenges. Over the past few years, we've run challenges on runway safety,
occupational safety and health, mitigating safety risk associated with On - The - J ob -
Training, and employee recognition. For instance, as a result of last year's runway safety
challenge, we are implementing employee ideas that focus on sharing runway safety
best practices, producing facility specific safety videos that show problem area s on the
airfield and emphasizing the sterile cockpit rule.
I'd like to hear from you. What subject should we tackle in our next ATO IdeaHub
challenge? You can offer your suggestions by leaving a comment at the bottom of the
page.
You can also submit o r comment on ideas through IdeaHub and share stories of
how you innovate by visiting the FAA Innovates page. It takes some courage to put our
ideas out th ere. So I thank you for that. Remember you don't have to submit the original
idea to have an important impact. You can provide constructive feedback or insight that
can help refine ideas submitted by others.
Let's also make a point of recognizing our emp loyees and co - workers for their
creativity and innovation, and help them bring these ideas to fruition. In doing so, we'll be
an even greater organization.
Thanks everyone,
Teri L. Bristol
ATO Chief Operating Officer
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