The Coast Guard will be hosting its own version of Shark Tank this Friday from 9 a.m. to noon EDT, when members present 10 time-saving apps they developed for the service at the virtual Deck Plate Developers- Power Platform Science Fair.
Everyone is in invited and you can tune in to the Teams event here!
The 10 finalists, which include individuals and teams, created apps designed to streamline everything from command duty notification and document approval to Rescue & Survival records management. They will present their work to Rear Adm. Chad Jacoby, assistant commandant for acquisition and chief acquisition officer; Rear Adm. Russell Dash, commander, Personnel Service Center; a panel of experts, and the viewers. This Live event will be interactive and allow you, the audience, to vote on your favorite application.
The finalists were selected from 42 submissions to an Innovation Challenge launched last year by CG_Ideas@Work. The task? Develop a small-scale application that helps Coast Guard members increase productivity, better carry out their duties, or achieve mission success. These μApps or "micro-apps" needed to be put together using existing Low Code Application Platforms (LCAP) and other readily available technologies. The idea, says Rear Adm. Jacoby, was to show how significant improvements can be accomplished without lengthy software development timelines and expensive contracts.
“We suspected that people all over the Coast Guard were creating powerful apps to enhance operations and mission support tasks,” he said. “The response was impressive. It is clear that Low Code Applications will play an important role in energizing the creativity of everyone in the Coast Guard to solve complex problems and improve the way we leverage data and work together.”
Cmdr. Laura Springer, innovation manager for CG-926, was also pleased with the results.
“Junior personnel in the organization have grown up with connectivity and apps, so leveraging this technology and using the workforce to implement solutions is a natural progression,” she said. “The Innovation Program and C5I Service Center are excited to share the great work of the developers.”
Submissions could be made in two categories: projects organically developed within the workforce, and those commercially supported and developed to Coast Guard requirements. Judges will evaluate the projects based upon potential impact and benefit to the workforce. Best Solution entry and winners will be recognized.
The full list of apps to be presented is included below:
- Gaps in Competency Obtainment, Bench Strength, Training
- One visual that provides re-certification needs, system entry needs in the field, and initial qualification needs to rapidly supply C-School needs to FORCECOM for the Area of Responsibility.
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Command Center Duty Status Board/Notification System/Case Log/ORM Tracker
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OER Lifecycle Tracker
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Streamlined/Automated Weight Handling Equipment (Yellow Gear) Request System
- Streamlines the requests and reservations for Weight Handling Equipment (WHE)
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Rescue and Survival Electronic Records Management
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All CG Document Router - No Download Needed!
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Prodigious Solutions by "Boston Consulting"
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Solutions to some of the Coast Guard's significant challenges such as EZSupply Application streamlines procurement, Central Obligation Group (COG) Account Manager revolutionizes utility account management across the service, and COR as a Service (CaaS) supports an innovative staffing solution.
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SFLC-IBCT-ENG-SES2(Elex) TCTO Coordinating Solution
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Dive Program and Remotely Operated Vehicle Applications
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Track maintenance, training, operations, and references, with the flexibility to expand according to mission and training demands.
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Open Obligations Management Tool (OOMAT)
So drop by the virtual science fair on Friday. Who knows? You could find your colleagues have made your job easier to do!
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Resources:
General Messages - 510-23_ALCOAST.pdf - 2023 (sharepoint-mil.us)