Washington, D.C. — The U.S. Mint in Denver today received a Hammer Award from Vice President Al Gore’s National Performance Review (NPR) in recognition of success in dramatically reducing costs, streamlining operations, and improving service to the American people.
Mint Director Philip N. Diehl presented the Hammer Award to Denver Mint Superintendent Jack DeBroekert, citing the “Denver team’s commitment to maximum efficiency, cost savings for the taxpayer, and better service for our customers. I want to congratulate Jack and all team members for the hard work that brought this award to the Mint.
The award recognizes increased employee involvement to implement the guiding principles of the Mint’s strategic plan, which encourages employees to take initiative to identify opportunities for cost savings. Specifically, the Denver team developed a new inventory review program to identify items no longer in use, and to alleviate storage capacity constraints. As a result, inventory control accuracy was boosted to 99 percent for more than 5,000 items.
In a separate ceremony, the Denver Mint also was recognized with the U.S. Mint’s first annual EEO Achievement Award in recognition of exemplary achievement in promoting equal employment opportunity. Director Diehl praised the “strong leadership of Denver Mint Superintendent Jack DeBroekert and Greg Wikberg, President of the National Mint Council and Local 695 of the American Federation of Government Employees American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), for tremendous strides toward realizing the goal of equal employment opportunity.
Working with the AFGE, Local 695, the Mint informally resolved more than 200 EEO complaints and grievances, and increased female and minority representation in the work force overall, and in administrative and supervisory positions. Programs in place to ensure EEO policy implementation include the Special Emphasis Program community outreach liaison to minority organizations in Denver and across the nation; the Die Manufacturing Division’s Career Development Program, and its Student Career Experience Program for area students.
The Mint has received six Hammer Awards and two National Partnership Awards from the Vice President recognizing a wide range of customer service, labor–management and business process improvements initiated by the Mint.
The Hammer Award is presented to teams that have contributed dramatically to improving the way government works. The award recognizes special achievements in at least one of the four main themes of reinventing government: improving government service; cutting red tape; empowering employees; or getting back to basics.