Larry Crain -- Principal Consultant

From 1999 thru 2007, Mr. Crain was the technical lead for the contractor
team supporting and enhancing the Command Manday Allocation System.
CMAS processes requests from active duty Air Force units, for orders for
AF Reserve and Air National Guard tours. It provides 24/7 web-based
world-wide service, and processes requests for 12-15K personnel per day,
with a total annual value of over $2B. After developing and supporting
the first generation CMAS (see below), Mr. Crain led the system design,
software development, deployment, and user support for both the
second-(2000) and third-generation (2007) versions of the system.

As a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Air Force Reserve, Larry led the original development and deployment of the CMAS system in 1995; and then supported and enhanced that system from 1996 thru 1998. For seventeen years prior to that, as a Reservist assigned to the Aeronautical Systems Center, he led or participated in a wide variety of projects: consulted on planning, operations, and management of ASC's main computer center and enterprise networks; developed a workstation-based system to test exotic batteries for earth satellites; researched approaches for next-generation computer-aided aircraft maintenance support systems; and monitored Software Integration Tests for an air-launched weapons system.

As IDEA’s principal consultant from 1990 thru 1995, he also accomplished a wide range of projects. He developed and supported a PC-based "Energy Savings Predictor" for a major manufacturer of motors, lighting systems, and controls; this "PowerCatalog™" helps salespeople, distributors, and clients perform a quick energy audit, identifies the appropriate replacement equipment from the manufacturer's "Energy Engineered™" lines, then estimates potential energy cost savings/payback.  For a leading manufacturer of industrial heating systems, he created a Web-based package to estimate energy, replacement, and operations savings; the package supports both distributors and industrial customers.  He created a system for a pen-based computer (Newton), to help sales managers conduct visits to their wholesalers, then e-mail the results to headquarters; prototyped an  on-board weight-and-balance planning systems for USAF airlifters; and performed design studies for on-board information kiosks for mass-transit vehicles.  Mr Crain also conducted IDEAworks™ workshops: one for a regional government agency, for instance, defined and implemented process improvements which slashed invoice processing time by 50%.

From Sep 1989 through Jul 1990, under contract to McDonnel Aircraft Company, Mr. Crain developed the "Integrated Crew Chief Associate", an Artificial Intelligence-based system for on-board, real-time identification and isolation of aircraft system faults.  His tasks included the real-time anomaly detection and data capture software; defining and implementing user interfaces; and integrating with ground-based maintenance aids and data processing. 

Prior to founding IDEA in 1989, Mr. Crain was employed by ITT Defense Communications Division for 12 years. He developed and patented (#4962473) a crisis management console system to provide senior military managers with integrated voice and data communications, emergency action checklists, surveillance, databases, facilities management, and administrative tools.  He was also frequently involved in proposals and project startups, defining system architectures, hardware configurations, software designs, and software engineering facilities. He helped author the External Interfaces Spec for the Saudi air defense network's communications backbone; designed a secure large-scale conferencing unit for command centers; and specified software and computers for a proposed cryptographic key management facility, and for a command center message switch.

Mr Crain also created ITTDCD’s Engineering Computer Facility, a network of a dozen DEC VAX and PDP-11 mainframes plus numerous PCs, Macs, and workstations, supporting software development, systems engineering, and Computer-Aided Design.  He founded and managed the section that ran the facility. Implemented the Computer-Aided Software Engineering (CASE), documentation, and software testing environments that supported most of company’s product development projects. Maintained and enhanced operating systems.  Developed and supported numerous custom programming, testing, documentation, and management tools.

From 1973 thru 1977, Captain Crain served on active duty at the US Air Force Data Systems Design Center. While there, he introduced the first computer-based documentation preparation and on-line software engineering tools in the Air Force; installed and managed one of the first ARPANET nodes; and helped plan National Software Works, an experimental network-based distributed CASE facility.  Other projects included performing simulation studies which justified the first use of video data terminals and multi-drop data circuits in standard Air Force administrative applications; and developing key hardware sections of the Request for Proposals (RFP) for USAF-wide standard Base Level ADP Replacement.

Mr. Crain earned his MS in Computer Engineering from Stanford University in 1973; and his BS in Electrical Engineering from the US Air Force Academy in 1972. He is also a graduate of the USAF Air Command & Staff College, and of many technical, business, and management courses.

He is a Professional Member of the Institute of Management Consultants; a partner/supplier of the National Speakers Association, and a certified member of the Apple Consultant Network.

Kay Crain -- Associate Consultant

Ms. Crain is accomplished professional artist, working primarily in oils and acrylic. Her work is available on line at KayCrain.com, and on the juried DailyPainters.com international gallery. Kay is a member of the Portrait Society of America, the American Impressionist Society, and Oil Painters of America.

Ms. Crain is also a Registered Nurse with over 25 years experience in Labor and Delivery. Prior to that, she was a Lamaze childbirth educator in private practice; and has worked in a variety of retail, direct sales, and clerical roles. She earned a bachelors of arts degree in english and elementary education from Western Illinois University in 1972.