Lima experience equips participants with appreciation

Photo By Thomas Perry | General Dynamics Land Systems Lima facility, which produces the Abrams battle tank (pictured), regularly invites area Defense Contract Management Agency Detroit team members to participate in the Lima experience, a two-day workshop event that provides attendees with a first-hand look at the daily operations of a large resident Acquisition Category I production installation.  

LIMA, OH, UNITED STATES

01.05.2015

Story by Thomas Perry 

Defense Contract Management Agency

LIMA, Ohio - “It is highly recommended that you wear steel-toed shoes.”

This is the first line of the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center Lima Experience workshop schedule. This simple, yet foreboding, sentence provides Defense Contract Management Agency Detroit team members a foreshadowed glimpse into a world they don’t typically see.

The agency’s General Dynamics Land Systems Lima facility, a government-owned contractor-operated plant, is one of many satellite commands that fall under DCMA Detroit. Lima, however, produces the M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank, and it is the only contract management office Detroit installation that deals primarily with on-site production.

“The JSMC experience grew from a finding during a management resource review with the CMO that identified a need for familiarity training for Keystones, interns and new-hire employees with no previous agency experience,” said Andy Yeaste, DCMA GDLS Lima production team leader.

Yeaste, who has developed and managed the JSMC Experience since its inception, said team members from the Detroit metro area; Grand Rapids, Michigan; and Ann Arbor, Michigan; offices deal almost exclusively with geographically dispersed contracts.

“A need to contrast and compare the DCMA core functions and operations of multiple geographically dispersed contracts with a large resident (Acquisition Category) I production program was specifically identified by the review,” he said.

A pilot program was created shortly after the review, and a positive participant response led to additional classes and “enlarged both the scope and scale of the workshop in order to fit within the multiple functional job skills that we have within the Detroit CMO,” said Yeaste. “The response from the students has been truly outstanding. We engage with each participant and ask for feedback on how we can improve things for the follow-on classes. We are always looking to improve the program so that it continues to be relevant.”

Although the program began in response to a finding, its relevance is fueled by Detroit’s team members’ desire to fully understand and embrace their mission and the vital contributions they make each day toward its success.

“The commander and our senior leadership team strongly believe our people perform best when they understand the goal they are working to achieve,” said Cal Bailey, DCMA Detroit deputy commander. “The Lima experience provides our people the opportunity to not only get up close and personal to an awesome capability like the M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank, but also to climb inside and ride along with this marvelous capability.

Many of the Lima initiative’s first students were Keystones. They all praise the experience in general as professional beneficial, but their remarks are often highlighted by their personal experience in the battle tank.

“I really enjoyed the GDLS Lima Experience,” said Erica Murray, DCMA Detroit keystone contracts administrator. “My favorite part of the tour was being able to take a ride within the tank. Getting a chance to be inside the tank really heightened my appreciation for our troops. I can’t imagine being one of the soldiers inside the compact tank for hours ready for attack. Their dedication is truly admired. I love when I get the opportunity to physically see and experience the products and services we administer here at DCMA.”

So far, 29 Detroit team members have undergone the workshops, and each rotation further enhances the experience for the next group of participants.

“We add a little something different for the next class based on our feedback,” said Yeaste. “The demand for the class has grown steadily, and we have plans to double the number of classes in 2015 and include additional students from neighboring CMOs within the central region.”

The comprehensive curriculum of the two-day course has proven vital to the program’s growing popularity among leadership as well as attendees.

“The JSMC Experience provides a resident production and contract management perspective to members who normally are geographically assigned,” said Army Lt. Col. Matthew Hodge, DCMA GDLS Lima commander. “Within one location we conduct the full range of DCMA functions: property, industrial surveillance, safety, transportation, quality and contract administration, etc. Participants experience the full range of DCMA’s core responsibilities.”

Kelli Cummings, a DCMA Detroit Keystone, had never visited a large on-site production facility until her Lima experience. “I thought the experience was awesome and unique. As a contract administrator, I have not had the opportunity to visit a site of this magnitude,” said Cummings. “I feel I was able to really get an inside look at what an on-site looks like, and it was a privilege to see how some of the parts of the vehicles are made. I appreciate the experience.”

As the program continues to expand, more agency mission-makers, who normally would be far removed from a hands-on production environment, will have the opportunity to gain a true appreciation of why what they do matters to the American taxpayer and the warfighter.

“Detroit has had the great fortune to hire a good number of new team members who are new to the government,” said Bailey. “They add enormous talents to our already talented employee base. The Lima initiative helps orient them as to why DCMA exist, and why we believe what we do is more than just a job. Many have only seen an M1A2 Abrams tank on TV or heard a relative talk about it. We give them the chance to see and experience the real thing, and they are simply thrilled at the opportunity."

• Date Taken: 01.05.2015
• Date Posted: 01.12.2015 10:39
• Story ID: 151772
• Location: LIMA, OH, US