EA wants specialists to hit industrial ground running

Photo By Thomas Perry | Alexander Miranda, a Defense Contract Management Agency Engineering and Analysis industrial specialist, interacts with his Manufacturing 101 students at the DCMA Learning Center near the agency’s Fort Lee, Va., headquarters Aug. 11, 2015. The course, commonly referred to as MFG 101, is designed “to ensure personnel have the basic skills and understanding of how the industrial specialist acquisition role supports the overall agency mission.”  

FORT LEE, VA, UNITED STATES

08.31.2015

Story by Thomas Perry 

Defense Contract Management Agency

FORT LEE, Va. - There are more than 725 industrial specialists who impact the Defense Contract Management Agency’s daily mission of delivering actionable acquisition insight that matters for the betterment of the warfighter and the benefit of the American taxpayer.

Much like a typical defense acquisition life cycle, the specialists, also known as 1150s, cover a wide-array of developmental phases. Some are close to retirement. Some are climbing the organizational ladder. Some are new to the agency and the profession. The Engineering and Analysis Directorate’s Manufacturing 101 course was designed to benefit the latter.

“This course is intended for new 1150s to the agency. The course goes through basic information that every new industrial specialist needs to perform their job,” said Dan Jackson, the agency’s EA Manufacturing Branch chief. “This is not really a how-to course, but rather a reference manual on what the 1150 should expect in their job and where to get the information that they will need to perform their job.”

Manufacturing 101, commonly referred to as MFG 101, is limited to industrial specialists with less than three years of agency experience.

“As an agency, we want to ensure personnel have the basic skills and understanding of how the industrial specialist acquisition role supports the overall agency mission,” said Karron Small, EA executive director. “The course lays the foundation we want to build upon.”

Jackson explained that this course is only one in a series currently available to the agency’s manufacturing workforce, including:
—Contract Management - Manufacturing 100: a course that covers manufacturing fundamentals, known as CMM 100.
—Manufacturing 103: a course that explores the roles of manufacturing contractors and contract surveillance, known as MFG 103.
—Contract Management - Manufacturing 210: a course that explores contractor production, planning and control surveillance, known as CMM 210.

There are also several computer-based training courses available in the Civilian Training Management System for manufacturing professionals. Much of the 1150 training EA has recently developed is designed to connect students with a big-picture view of their role within the agency’s mission.

“MFG101 was developed in conjunction with EA’s new mission task architecture process,” said Dee Ryan, an agency aerospace engineer with EA. “This process ensures course learning objectives are traceable to higher order DCMA mission requirements from the (Federal Acquisition Regulation/Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement) and specifically, to the tasks where the industrial specialists routinely engage. Likewise, the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for an industrial specialist to execute specific mission tasks are identified as part of the process.”

Small explained the 12-month endeavor and acknowledged vital contributions made by team members from across the globe.

“For the past year we have been working with subject matter experts across the agency to create a tiered mission task architecture for industrial specialists at the entry level, intermediate level and journeyman level,” Small said. “The foundation course is just that ... the foundation on which we will continue to build and develop this critical skill set for the agency.”

The MFG 101 student response has been positive and many of this year’s remaining course dates have been filled. Jackson said prospective students should ensure the course is included within their individual development plan because workforce development relies on the information to determine course need.

“I hope everyone who has taken this or any of the courses we have developed find it professionally beneficial,” said Jackson, who wants feedback from the field to be a driving force in course curriculum. “We are currently performing an analysis with the help of the field to determine their future needs.”

Jackson encouraged agency team members who have questions regarding the above courses or any manufacturing related item to contact EA’s Manufacturing Branch at [e-mail].

• Date Taken: 08.31.2015
• Date Posted: 08.31.2015 11:40
• Story ID: 174762
• Location: FORT LEE, VA, US