Gathering momentum: Manassas specialists build experience together

Photo By Thomas Perry | Defense Contract Management Agency Manassas Manufacturing and Production personnel teamed with the Engineering and Analysis, and Operations Directorates to host a professional development workshop in Chester, Va., after Navy Capt. Scott Hawkins posed a simple question to his senior leadership team: “How do the industrial specialists get trained when they come on board?”  

CHESTER, VA, UNITED STATES

11.09.2015

Story by Thomas Perry 

Defense Contract Management Agency

CHESTER, Va. - Facing an influx of new team members, an experience gap and a geographically-separated work force, Defense Contract Management Agency Manassas personnel recently gathered here for a Manufacturing and Production workshop.

“We thought it was important to get all of the industrial specialists in one room to provide real-world training and an opportunity to collaborate and build some team cohesion,” said Brian Mazanetz, Manassas’ Engineering and Analysis director. “We actually thought about an event like this at the start of the year, but it really started taking shape in early June.”

The workshop’s development hastened when DCMA Manassas Commander Navy Capt. Scott Hawkins asked his senior leaders a simple question: “How do the industrial specialists get trained when they come on board?”

More than 70 percent of his industrial specialists had less than three years of experience. Hawkins wanted to ensure his people were afforded every opportunity to succeed in their warfighter support mission, which is vital considering his office manages more than 2,400 contractors, 75,000 contracts and $15 billion in unliquidated obligated funds.

With command support, Mazanetz and Manassas’ Supervisory Industrial Specialist LaTanya Shannon began planning for a solution to meet their training needs. Shannon, who previously served with the agency’s Aircraft Integrated Maintenance Operations as an industrial specialist, remembered AIMO’s annual workshops as professionally beneficial and informative.

“DCMA AIMO has been conducting these workshops for years, and they truly benefited the Manufacturing and Production community,” Shannon recalled. “I gained a significant amount of knowledge by attending the workshops. Opportunities like this are necessary and important because they provide industrial specialists a better understanding of their role in the agency mission and allow the focus to be specific to the needs of the contract management office.”

Inspired by AIMO’s previous workshop structure, Shannon and Mazanetz decided a centralized training event would more cost effective. They partnered with headquarters representatives Rita Hicks, Engineering and Analysis Directorate, and Tony Fowler, DCMA Operations Directorate, to develop a curriculum, settle on a location, and prepare and present training materials.

The industrial quartet decided the workshop would provide interpretation of DCMA instructions, Federal Acquisition Regulations and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement clauses, and provide “how-to” execution on some required tasks.

“The industrial specialist are required to understand that clauses such as FAR 42.1101-1107 are the basis of establishing plans to focus efforts at a contractor’s facility,” said Fowler, who served as an instructor during the event. “Specialists must also understand the maximum use of utilizing the contractor’s data as documented in 42.1106.”

One of the key things specialists should have a thorough understanding of are the regulations that cite production surveillance and how to perform, which according to Fowler, involves DCMA personnel’s review and analysis of contractor’s performance plans, schedules, controls, and industrial processes; and the contractor’s actual adherence to their performance plans.

Shannon explained the workshop’s importance in simpler terms, citing her commander’s earlier concern regarding the office’s experience gap.

“We wanted to provide basic information on what to look for when reviewing a contract, assessing a supplier’s performance, and providing status and delay notifications to customers,” Shannon said. “Industrial specialists play a key role in identifying potential risks and evaluating a supplier’s technical capabilities, so having these workshops allows us to train the specialist how to focus specifically on our customers and suppliers.”

Organizers considered this workshop was a success, and attendee’s feedback has been positive. Mazanetz believes similar training events will be held in the future with a focus on continuing the professional development of Manufacturing and Production personnel and further enhancing DCMA Manassas’ ability to serve and support the warfighter.

Shannon shared her thanks and appreciation for AIMO’s inspiration and the DCMA Manassas senior leadership team’s support. Without both, the 2015 workshop would never have become a reality.

“Management support is essential for workshops such as this one to be successful,” Shannon said. “Management’s buy-in and presence lets employees know their efforts are appreciated and their opinions are valued. Industrial specialists are my most valuable asset, and I will do whatever I can to help them be successful in performing their duties.”

Workshop attendees also had the opportunity to meet Daniel Jackson, E&A Manufacturing Engineering Branch chief who provided a brief interpretation of the agency’s current direction.

“Training the industrial specialist workforce requires a multiphase effort to provide the information that an industrial specialist needs to perform their jobs,” Jackson said. “Traditional course work, on-the-job training and mentoring are all components of this effort. In widely dispersed CMOs, this type of workshop can be very useful in providing much needed mentoring where it would otherwise be difficult to perform. DCMA is in the process of developing a comprehensive industrial specialist development program that provides the information that the field says it needs to perform their jobs effectively.”

• Date Taken: 11.09.2015
• Date Posted: 11.09.2015 08:52
• Story ID: 181409
• Location: CHESTER, VA, US