88th RSC Facility Coordinators Workshop

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Corey Beal | Bud Berendes, the acting lead of the 88th RSC Department of Public Works’ Plans Division, speaks to Soldiers and civilians during an 88th RSC Facility Coordinators Workshop at its headquarters on Fort McCoy, Wis., April 6. Workshops like these are conducted throughout the year to help improve the performance and knowledge of coordinators throughout the command’s 19 state area-of-responsibility.  

FORT MCCOY, WI, UNITED STATES

04.07.2016

Story by Sgt. 1st Class Corey Beal 

88th Readiness Division

Being designated a facility coordinator as an additional duty for an Army Reserve Center can be a daunting task. To help make it easier, the 88th Regional Support Command conducted a Facility Coordinators Workshop at its headquarters on Fort McCoy, Wis., April 5-6.

Bud Berendes, the acting lead of the 88th RSC Department of Public Works’ Plans Division, led the workshop which is aimed at improving the performance and knowledge of coordinators throughout the command’s 19 state area-of-responsibility in the northwest region.

The workshop included presentations on facility operations, information management, safety, security, logistics, real property boards, opening and closing of facilities, environmental compliance, service contracts, stationing actions, and work order processes. In addition to the presentations, participants were provided the opportunity to ask questions to all the staff leads in an open forum at the end of each day.

“What we’ve done with this course is try to make it easier on all of our facility coordinators by providing information and tools, answering questions, and introducing all the points of contact,” said Berendes. “We do this so they can get what they need when situations arise, handle it themselves, or be able to get the right help needed when it’s needed.”

Facility coordinators are often the first ones confronted when issues arise and the starting point for their resolution through the 88th RSC. This is a necessity due to the 88th RSC’s logistical constraints of limited staff and the vast number of facilities supported.

“The 88th RSC is responsible for facilities at 277 different locations which total more than 10 million square footage of buildings and almost 8,000 acres of land,” said Berendes. “Managing that much infrastructure from Fort McCoy is a fairly daunting task - so we rely heavily on facility coordinators to communicate with us and our staff in the field to get issues resolved.”

According to Berendes, Army Reserve Units in the northwest region can essentially think of the 88th RSC DPW as their landlord who is ready and willing to help. Facility coordinators are the ones who let the landlord know what needs to be fixed.

“If you have a broken window – we will fix it, you have a broken lock – we will fix it. If you have a problem with your neighbors – we will attempt to fix it,” said Berendes. “So just like if you were renting a home, if you are occupying an 88th RSC facility, we are your landlord and we are going to help you make sure that facility runs as smoothly as we can.”

The 88th RSC would not be able to manage all of its Army Reserve Centers without the work of facility coordinators. For this we are very grateful, said Berendes.

“We realize here that being a facility coordinator is an added duty,” continued Berendes. “You don’t get paid any more to do it. There is no glory in it and we know it can be a pain, but it’s an important person to have in the field because we do not have the staff to visit facilities every day. So that falls on you guys and we are deeply appreciative of everything you do.”

***Facility Coordinator Workshops are held by the 88th RSC throughout the year. If you would like to attend a workshop, please contact SGT Nicholas Champagne, 88th RSC DPW at [e-mail]

• Date Taken: 04.07.2016
• Date Posted: 04.07.2016 19:51
• Story ID: 194750
• Location: FORT MCCOY, WI, US