By Susan C. Galentine, Directorate of Public Works
FORT CARSON, Colo. — Ensuring Fort Carson facilities are in good condition and support occupant needs requires a system and labor to address routine maintenance and repairs. The Directorate of Public Works (DPW) operations and maintenance contractor, T&H Services, addresses these issues through the service order process.
Post building occupants submit routine service orders for maintenance or repair of real property including buildings, roads, sidewalks, streetlights and signs through the Army Maintenance Application (ArMA) at https://www.maintenance.army.mil/arma. Only emergency issues should be reported to the 24/7 service order desk at 719-526-5345.
The contractor handles an average of 3,000 service order calls a month, according to T&H Services records, and address a range of issues including lightbulb replacement, changing door locks, heating and air conditioning system adjustments, plumbing issues and roof repairs.
Based on tracking data, the top three service calls, in order, are for issues relating to keys and locks, leaks and clogs and building temperatures. Building temperatures are most often raised by occupants during heating and air conditioning transition seasons managed by the DPW.
Most building systems across the installation operate in either heating (November-April) or cooling (May-October) mode, which can create headaches with maintaining comfortable temperatures in facilities with Colorado’s unpredictable weather fluctuations.
To place a service order for spaces such as barracks rooms and individual offices/administrative spaces, an appointment is required. Through ArMA, customers submitting service orders are offered several time slots on the proposed day.
Customers can select a time or request a later date and time. The customer will receive a call and text the day of the appointment to verify availability. Failing to show up for a service order appointment without at least a two-hour advance notification, results in cancellation of the appointment and the customer having to resubmit the service order.
Since implementing the service order appointment system, DPW has seen a dramatic drop in complaints of timeliness or non-responses, said Jerald “J.J.” Just, base operations contracting officer representative. Given the contractor’s hours largely align with the Soldiers’ training days, it only makes sense to schedule appointments for service orders. Since starting the service order appointments in late 2024, only 39 out of more than 12,600 scheduled appointments required rescheduling.
When submitting a service order in ArMA, individuals need to provide a detailed description of the problem, including the exact location, photos and required documents, if applicable.
There are three service order levels of priority:
Emergency (priority 1) – Emergency service orders are called in to the contractor at 719-526-5345. Emergency work takes priority over all other work and requires immediate action. Emergency service orders are classified as such when they consist of correcting failures/problems that constitute an immediate danger to life, health, safety, security or property. Examples of emergency service orders include overflowing drains, broken water or steam pipes, gas leaks, major utilities service failures, broken electrical components that may cause fire or shock, stopped-up toilets (when only one is available for use) and key card/lock failures. The normal response time to emergency work is within one hour, day or night, with completion of the emergency within 24 hours.
Urgent (priority 2) – Urgent service orders are submitted in ArMA. Urgent work is required to correct an issue that could become an emergency, could seriously affect morale or has command emphasis. Examples include heating and hot water supply outages, building air conditioning system failures or functional failures of ranges and refrigerators in dining facilities. The contractor makes every effort to respond within 24 hours and accomplish all urgent work within seven working days of receiving the order.
Routine (priority 3) – Routine service orders are submitted in ArMA. Routine service orders do not meet the categories of emergency or urgent and cover required work which, if not accomplished, would continue to be an inconvenience or unsightly condition. Work in this category is normally accomplished within 30 days of being called in.
Factors that can affect ArMA service order response are incomplete/incorrect information provided for the order, more urgent priorities, weather conditions, time of day (nights or weekends) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations.
For facility issues in housing, Fort Carson Family Homes has a separate home maintenance service request system. Residents can place service requests online at https://www.fortcarsonfamilyhomes.com/ or by calling 719-579-1605.
For more information about placing service orders, determining what priority a building issue is or for assistance, call the 24/7 contractor service order desk at 719-526-5345.