FORT LEE, Va. –
ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 6, 2017 — My DCMA showcases the Defense Contract Management Agency’s experienced and diverse workforce and highlights what being a part of the national defense team means to them. Today we meet Ning Santiago.
My name is Ning Santiago, and this is My DCMA.
I am a lead quality assurance specialist at DCMA Lockheed Martin Orlando.
My job duties include performing risk assessments and surveillance activities, conducting data collection and analysis, and coaching and mentoring team members. In addition, my other job duties include assigning work with time frames for completion, providing instructions and explanation of assignments and job techniques, and checking progress of work. Our goal here is to build a collaborative relationship with the contractor and work together to deliver quality products to the field.
I have been a part of the DCMA team for almost five years.
I like working at DCMA because of the intrinsic motivation and work values related to the nature of the work that quality assurance specialists do. Learning new things, making important contributions and a desire to be challenged are reasons I love doing what I do every day.
I am the independent eyes and ears for the Department of Defense because at DCMA, we are a neutral party between the program offices and the contractor. We absorb information from the contractor and translate it into insight that the military customers can use to make informed buying decisions.
I provide actionable acquisition insight to DoD because we work hard to mitigate counterfeit parts and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse, while protecting the safety of the warfighter and the interests of the American taxpayer by conducting risk assessments and providing on-site government surveillance activities such as witnessing tests, reviewing products, conducting process reviews and analyzing the overall quality management system of contractors. We also provide insight to the military’s program offices to ensure that a quality product is delivered.
DCMA is important to America’s warfighters because we provide oversight on government contractors to ensure that a quality product is delivered to the warfighter. Many employees at DCMA are prior military or have friends or family in the military so there is a personal passion that comes from working in the agency. Because of the personal passion, there is a high level of devotion and loyalty to make sure that troops are taken care of.