ATLANTA –
Defense Contract Management Agency Atlanta employees are working diligently to support the agency’s vision of “one team, one voice, delivering global acquisition insight that matters.”
On July 17, DCMA Atlanta conducted a quality assurance stand down to identify a directorate-wide solution when addressing customer complaints through the deficiency reporting process. A management internal control audit's results showed inconsistency in the approach before the stand down.
Navy Cmdr. Frank Miller, DCMA Atlanta’s commander, and Lou Gentile, acting deputy director, kicked off the meeting by encouraging the approximately 50 QA directorate employees to share their experiences and lessons learned with each other.
“This is a great opportunity to gain valuable knowledge and experience from across the QA directorate,” said Miller.
According to Charles Kelly, DCMA Atlanta’s quality assurance MICA auditor, consistent communication within the directorate will help everyone work together to address customer concerns.
“The results were inconsistent across the directorate in addressing customer complaints during the investigation process,” said Kelly. “The goal of this review is to drive a consistent approach.”
David Pilot, acting QA director, said another goal of the training was to familiarize personnel with product quality deficiency report policy and the program data reporting and evaluation program. During the training, the directorate was divided into teams and given three PQDR case studies. The teams interpreted and applied PQDR policy, as well as applied experience and knowledge to each scenario, ultimately resulting in investigation findings. Each team presented their findings to the class for critique and discussion.
“The PQDR training brought the entire team together, raised questions that were not asked in the past, and developed a coordinated and consistent customer approach for implementation across the directorate,” said Pilot.
Virgil Green, a quality assurance specialist, agreed with Pilot. Green stated, “The recent PQDR stand-down training was an incredible success. It was incredible because the entire DCMA Atlanta Quality Assurance directorate was able to get the training in a team setting and get on the same page regarding what is sometimes not an easy process.”
Overall, Gentile said the training was beneficial, and he was pleased the team came up with a viable approach to dealing with customers in the future.
“Not only was a consistent approach to handling customer complaints developed, but all quality assurance specialists were educated on how to use PQDR information to develop and analyze trends and how to adjust surveillance plans,” he said.
“Productive, informative and interactive training on core issues faced by QA personnel is just one way that DCMA Atlanta continues to invest in its people in order to better satisfy warfighter acquisition requirements and fulfill the agency’s strategic goals and vision. With all of the QA workforce working together, I know we will move forward together in supporting our customers and have fun doing it.”