PHILADELPHIA –
It is always good to know how your job fits into an organization’s big picture, a Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support Industrial Hardware branch chief said during a supply chain orientation June 1.
“The purpose of [IH Academy] is to just give you an overview of what all the disciplines in Industrial Hardware do,” Jose Pereira, a supervisor and member of the IH Culture Improvement Team said to more than 50 new IH employees. “A lot of times people aren’t really sure what the people two rows over from them are doing or how it affects their job.”
IH Academy was created from employees’ suggestions to the IH Culture Improvement team, Quinnroy Edwards, IH supply planner and former CIT chairperson, said.
The day-long session included briefings from all IH divisions, where various presenters gave in-depth descriptions of their daily tasks and functions.
“I am very impressed by what Quinnroy and Jose have put together,” Gary Shifton, IH director of supplier operations, said. “It’s an extraordinary day of training and knowledge.”
In addition to the one-day workshop, employees, both new and tenured, also have access to an internal repository of information that they can refer to once the workshop is over.
A new employee can go onto the IH Academy drive and look up any position description relative to their job, Edwards said.
Closing out the day, Pereira, who is also an Air Force reservist, told the participants about a time when he was deployed to Iraq and working on an aircraft that was downed due to an encounter with a bird.
“I had finished checking the aircraft and everything was good to go,” he said. “It was hot, but I could not leave the tarmac. In the distance, I see a group of people walking very slowly. I really couldn’t make out who they were or what was going on. Then I heard people clapping and cheering. I soon realized that they were injured [military members] who were waiting to board the aircraft I worked on so they could go get further treatment.”
Everyone works together to support the warfighter, Pereira said.
“Everything we do here matters,” he said. “There is someone on the other side, waiting for our parts. Whether it’s a scan, a follow-up email or a call back, it is all important.”