NEW CUMBERLAND, Pennsylvania –
Melinda Charles, a management and program analyst at DLA Distribution Susquehanna, Pa., has been awarded the Edward Sweger DLA Distribution Systems Innovation and Automation Award for her accomplishments as the lead architect and developer of a mission critical business intelligence suite of applications.
Through Charles’s vision and ability to translate mission critical information needs into intelligent user-friendly support applications, DLA Distribution Susquehanna created efficient mechanisms to meet evolving Audit Readiness and Warfighter support requirements.
Specifically, Charles designed and developed a Floor-to-Book Count production control and accountability application that automated the entire process from count production, to data entry, to validation and referral to supplemental counts as necessary. Her innovative design enabled successful completion of the calendar year 2015 Audit Readiness requirement to inventory approximately 50,000 warehouse locations in a period of less than 120 days. It provided Susquehanna the facilities to complete the project under budget and within time constraints. Most importantly, this application is the foundation for meeting strict Audit Readiness directives for future calendar years.
Additionally, Charles was the primary architect and leading developer for the Automated Reporting Information Entry System suite of leadership supporting applications. These best-of-breed products provide facilities to collect, disseminate and account for critical responsibilities within safety, personnel, quality assurance and control, training and equipment accountability. Through these information efficiencies, Susquehanna managers are able to account for key responsibilities on a real-time basis.
Furthermore, Charles re-engineered the DLA Distribution Susquehanna organizational resource templates into an easily understood automated data table that illustrates authorizations by organization, division, title, series and grade. This has proven a substantial improvement against the previous manual worksheets utilized in previous years. This method of staff planning is the first ever for the Distribution Center and is now the recognized staffing plan of record for Susquehanna and management by Distribution Headquarters.
“Ms. Charles demonstrates exceptional leadership skills, provides innovative solutions to complex problems, represents the best of our corporate values and conducts herself with unquestionable integrity,” explained DLA Distribution Susquehanna deputy commander, Brent Barnes. “Ms. Charles’s initiative and competence is unmatched organizationally. She has proven herself as an indispensable part of our organization’s collective success.”