FORT BELVOIR, Virginia –
Defense Logistics Agency Energy quality assurance representatives met for their biannual Quality Managers Policy Council Meeting at the McNamara Headquarters Complex, Fort Belvoir, Virginia, Oct. 29-Nov. 1.
DLA Energy Quality Technical Director Pam Serino emphasized the importance of meeting twice a year.
“It’s essential for the regional quality managers to attend these biannual meetings to remain abreast of policy changes, participate in face-to-face discussions with our contracting customer business units, receive updates from the Office of Counsel and engage with the global DLA Energy quality community,” she said. “This meeting also provides an opportunity for our command group to field questions and concerns presented by the quality managers.”
QMs are DLA Energy’s quality and technical experts who liaison with military service technical officers, customers, suppliers, foreign government partners and regulatory agencies. While fuel quality assurance issues can vary from region to region, the QMs provide guidance on acquisition, storage and distribution of DLA Energy managed products.
“When I was a QM in the Middle East, these meetings were very beneficial,” said DLA Energy Quality Technical Deputy Director Bill Davenport. “The forum provides regional QMs the opportunity to engage and collaborate with DLA Energy headquarters personnel and address ongoing and emergent quality issues. It also affords them time to focus on big picture quality issues away from the daily demands of their jobs.”
Topics discussed during the four-day conference included the DLA Energy quality assurance/surveillance program policy (includes MIL-STD-3004 and DLA Energy Regulation 4155.1), training and certification program (DLA Energy Regulation 4155.2), quality assurance of fuel specifications with renewable energy components requiring traceability, into-plane quality assurance changes, and secure fuel issues resolution, contamination detection and remediation.
The next QM council meeting will take place during the 2019 Worldwide Energy Conference held at the Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center, National Harbor, Maryland, May 20-22, 2019. The WWEC is open for registration to the Department of Defense, federal agencies and industry as a forum to build relationships, develop energy solutions and engage in dialogue about issues critical to both industry and consumers.