Central Region hosts multifunctional workshop

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. -

The Central Region hosted its annual multifunctional workshop Sept. 24-26. More than 500 employees attended the hybrid event, which served as a follow-up engagement to the Central Region's Performance Review, which was held Aug. 20-22.

"I'm excited to bring the group together again to talk, especially after the discussion held during the Central Region's Performance Review with topics related to DCMA Vision," said Army Col. Kenneth Darnall, Central Region commander.

During the three-day multifunctional workshop, speakers highlighted a variety of topics, including fraud awareness, DCMA Vision, Resource Workload Model, contracts, safety, training and developmental opportunities, and Section 508 compliance.

Syma Hutchings, director of the region's Technical Directorate, said the event allowed the functional group directors to share ideas for streamlining workload and increasing efficiencies. "This was just the start because we formed small teams to dig deeper into each of the ideas generated with a goal of briefing Col. Darnall on the progress at the next performance review," she added.

Team Approach

Ah Ram Purdon, an engineer from DCMA Palmdale, was one of the individuals on a special developmental assignment who helped coordinate the event.

"We started planning for this workshop in May," said Purdon. "We had great teamwork, and I enjoyed being a part of the team. My teammates were flexible, communicated well, and had great interpersonal skills. I am glad that I had the opportunity to be involved in this assignment because I got to work with a lot of new people. I was looking for some leadership experience, and this assignment allowed me the opportunity to help organize a workshop for the Central Region."

"I really enjoyed whole journey," he added. "During the workshop, I was happy to see us average about 500 attendees a day, and we received good feedback from the participants."

In addition to Purdon, Charles Kozlowski, an engineer from DCMA Special Programs East, and Dwayne Santos, a quality assurance specialist at DCMA Palmdale, volunteered to help coordinate the event. Kozlowski said the experience provided him an opportunity to learn how to run a Microsoft Teams Live event and the knowledge gained will help him on his job.

"Every presenter did a fantastic job," said Kozlowski. "I think we, as a team, organized a well-rounded and informative workshop that covered a wide variety of topics for the audience."

Hutchings said the team was an asset to the execution of the workshop. She appreciated the employees for volunteering to learn more about other parts of the agency.

"These three individuals were selected to work on this project through the agency's developmental assignment program," said Hutchings. "While working with Central Region personnel to develop, organize and run the annual Central Region multifunctional workshop, they worked on improving their analytical, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills while learning about the routine of being a functional specialist at the operational unit and region level."

Presentation Highlights

During the first day of the workshop, Phil Eckelkamp, a fraud counsel member from the Contract Integrity Center, explained how employees needed to be aware of the many types of contractor fraud. Contractor fraud can include bid rigging, bribery, defective pricing, theft or embezzlement, and nonconforming products, defective products, or product substitution. Other types of fraud include cost mischarging and progress/performance payment fraud. He noted some examples that employees needed to be aware of, including that all military uniforms must be made in the United States, and there were instances of counterfeit uniforms that were made in another country with "Made in the USA" tags sewn into them after other tags were removed.

Daniel Durant, the deputy director of the Technical Directorate at DCMA headquarters, updated the state of the Technical Directorate on the first day. He explained the proposed new Technical Directorate restructure at headquarters, surveillance manual status, and the Product Data Reporting and Evaluation Program, also known as PDREP. Various DCMA personnel have been on a PDREP roadshow and visited eight contract management offices since June to solicit feedback and recommendations and improve employees' understanding of the system.

"I believe the tool is maturing," said Durant. "We appreciate your feedback. We will aggregate your feedback and work with the Navy to forecast what they need to build for us in the system."

Purdon said the DCMA Vision workshop led by Mark L'Ecuyer was a highlight for him to better understand the agency's way forward.

"DCMA Vision was one of the hot topics during the workshop, and we received many questions from the participants," he said. "During the brief, I learned more about why we are doing this change and how the agency is organizing. I think it is good idea to organize the agency by what we do rather than location, so that leadership can be more effective and functional specialists can interact and learn from each other better."

Santos encouraged employees to embrace DCMA Vision.

"DCMA Vision is crucial in leadership at all levels as it provides a clear direction and purpose for the agency," said Santos. "It gives a common goal to inspire and motivate teammates toward. DCMA Vision helps leaders anticipate challenges and opportunities, therefore, allowing them to strategize and make informed, meaningful decisions. Lastly, DCMA Vision fosters unity and commitment within a team by encouraging collaboration and innovation."

On day two, Shannon Gonzalez, the DCMA Cleveland Contracts director, which is a streamlined command under DCMA Ohio River Valley, explained why team members should embrace change.

"I want to see positive change in our world, no matter how big or small that world is," she said. "I want to be part of the solution and not be a part of the problem, so I need to engage and be that change agent, and so I do."

Gonzalez used the book "Who Moved My Cheese?" by Dr. Spencer Johnson as a metaphor to describe how different people view and respond to change. She encouraged leaders to help their team adapt to change by providing support, encouraging learning, using positive reinforcement, empowering their employees, and communicating effectively. If leaders empower their team, as a result, the team members will adapt and embrace change, take calculated risks, and become more resilient.

Gonzalez said one of her favorite quotes from the book is, "The more important your cheese is to you, the more you want to hold on to it."

"This quote summarizes the book's central message about the inevitability of change and the importance of adapting to it," said Gonzalez. "It emphasizes that while we may want stability and the sense of security in our lives, embracing change is critical for our growth and success. If we don't embrace it, we're going to be left behind."

On day three, Elisabeth Christian, an assistant counsel in the General Counsel's Ohio River Law Group, explained her organization's mission, and how she and her colleagues can help employees. Prior to becoming a part of the General Counsel, Christian was a contract administrator with DCMA Detroit, and she deployed to the Middle East as a contracting professional in 2021.

During her presentation, Christian explained how General Counsel is split between generalists and specialists, and that there are now regional law groups. Some of the areas the attorneys can provide legal advice on include ethics, personnel and labor, fiscal law, and contract law. Attorneys will examine a variety of documents, including reviewing the Federal Acquisition Regulation and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation, before giving proper legal advice.

DCMA presenters also spoke about leadership styles, the key traits of effective leaders, and how leaders can build trust. Amy Jenison, the director for Policy and Programs in the Total Force Directorate at headquarters, encouraged all employees to look at the opportunities the agency offers for career growth and advancement. There are numerous opportunities, including tuition assistance, Skillsoft Learning Programs, and developmental assignments, that are available to employees. Employees can also apply for the Emerging Leaders Program and the Centralized Development Program, which has a variety of leadership training opportunities. In addition, DCMA has partnered with and purchased leadership training classes from the Office of Personnel Management and the Defense Logistics Agency.

The way ahead

Santos said the workshop was a great experience to gain updated information on different topics to learn more about what is going on around the agency, including within the Central Region.

"The behind-the-scenes efforts for this workshop was the highlight for me," said Santos. "I was also directly involved with facilitating the sessions and making it possible for the audience to engage with and learn from the insights provided by our expert presenters. It was rewarding to see how our collective efforts allowed for a seamless exchange of ideas by enhancing the overall experience for everyone involved."

"The knowledge gained from the workshop has been invaluable in broadening my understanding of various aspects of the agency that were previously unfamiliar to me," added Santos. "By gaining insights into different functional areas, I can now see the potential for enhanced collaboration and leveraging each other's expertise to achieve our shared goals. This understanding is crucial for ensuring that we at DCMA deliver quality products and services to our customers - the men and women in uniform."

Darnall said he was pleased the presentations and discussions during the event fostered communication and collaboration.

"I am a proud of the actions the multi-functional workshop participants took to improve upon and addressed areas that were identified during the Central Region's Performance Review," he said. "It is important to come together virtually and in person to focus on policy improvements, identify work not performed, and merge the two together to ensure leaders are taking and communicating the acquisition risk at the appropriate levels."

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