Air Force logistics transformation to begin at Hanscom

  • Published
  • By Karen Guendel
  • 66th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. --  The single biggest change in the history of Air Force logistics is gearing up at Hanscom. Mr. Ross Marshall, Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command, deputy director of logistics, held a Site Readiness Kickoff for the Expeditionary Combat Support System at Hanscom on June 30. 

From buying office supplies with a Government Purchase Card to repairing operational aircraft, ECSS will transform the way the Air Force does logistics. Currently the Air Force uses 240 separate systems to manage logistics resources including parts, equipment, personnel and funds. Many of these systems cannot share information, which creates duplicated effort and limits visibility of assets. ECSS will replace these systems enabling the Air Force to accomplish its logistics mission with a single system accessible Air Force-wide. The result will be faster, better support to the Warfighter.

ECSS is scheduled to be fully operational across the Air Force in 2015. But for Hanscom, the pilot location for the program, the system will start to come online in September 2010.

Mr. Don Pugh, AFMC Systems Integration Division, chief of enterprise integration, briefed Hanscom leadership on the way ahead for the ECSS pilot. According to Mr. Pugh, "Hanscom was chosen as the pilot location because of its small size, technical expertise and strong leadership." 

In February 2009 Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, Air Force chief of staff directed ECSS leadership to minimize risk by taking small steps. Program management accordingly planned a pilot phase to demonstrate on a limited scale how the system works. Hanscom, with its relatively small community of users and its well defined set of logistics functions, was a logical choice to host the pilot. Plus as the home of the 554th Electronic Systems Wing, Hanscom is also home to ECSS program leadership and has the benefit of strong AFMC support.

Mr. Pugh said of the Hanscom pilot, "This should be a very manageable effort while still demonstrating the capability and payoff for the transformation effort."

As ECSS is implemented, the first members of Team Hanscom to be affected will be those responsible for logistics functions such as supply management, tool and vehicle maintenance, inspection and vehicle dispatch. Any organization that has a supply or Information Technology equipment custodian will also be affected during the pilot program.

These organizations will be among the first to realize the benefits of ECSS such as a single system, user-friendly screens, online collaboration and 24/7 system access through Air Force Portal from virtually anywhere in the world.

To smooth the transition to the ECSS environment, each affected wing has a designated Change Agent who will serve as a liaison between individual system users and the Program Office. Change Agents will prepare ECSS users by providing training, answering questions and measuring readiness.

Change Agents will also lead an effort to prepare data for the new system. If ECSS is to be a single source of reliable information, the data that goes into it, such as inventory records and personnel certifications, must be accurate, complete and consistent.

The Change Agents are part of ECSS's Organizational Change Management program, which prepares users across the Air Force for the sweeping logistics transformation. "The intent of OCM is to make people aware, allow them to understand and ultimately to commit to the change that's coming," Mr. Pugh said.

Eventually ECSS will impact the entire Air Force, not just logistics. Organizations that provide resources for logistics, such as finance and personnel, will interface with the system. But most importantly, ECSS will ultimately impact the Warfighter by providing agile, expeditionary logistical support.

For more information about ECSS contact Hanscom's Change Agent Coordinator, Mr. Greg Laing at (781) 377-4263.