Continuous Improvement | The Contracting Education Academy

September 16, 2019 By cs

The future of continuous evaluation is just about here, and it has a different name

What started as pilot program for the Defense Department and other agencies in the intelligence community will soon become the key piece to the Trump administration’s overhaul of the suitability, credentialing and security clearance process.

The overhaul itself is called the Trusted Workforce 2.0 initiative, and it’s the administration’s attempt to, at last, modernize a security clearance and vetting system that’s badly in need of an update.

The initiative itself will come in the form of several new policies and procedures, which are due sometime near the end of the year, defense and intelligence officials have said. Everything from the type of security clearances themselves to the standards used to investigate and adjudicate clearance holders will change.

And the continuous evaluation concept, the program DoD and others have used to monitor its cleared population and maintain trust with its employees and contractors, will also evolve.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/workforce/2019/09/the-future-of-continuous-evaluation-is-just-about-here-and-it-has-a-different-name/

January 10, 2019 By AMK

DoD says blockchain can help in disaster relief

The U.S. Department of Defense says blockchain technology has “enormous” potential in helping improve disaster relief efforts.

The Troop Support division of the Defense Logistics Agency held a meeting last month in Philadelphia to understand how blockchain could have helped its already “successful” efforts assisting in Puerto Rico after the devastating Hurricane Maria in 2017. The meeting was hosted by Troop Support’s Continuous Process Improvement (CPI) office.

“The potential is absolutely enormous,” said CPI management analyst Elijah Londo, according to a DLA report of the event. “Talk about blockchain, and you’ll hear experts comparing it to transforming trust or transactions in the same way the internet changed communication.”

Currently, the DLA tracks logistics processes through centrally managed systems, which makes it hard for involved parties to synchronize data and ensure they all are tracking correct and up-to-date information. By using blockchain technology, the agency could track data and thereby improve supply chain transaction processes and in-transit visibility of shipments, it said in the report.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.coindesk.com/us-defense-department-says-blockchain-can-help-disaster-relief

August 4, 2016 By AMK

GSA says ‘a better Schedule 70’ is ahead

A General Services Administration’s top acquisition official has promised an improved Schedule 70 following an audit that found price discrepancies for identical products and some offered at higher prices than they were commercially available.

Mary Davie, the assistant commissioner of the Office of Integrated Technology Services, responded to the inspector general audit in a recent blog post, acknowledging the legitimacy of the report while explaining the years-long progress made to improve the Multiple Awards Schedules program.

“We agree with [the IG’s] concerns, which is why we have been working for the past three years to fundamentally transform the MAS program, reduce prices and streamline processes,” Davie said.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.nextgov.com/cio-briefing/2016/07/gsa-better-schedule-70-ahead/130336

November 25, 2014 By AMK

How DoD’s procurement problems are hurting national security

Frank Kendall cringes when he hears the term “acquisition reform.” The Pentagon’s top weapons buyer instead prefers the term “acquisition improvement,” which he says focuses more on the continued refinement of the entire process by which the Defense Department conceives, develops and purchases everything from ships and aircraft to trucks and ammunition.

By almost any measure, the system is broken. Consider this: The Defense Department spent at least $46 billion between 2001 and 2011 on a dozen weapons systems that never even entered production, according to the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. The two most expensive programs were run by the Army. The service spent $18 billion on the Future Combat Systems—a collection of networked vehicles and sensors—and nearly $8 billion on the Comanche stealth helicopter. That’s more money wasted in just two programs than the combined annual budgets of NASA and the National Nuclear Security Administration.

Read the entire feature cover story from the special defense edition of Government Executive magazine by clicking here.

March 26, 2012 By AMK

Respect for People: Raising the value of your most important assets

Join Georgia Tech for the annual Lean Consortium event and learn about the evolution of lean from the factory floor to human development. This year’s seminar focuses on becoming more competitive by incorporating the Harada method into your organization through linking the development of people to your organization’s success.

Lean Consortium Event Details:

 Respect for People
 Date: Thursday, May 10, 2012
 Time: 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. (registration begins at 9:00 a.m.)
 Location: Atlanta Airport Marriott Gateway
 Price: $295*
 Keynote Speaker: Norman Bodek

*If you have 5 or more from the same company, the group rate is $240 per seat. Contact Tim Israel to secure multiple seats at this rate.

Seminar Topics:

 The Harada Method: strengthening leaders to inspire employees to develop success goals and work out the detail plans necessary for attaining them
 Understanding and Incorporating the human side of Lean
 Turning managers into active coaches to build a winning team

Benefits of Attending:

 Understand ways to grow employees to make your company more competitive
 Learn to empower and involve employees in the improvement process
 Discover ways to enhance communication throughout the organization

Speaker:

After 18 years working with Data Processing companies, Norman Bodek founded the publishing, consulting, and training firm PCS Press Inc., where he is working to broaden the implementation of lean from the production floor to the entire enterprise. He is an author of over 100 Japanese management books on tools for continuous improvement. Norman is an accomplished presenter, having led numerous seminars, conference sessions, and training events on many continuous improvement subjects. He is also co-founder of the Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence.

What started as pilot program for the Defense Department and other agencies in the intelligence community will soon become the key piece to the Trump administration’s overhaul of the suitability, credentialing and security clearance process.

The U.S. Department of Defense says blockchain technology has “enormous” potential in helping improve disaster relief efforts.

A General Services Administration’s top acquisition official has promised an improved Schedule 70 following an audit that found price discrepancies for identical products and some offered at higher prices than they were commercially available.

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