The Army is deploying a human resources system designed to improve the way the force manages Soldiers' information.
The Integrated Personnel and Pay System-Army system will ultimately ensure Soldiers are paid on time and accurately.
The Army intends to incrementally release IPPS-A over the coming years to accommodate necessary testing and training.
IPPS-A's first release, called Release 1, is deployed in three waves and provides a multi-Component trusted database with the Soldier Record Brief and nine pre-defined personnel queries.
Wave 1 provides the Army National Guard with a trusted database and the ability for a Soldier to view and retrieve their SRB. Wave 2 provides the same capability to the Active Army. Wave 3 is available to all Components and provides Soldiers, administrators and leaders the ability to view and retrieve SRBs and provide leaders and administrators access to nine pre-defined queries.
Release 1 was developed by a Small Business Set Aside company, an acquisition program designed to help small businesses get government contracts. IPPS-A received approval to move forward with deployment from the Army and achieved the first of five deployment milestones in this monumental effort.
The Soldier Record Brief represents a snapshot of a Soldier's military career displaying 11 sections which include personnel information, qualification skills, training, assignment history, and other Soldier data. The SRB is a new multi-Component report that will eventually replace the Enlisted and Officer Record Briefs, DA Form 2-1 and the RCMS Automated Record Brief.
Once Soldiers have access to IPPS-A and review their SRB, they are prompted to participate in a Data Correctness Survey. Participation in the survey process ensures Soldiers have accurate data on their SRB which impacts their future pay, assignments, and promotions.
Releases 2 through 5 will each build upon the previous release's capability and design with pay transitioning to IPPS-A in Release 4.
When fully deployed, IPPS-A's automatic processes will reduce errors and streamline Soldier assignment transitions, particularly between Components.
Additionally, Soldiers will have 24/7 access to their personal information online and the ability to request changes electronically. These capabilities empower Army HR professionals to more efficiently and accurately execute Soldiers' HR and pay actions.
"Today, Commanders have to access multiple systems to see different information, particularly if they have a multi-Component unit. With IPPS-A, the information will all be in one place," said IPPS-A Project Manager Col. Robert G. McVay. "The system will ultimately save them time so they can focus on necessary missions and not unnecessary paperwork."
The Army will use IPPS-A in place of the more than 40 antiquated legacy HR systems currently in existence.
"The Army has too many databases that don't work well with one another. IPPS-A will replace many of them to create a single integrated system that improves the way the Army does HR," said McVay.
When fully fielded, IPPS-A will be the largest enterprise resource planning system in the world, affecting more than 1.1 million Soldiers.
It is considered to be the foundation of the Army's overall strategy to revamp Army HR. IPPS-A will also facilitate the military pay mission transition to HR professionals.
As Release 1 is deployed to all Army Components in 2014, the IPPS-A team continues to design and develop Releases 2 through 5.
To learn more about IPPS-A, visit the program website at http://www.IPPS-A.army.mil.
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