JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. – Customers visiting Joint Base Lewis-McChord’s Waller Hall for separations, in-and-out-processing, reassignments, passports and Soldier readiness processing will be part of a pilot program to test new queuing software – Qtrac – with the goal of more efficient service, through September.
“Soldiers come into the Military Personnel Division here at Waller Hall for a variety of reasons,” said Heather Albright, director of JBLM’s Directorate of Human Resources. “With Qtrac, they’re able to sign in and let us know why they’re here.”
Accessible via QR code, Qtrac asks customers different preliminary questions, depending on which service(s) they are seeking, and assigns them spots in line. The screening questions assist Albright’s associates with background work, she said.
This “helps build efficiencies in how we’re working with the customer so that they’re receiving a quicker service on the back end,” Albright said.
Soldiers are also able to see where they are in line, which can be helpful especially toward the end of the month, when many of them come to Waller Hall for separations, she said.
Everyone wants to try to be first in line to get their DD Form 214, she said. They can come into the building at 8:15 a.m., but it doesn’t open until 9 a.m. Now, when they arrive early, Soldiers can scan the QR code located throughout the Military Personnel Division or go to one of three computers at the front desk, where they can sign in and join the queue. They can enter their phone numbers, and the system will notify them when it’s almost their turn. A large television screen next to the front desk displays the QR code and Soldiers’ assigned queue positions, Albright said.
“So, if they want to go out to their car, they want to run over to ... get something to eat, they want to hang out in the lobby rather than in the main area,
they've got another errand they need to run and they know they're further down in the queue, they can go do that,” Albright said. “Maybe they need to go see Family Services or take care of something else in Waller Hall. They can go do those things while they're waiting, again increasing the efficiency of their time while they're there, which then allows them to get back to their units a little bit quicker.”
Qtrac also provides metrics, including how many customers were helped each day, how long they waited, why they visited and how long it took to provide them their services, Albright said.
“The feedback has been pretty positive,” she said.
Funding will help determine Qtrac’s continuity.
“We should have a good idea before the pilot runs out as to whether or not we’re able to secure the funding,” Albright said.
If the Qtrac pilot program proves successful, the goal is to use it throughout Waller Hall, in Building 100 on McChord, at the Hawk Career Center on Lewis North and at the Stone Education Center on Lewis Main. Each site would have its own QR code and front desk sign-in area, Albright said.
The idea of using Qtrac began with last year’s JBLM Solve It competition, she said.
JBLM Solve It is a vehicle for “ideas for improvements to processes or programs that would result in greater efficiency for your team, directorate, for JBLM or the Army,” according to an email from Deborah Starr-Calhoun, JBLM Workforce Development Program specialist. “Winning ideas will receive cash awards and the support to implement the solutions.”
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