Is your work area clean and safe? Is a fire suppression system located in your building? In an emergency, could you easily and safely find the nearest exit? What about the restrooms closest to your work area, or the breakroom - are they free of hazards?
A team of 22 professionals toured Anniston Army Depot and Anniston Defense Munitions Center for two weeks beginning March 19, finding answers to these and other questions -- all related to the quality of work environments throughout the installation.
"The QWE assessments began with the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army," said Cindy Massengale, a safety and occupational health manager for CECOM Life Cycle Management Command and team leader of the QWE team visiting ANAD. "We are looking at what can be done to ensure every employee coming to work every day has the best possible area to work in."
The team is comprised of professionals in the safety, health, fire, facilities, ergonomics and industrial hygiene fields.
"The small groups we're sending into the buildings are looking at items we haven't looked at together before," said Massengale. "By utilizing the experience of the entire team, the survey is executed the best way possible."
In total, six teams were organized and tasked to assess Army Materiel Command's industrial base. Anniston is the fourth location this team has visited.
"We serve as an extra set of eyes for these installations," said Lindsey Kneten, an industrial hygienist with the Army Institute of Public Health. "We point out items that may be an issue or may need to be praised."
Prior to visiting a depot or arsenal, the team lead researches the installation. Massengale receives information on each functional area, such as safety or fire, to get a historical baseline of what is happening at the installation.
"I then travel to the depot a few days ahead of my team," said Massengale. "I spend that time touring the installation with my points of contact looking at the facilities to determine which buildings will be visited by the team."
At Anniston, the team toured 130 buildings, which meant long days for the visitors.
"It is not uncommon for a team member to work 15 hours a day between evaluating buildings and transcribing notes," said Massengale. "It's a lot of work."
That work will be reported to the installation once it is compiled, giving ANAD and ADMC's leadership an overview of the environment where employees work.
The data will also be combined with information from other AMC installations and a report covering all 21 industrial sites will be presented to the Chief of Staff of the Army and, ultimately, to Congress.
"Because this program was placed before Congress for approval, updates will have to go back to Congress as well as requests for any future QWE projects," said Massengale.
As each group toured ANAD and ADMC, they got an overall picture not only of each building's structure, but also how well it serves the employees through ventilation, heating and air conditioning, and protection from a variety of hazards.
"We are capturing an overall picture to answer the question 'Would you want to work here?'" said John Kilgore, a facilities engineer with AMCOM G-4.
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