Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland--A new morning work ritual is starting to take place in the Communications- Electronics Command (CECOM) organizations at Aberdeen Proving Ground, and in outlying areas. Aside from turning on one's computer and pouring that cup of Joe, employees are now required to log in to the new personnel accountability and emergency notification systems.
The personnel accountability and emergency notification systems are comprised of three individual systems: Manpower Information Retrieval and Reporting system (MIRARS), Roll Call, and Emergency Notification System. These were created by the Program Executive Office for Command, Control Communications-Tactical, PEO C3T.
MIRARS is a database that collects and maintains current personal contact and duty station information on employees and contractors. Employees enter their personal information such as duty station, organization, home address, and contact information.
According to Teresa Manganaro, the CECOM project lead for MIRARS, Roll Call is the application that employees check in to. Each morning, personnel are responsible for logging in to the system via their computer. Once they are in, they must provide their status for the day. If they have not logged in by 0900, they receive an email reminder requesting them to update their status in the application. This log-in process only takes a few minutes. Supervisors are notified of who has and has not logged in.
"Senior level management has the capability to view the reporting status of their entire organization. A report is generated in the system that each organization's administration has access to. This report details the duty location of each employee," explained Manganaro.
Employees must account for their status even if they are not in the office, such as a recurring Requested Day Off, sick leave, or annual leave. They are responsible for inputting this data. The application allows an employee to schedule upcoming leave statuses up to six months ahead of time.
"However, when employees take unplanned leave such as sick leave, it is their responsibility to contact their supervisor who then contacts the organization's MIRARS administrators or account managers to update the employee's status," said Manganaro.
She said the Emergency Notification System uses the contact information to notify the workforce of emergency situations or non-emergency situations that may involve situations as severe as an active shooter on base or those of a lesser nature, such as base closures due to weather-related instances. Employees can choose their preferred delivery method for receiving this information. They have a choice of email, text message, and/or phone call to their cellular or house line.
"CECOM has a global footprint of over 8,000 military and civilian personnel spread over the United States and overseas. The need for efficient accountability for CECOM is more vital than ever," Manganaro stated.
Acts of war and terrorism and any unanticipated security breaches head the most critical need for a swift and comprehensive personnel notification system. However, there are numerous situations that may affect the operating status of a duty station. Weather conditions impacted numerous government installations in 2011. Record breaking snowfall in the Mid-Atlantic portion of the United State last winter caused delayed openings for APG. Redstone Arsenal, in Huntsville, suffered power outages due to the violent tornado season last spring. The northeastern earthquake in August 2011 caused APG employees to evacuate their buildings. Nonemergency scenarios such as power outages or broken water mains may cause disruptions as well.
The Department of the Army already has a system in place in the event of an emergency. It utilizes the Army Personnel Accountability and Assessment System (ADPAAS) to track all Soldiers, civilians, Family members and overseas contractors during a disastrous event. This is a web-based system that asks all personnel to check in to after an event they deem catastrophic. The Army Material Command's requirement to gather the status on personnel through ADPAAS after such an event is 72 hours. The benefit of the MIRARS system is that it works in real-time and collects the data more efficiently. ADPAAS is implemented only during catastrophic events, while MIRARS can be used during lesser emergencies. The information in MIRARS is updated by employees on a more regular basis. ADPAAS does not track employees when they are on a TDY status. Both programs are designed to assess and support the workforce during a time of great need.
Dan Ghio, readiness management chief for MilTech Solutions for PEO C3T, said, "PEO C3T has been using Roll Call for three years now with a 99% compliance rate. It takes an employee less than 30 seconds a day to login to their location, but the information it provides is vital to our daily operations."
The system is only as effective as the employees that use it. It is imperative for the workforce to keep their contact information up to date to allow for accurate accountability.
The systems are set to be fully implemented across the entire command at APG by July 2012. It will be fully operational CECOM wide by September 2012. Employees will be informed with their dates to begin using the systems.
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