JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas -- A new tool puts the status of Air Force military construction projects at people's fingertips.
The tool, known as MILCONnect, provides an efficient way for the Air Force Civil Engineer Center Facility Engineering Directorate to share MILCON project information with its stakeholders around the world.
“Knowledge is power,” said Col. Scott Matthews, AFCEC Facility Engineering director. “We want to ensure accurate, timely and consistent information is available for our stakeholders anytime, anywhere."
MILCONnect Spiral 1, which officially launched July 30, 2018, on the civil engineering portal known as CE DASH, uses information from existing MILCON data management tools to create custom data views and reports. Users can filter information by stakeholder group, location, initiatives and other factors, and are able to view both summary and detailed information for a project or group of projects.
The tool allows for an enterprise-wide look at the MILCON portfolio, helping leadership and other stakeholders track projects and enhance installation and mission support decisions. The system is accessible to anyone with a common access card and includes a forum for submitting feedback or questions and participating in discussions.
“MILCONnect allows us to be proactive and transparent with our project information,” said Carlton Hendrix, AFCEC Facility Engineering project management subject matter expert and lead for the effort. “Instead of our directorate primarily providing this information at quarterly program management reviews or on an ad hoc basis, the information is now available 24/7 and is refreshed weekly.”
The directorate is considering options for enhancing the tool in the future, such as adding additional MILCON Project Key Performance Indicators, an option to track facility sustainment, restoration and modernization (FSRM) projects, as well as expanding the scope of the tool to provide information on projects still in the early planning stages.
“The idea is to start small with basic project data and continually identify opportunities to improve and expand the system” Hendrix said. “We expect the user feedback area to play a big part in shaping future development efforts on the tool.”
The tool is available on CE DASH at https://cs2.eis.af.mil/sites/10758/MILCONnect. For more information, contact the AFCEC Facility Engineering Directorate at afcec.cf.workflow@us.af.mil.