We Don’t Have Enough Quals

#8

Top: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ruben Reed Middle and Bottom: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jan David De Luna Mercado

We Don’t Have Enough Quals!

By AFCM (AW) Pedro Gonzalez

As part of the Safety Assessments, our maintenance team discusses with the workcenter personnel the challenges they are experiencing every day. We do this to identify areas where the workforce feels pressured to produce. Pressure by itself is not a bad thing. Haven’t you heard someone say, “I work better under pressure?” The reality is that if pressure is left unchecked, it can lead to someone making the wrong decision at the wrong time.

One topic that is frequently discussed is the lack of qualifications within the maintenance workcenters. Manpower and training continue to be hot topics in the agendas of Naval leadership. The fact is that we are constantly asked to do more with less. What can you do at the work center level? Chiefs and supervisors don’t have control over who is coming to your units. Simply put, you get what you get and you have to make it work. This is why it’s so important to know how to manage your resources. Do you have a well-established and effective training program? Are you using it as it was intended?

Let me share with you what some squadrons are doing to manage maintenance training. There are a few things to consider when it comes to managing personnel within the workcenter. coming from? The squadrons that are doing well have a strong working relationship between the Assistant Maintenance Officer (AMO) and the division leadership. The AMO is the liaison with the administration department. He or she will notify the division of the prospective gains. Together, the AMO and DIVOs should coordinate any training requirements for the prospective gains. For example, if the person comes from a different platform, are they going to need any platform-specific training (A or C schools) before arrival? Does the billet advertise and reflect the requirements needed? Can the placement office or detailers add the training requirements en route to your unit?

From the workcenter perspective, the bulk of your workforce is from E-1 through E-5. Suppose the maintainers are on their first sea tour. They will likely be in your unit from 36-58 months, depending on their rate. With that said, it is common to see an E-5 being replaced by E-1 – E3. In reality, the replacement for that person leaving today (E-5) is not the person that just checked in (E-1). Instead, it should be someone already in your unit that has completed all the required qualifications. Think about it like a factory assembly line. The next item ready to go is never the one that just started building. It is the item that you have been building for a while and is about to be ready.

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jan David De Luna Mercado Illustration by Catalina Magee

WHAT WOULD BE YOUR ANSWER?

This is why it’s so crucial that you have a solid training plan. If you were to ask yourself:

• What are my expectations for each person to complete the required training? • What is the timeline to get them qualified? • What will I do if maintainers fall short in their training and they are not making progress, as they should?

What would be your answer?

The same type of questions apply to those who are not on their first tour and are coming from a different platform. Do you have visual aids in your spaces that show everyone what their status is within the training pipeline? We all know the Advance Skills Management systems (ASM) tracks training qualifications.

However, unless you are logged into the computer, no one is going to see that information.

Maybe, you can track qualifications on the Monthly Maintenance Plan (MMP), but we should not underestimate the value of having some visual aid right there in your space that everyone can see and know how they are doing and where they are in their training.

In the end, you have to find ways to control what you own. Working together at all levels of your squadron will ensure your workcenters have an adequate number of people with the proper qualifications. Remember, what you are doing today will pay dividends in the future. Look at your programs, make the necessary changes and don’t suffer in silence.

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Jackson Adkins Illustration by Catalina Magee