News

New system helps DRMO turn-in process

  • Published
  • By Lanorris Askew
  • 78th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  The Robins Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office, a one-stop shop for gently used or unneeded equipment, now offers a Web-based alternative for turning in equipment for reuse or demilitarization.

Claire Shadden, DRMO property disposal technician, said the new system was the brain child of the Defense Logistics Agency Headquarters as a more efficient way for customers to schedule appointments.

"Customers can now go to the Web site and request their appointments," she said "We confirm it by making sure our schedule doesn't conflict with their request. That way, they don't have to wait until we are actually in the office; they can schedule the appointment at anytime during the day or night."

The new process, which launched Jan. 28, replaces a system which involved customers calling the DRMO during business hours and scheduling an appointment with Ms. Shadden that was confirmed and tracked on a spreadsheet.

Now, to request an appointment to bring property in, customers access the DRMO Turn in Scheduler via the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service Web site at www.drms.dla.mil.

After selecting the closest DRMO site, the user is asked to select a desired appointment date, time and type. If these specifications are available, the customer then enters his or her contact information and an e-mail confirmation is sent.

Danny Snow, area manager for the DRMO Warner Robins hub, said although the system is new and still in its 90-day implementation phase, they are being proactive by soliciting feedback from customers on ways they can improve the program and compare it to the way the process was done before.

"I'm in favor of the new scheduling system for a number of reasons," he said. "First it's an improvement to the scheduling program we had previously. It allows the customer the opportunity to pick their own schedule and have confirmation and a certainty that they can turn their property in on that particular day at that particular hour."

He said they are utilizing Lean to continually improve the process.

"There are a couple of enhancements in the works already that will make it even more user-friendly," he said.

Mr. Snow said they have also done a few training sessions geared to the customer to help them understand how the program works and what they can do to ensure the transitions is indeed seamless so they are not impeded in getting property turned in.

He said so far feedback from customers so far has been mixed but mostly positive.

"As expected starting out things were slow because, as with most change, there was a perceived negative," he said.

That's quickly changing.

"Customers I've engaged are positive," he said. "We are also getting unsolicited fedback."