Facility managers provide critical link to software Published July 29, 2016 By Chief Master Sgt. Jason Elftmann 60th Civil Engineer Squadron Superintendent TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - Have you ever wondered who pays the base’s electric bill, keeps the base cool in the summer or repairs toilets as they break? Or who ensures we have drivable roads, secured perimeter fence lines and quality drinking water? Imagine the manpower necessary to keep more than 400 facilities operating as efficiently as possible and support the more than 10,000 Airmen, Air Force civilians, contractors and dependents who enter Travis on a daily basis. The 60th Civil Engineer Squadron employs roughly 670 people across six flights, spanning 13 Air Force specialty codes. The range of operations spans from disposing of unexploded ordnance, fighting wildland fires, providing quality of life comforts to 830 unaccompanied dorm residents and the largest task of sustaining Travis Air Force Base, California’s, aging infrastructure. Keeping up with the base maintenance demand is a team sport and we’re all players. With more than 400 facilities and 6,400 acres of real estate, having visibility on everything that is broken or when it breaks is impossible without the proactive support of facility managers. The facility manager program is the cornerstone for the civil engineer infrastructure sustainment mission. Facility managers are the primary customer and advocate for maintenance needs. Knowing the facility manager is the best first step to get issues resolved. I encourage you to ask around your workplace and determine your points of contact when facility issues occur. Prompt reporting through the correct channels will often expedite the process and resolution phases. During the next few months, the role of the facility manager will expand. The Air Force civil engineer community is leveraging technology to improve the way we operate globally. Civil engineer squadrons Air Force-wide will implement cost-effective, streamlined processes boasting smart technologies that promote efficient operations, prolonged equipment lifecycles and maintenance program benefits. The Air Force is implementing a new work management software suite called “TRIRIGA” which is off-the-shelf technology tailored to increase maintenance productivity and visibility. TRIRIGA replaces an antiquated program and combines many functions into one central system enhancing communication between facility managers and civil engineers while improving process efficiencies, communication and budgetary controls. This software suite also will enable facility managers to submit work orders directly into the database, track their progress in realtime and determine their movement in the installation’s priority queue. This will eliminate the need to hand-carry work requests to the customer service unit. Beginning in September, the civil engineer squadron will reach out to Travis’ organizational leaders and facility managers via town hall meetings to provide new process guidance and necessary training to smooth the transition. Computer based familiarization training is available at the Air Force Civil Engineer Center’s ADLS gateway, under “TRIRIGA Training” at http://bit.ly/2auo38Z. I encourage all facility managers to get familiar with TRIRIGA before this transition. This transformation does bring a number of unknowns and uncertainties, not only for facility managers but the outstanding craftsman that perform daily maintenance. But we can be certain Travis will succeed during this process because we have outstanding facility managers and high caliber technicians that continually go the extra mile to guarantee Travis AFB’s rapid global mobility mission continues to churn. For additional facility management information or concerns please reach out to our customer service section at 707-424-2575.