Eng edge sept newsletter 2015

THE ENGINEERING EDGE EDGEWOOD CHEMICAL BIOLOGICAL CENTER Volume 7, Issue 9 September 2015

Being Informed Building a Kit

Getting Invovled Making a Plan

ARMY PREPAREDNESS MONTH – SEPTEMBER 2015 BEING INFORMED PAGE 2

LEADERSHIP PROFILE – MARK SCHLEIN PAGE 3

BUILD – ONE BRANCH UTILIZES CBR FILTRATION EXPERTISE TO ANSWER CUSTOMER CALL PAGE 4

To access the electronic version of this newsletter, visit: http://www.ecbc.army.mil/news/ENG/ APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

TEST – QUALITY ASSURANCE AT THE HEART OF CUSTOMER SERVICE PAGE 5

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THE ENGINEERING EDGE |July 2015| 3

INSIDE THIS MONTH’S ISSUE: pg.2|Army Preparedness Month – September 2015 Being Informed pg.3|Leadership Profile: Mark Schlein pg.4|ONE Branch Utilizes CBR Filtration Expertise to Answer Customer Call pg.5|Quality Assurance at the Heart of Customer Service pg.6|Leanne Chacon Participates in Exchange Program pg.7|Professional Memberships and Certifications

Army Preparedness Month – September 2015 Being Informed

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eptember marks the onset of the ninth annual National Preparedness Month. Each year the Army coordinates a campaign in order to educate and inform on the importance of preparedness. The overall goal is to not only enlighten, but to also turn awareness into action for all Soldiers, families, civilians and contractors. The Edgewood Chemical and Biological Center (ECBC) is focusing to ensure that we provide as much information as possible on the four major areas of preparedness – Being Informed, Making a Plan, Building a Kit and Getting Involved.

The first step in preparedness is being informed. It is vital to understand the “who, what where, when and why” for any hazardous event. Knowing up-to-date information is how one can plan ahead and take the necessary actions for producing the best possible outcome. Some common ways to stay informed in general, but also in preparation for a dangerous event, are watching the news, listening to the radio, staying in contact with others, reading the newspaper, checking the internet for information, etc. Of course, all of the avenues are subject to availability as certain forms of communication can be disrupted during any type of precarious events from man-made situations to the working of Mother Nature. Take an active role in your own survival and wellbeing by first and foremost, staying informed. More information and links to resources can be found on the CB Connect SharePoint site.

Being Informed Soldiers

Families

Building a Kit Cilivans

Army

Preparedness

Contractors Cilivans

People

Army

National

Getting Invovled Families

Plan Build

Accountability

Making a Plan Soldiers

Contractors

LEADERSHIP PROFILE

Mark Schlein

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he Engineering Edge sat down with Mark Schlein to find out about his new leadership role, how he is adjusting, and his top priorities.

How long have you worked at ECBC? Have you always worked in the Engineering Directorate?

“I am in my 34th year with ECBC. In the early days there was no Engineering Directorate as we were organized by commodity. I was originally with Detection and a couple of years with Research. I have been with the Engineering Directorate since it was formed in the mid nineties.”

Can you please explain your new role as Associate Director?

“I am now the Associate Director of Engineering for Product Development. Our

primary role is to collaborate and support all of ECBC and the other Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives (CBRNE) organizations with the various aspects of productizing their items, requirements, or emerging technology. We have three divisions: Acquisition Logistics Division (ALD); Advanced Design and Manufacturing (ADM) Product Realization; and ADM Systems Engineering and Acquisition.”

How are your roles and responsibilities different now that you are an Associate Director?

“As Associate Director, I am less focused on the resourcing and execution of specific projects. Those aspects are managed by the Division Chiefs (Mike McKenna, Lester Strauch and Kevin Wallace) and their project leaders. My level of effort has shifted to more of a strategic focus on capabilities, partnerships and processes

that we need to foster to be optimally positioned to provide world class services into the future.”

Do you have a strategy for the future?

“I am a very big fan of the ECBC strategic plan that focuses on manpower, infrastructure, innovation, collaboration and delivering product. I believe these are the keys to our success as an

Microsoft Office 2013 Tips and Tricks: Excel 2013 For the next few months, we will provide you some tips and tricks for navigating Microsoft Office 2013!

This newsletter was published through the Balanced Scorecard.

Hard copies are located in the Engineering Front Office, E3330, E3331, E3510, E3516, E3549 lobby A and C, E4301, E5102, E5165, and in Rock Island near the Deputy’s office.

For article suggestions, questions or comments, contact Ed Bowen at edward.c.bowen8.civ@mail.mil.

Here are some of the more common tools and commands for Microsoft Excel 2013:

ECBC’s Four Major Areas of Preparedness

Ask a Tech Tip: Disappearing Ink? Mike Kauzlarich, of the Pyrotechnics and Explosives Branch, reveals how the techniques and lessons learned in labs can help solve your household problems. Submit a question to him at usarmy.APG.ecbc.mbx.engineering-directorate@mail.mil.

A colleague asked if there was something they could put on pen ink to avoid “check washing” and the fading of ink on legal documents. Good news: You don’t need to. The Uni-Ball 207 pens contain special ink that “locks” onto the paper fibers. The ink is acid-free and both fade-resistant and water-resistant. In our humble opinion, you should use this kind of pen for checks or legal documents. Also, the ink dries fast, so it’s perfect for lefties!

To access the electronic version, visit: http://www.ecbc.army.mil/news/ENG/

For more tips and tricks, download the Microsoft Office Quick Start Guides at https://support.office.com APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

THE ENGINEERING EDGE |September 2015| 5

4 | EDGEWOOD CHEMICAL BIOLOGICAL CENTER

BUILD

TEST

ONE Branch Utilizes CBR Filtration Expertise to Answer Customer Call

Quality Assurance at the Heart of Customer Service

Research methods lead to alternative recommendations for GAMs material

Products and Services Driven by Acquisition Lifecycle

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ransporting M819 81 millimeter Smoke Mortar Cartridges for storage isn’t as easy as it sounds. The chemicals inside the cartridges could become dangerous when exposed to moisture or air, so Soldiers and Marines must use gas adsorbent modules (GAMs) inside each mortar storage tube to remove the buildup of any highly toxic and highly flammable phosphine gas that may be present.

“To minimize Soldier exposure to this toxic gas, there are typically two GAMs assemblies—one at the bottom of the mortar storage tube to accept the nose of the mortar, and one surrounding the tail fins of the mortar--so if there’s any phosphine gas that’s formed inside the mortar and is emitted it encounters the GAMs material and is adsorbed,” said Robert Plank, ECBC mechanical engineer. “The GAMs improves the safety of the Soldier and Marines in the field, and anyone who is handling the mortar cartridges in transport or at the storage facility.”

The M819 mortar cartridges are exposed to multiple environmental scenarios, including significant temperature cycles from being in the sun during the day and experiencing cool temperatures at night. According to Plank, this can impact humidity levels and create moisture, which causes phosphine to form in the first place from the red phosphorus smoke compound. But how long do these GAMs last before they become saturated and are no longer effective in removing the phosphine gas? It’s exactly the question ECBC is answering for the Project Manager for Combat Ammunition Systems (PM CAS) at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey.

Engineering Directorate’s Obscuration and Nonlethal Engineering (ONE) Branch leveraged the micro breakthrough testing expertise of the Chemical, Biological, and Radiological (CBR) Filtration Branch to conduct timely research. They discovered the phosphine gas wasn’t actually being adsorbed by the GAMs. Instead, it was having a chemical reaction with the manganese dioxide and copper oxide present in the sorbent power contained within the GAMs. “We received actual mortars spanning a variety of lifespans from one to eight years and removed the GAMS from the packaging tubes, as well as fresh, unused GAMs materials for testing. Our goal was to determine a residual aging curve of the sorbent powder taken from used GAMs, and compare it to the rate of absorption in the unused GAMs,” Plank said. “We theorized that the fresh material would have a higher capacity for collecting the phosphine but it didn’t work out that way. The effectiveness of the fresh GAMs was no different than the GAMs used in mortars that had been out in the field the longest.”

It was an unusual result the scientists weren’t anticipating, but it led to a greater discovery: the GAMs materials had been mischaracterized. What was once thought to be a sorbent type of material was instead reactive to other chemicals emanating from mortar cartridges. While the safety of the

Soldiers and Marines would remain sound, there were also alternative phosphine removal materials for PM CAS to consider that provide better protection.

“Knowing we had the ECBC, facilities and expertise to respond to an urgent customer need was incredibly beneficial to our research approach,” said Kevin Fritz, Chief of the ONE Branch. “We didn’t expect some of the wrinkles that resulted from traditional breakthrough test methods we first employed, but we were able to conclude that the GAMs material does not adsorb the phosphine. As a result, we were able to recommend alternate materials that provide more effective phosphine removal.”

ECBC’s expertise in artillery, projectiles and mortar cartridges spans many decades.

According to Fritz, ECBC was the legacy developer of many of these items when they were first produced decades ago. Now, ECBC’s ONE Branch provides technical and configuration support for several chemical payloads, and develops test plans for artillery, projectiles and mortar cartridges. It supports various tests on-site for customers, as well as engineering change proposals for redesigns of equipment. Collaborating with the CBR Filtration Branch not only advances research test methods, it provides customers with a timely answer for proposed innovative solutions.

Two GAMS components are used when packaging M819 mortars for transport; one around the nose of the mortar, and one around the tail of the mortar. ECBC conducted testing on GAMS materials in order to determine its effectiveness in absorbing hazardous chemicals. Photo Credit: ECBC Public Affairs APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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ecent trends in government and industry are now exploring ways to make things faster, cheaper, and of course, better. But how does one actually ensure the quality of a product or service made in such a way?

The U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC) Engineering Directorate is guided by regulations set forth by the Department of the Army, baseline requirements from customers, and detailed standards established by external accreditation organizations. It’s what ECBC calls quality assurance (QA)--a way for the Center to know that its processes for designing, building, testing and supporting are repeatable and sound in producing top-notch CBRNE defense products and services for the Warfighter.

Internal Audits Key Piece of QA Process The Engineering Directorate, driven by the Army’s acquisition lifecycle, embraces QA as part of its culture and conducts yearly internal audits to ensure customer requirements are being met. Additionally, this internal audit is necessary for project teams that are seeking, or have obtained, a certification or accreditation to an external standard, such as those established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

Robin Haupt, ECBC’s QA specialist for the Engineering Directorate, said it takes her a few weeks to conduct the internal audit. This includes prep-work, an onsite audit, and a close-out phase to make sure guidelines of a particular standard are being met within a given team’s quality management system. Every process is checked, verified and documented as evidence of compliance or non-compliance.

ECBC Quality Manager Sue Procell (left) and Quality Assurance Specialist Robin Haupt (right), make sure the Center’s processes for designing, building, testing and supporting CBRNE defense products are repeatable and sound. Photo Credit: ECBC Public Affairs It is also what external auditors from outside the federal government use as their first reference when evaluating an existing quality management system for compliance.

According to Procell, these objectives are measured throughout the year to ensure internal operating procedures are functioning as designed to support requirements the customer is counting on.

“I have not found any team out there that is not intensely interested in making sure their group develops and delivers a good product,” said Haupt. “Everyone cares deeply about giving a good product to their customer. In fact, Engineering is the only directorate with 60 percent of groups that are either accredited or certified to an externally recognized standard, and this is in addition to meeting requirements set forth by the customer.”

“Even when the customer is happy with a product or service, there is always room for performance improvement,” Procell said.

“There have been a few rare instances where we had a satisfied customer, met all of their specifications and requirements, but we weren’t personally satisfied with our performance because we knew we could do better. It’s that kind of drive for quality that differentiates ECBC from some other laboratories with similar capabilities.”

An internal audit is one of the most important quality controls that happen throughout the year, and is designed to be part of a living system of continuous improvements and updates. According to Sue Procell, ECBC’s Quality Manager, it allows program managers to review their operational procedures every year in a very detailed way in order to determine how healthy their program is.

Striving for a Standard of Excellence

“They have to set measurable objectives that are meaningful to their business,” Procell said. “For example, if a branch makes three different sized widgets, one objective might be that a certain percentage of manufactured widgets must meet the specified measurements. Another objective might be tracking shipments from the date they ship to the time they arrive to make sure the customer receives them on time.”

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Over the last few years, ECBC has sought to better understand its customers through data collection efforts seeking critical feedback on product delivery and service execution. Data collected through surveys and interviews has been used to get an overall sense of how accurately ECBC has been able to identify and address customer needs.

As the Center continues to develop its strategic plan, ECBC’s QA team will incorporate insights gathered from its customers and management to improve the Seal of Excellence program and its ability to support all of the directorate’s quality initiatives.

THE ENGINEERING EDGE |September 2015| 7

6 | EDGEWOOD CHEMICAL BIOLOGICAL CENTER

EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT

ENGINEERING ROUNDTABLE

Leanne Chacon Participates in Exchange Program

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CBC Engineering’s Leanne Chacon has a new perspective on her career, after spending a year working in Chile for the Health Directorate of the Chilean Army as part of the Engineering and Scientist Exchange Program (ESEP).

ESEP is a DoD effort that promotes international cooperation in military research, development and acquisition through the exchange of defense scientists and engineers. This provides an opportunity for U.S. military and civilian engineers and scientists to work with allied military establishments and broaden perspectives in research and development techniques and methods.

Overall, Chacon found this experience to be a great adventure, where she benefitted both professionally and personally. ”I have never felt more uncomfortable, awkward, and uncertain of myself as I did this year. I never truly knew what was going on, but I learned to adapt, adjust and be flexible. I honestly feel that since I went through this experience, I could handle just about anything that’s thrown at me. At least at home, I’ll be able to understand what they’re saying to me!”

Debbie Brooks-Harris Packaging Specialist, Packaging Branch

The program works to find assignments that complement a participant’s background. “The RDECOM office did a great job finding a spot for me within the Chilean government to use my background and experience, but at the same time, challenge me,” Chacon explains.

Chacon worked closely with members of the Chilean government

Chacon spent a lot of her time conducting market research for available biological identification equipment and providing her findings and recommendations to different branches and organizations of the Chilean government, to include generals, colonels, and lieutenant colonels. “Being there and trying to understand how different people work and learn helped me understand a different way of life, different culture. It was interesting to see how other countries develop, test, procure and field equipment.”

Engineering Business Manager for Joint Interagency Activities

Randy Weber

Packaging Specialist, Packaging Branch, Acquisition and Logistics Division

Stephen Harper

“Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), Army Aviation Association of America (AAAA), American Chemical Society (ACS).”

Which trade/professional membership organizations do you belong to?

Debbie Brooks-Harris

“To keep abreast of what’s new and current in the industry. By joining the Aviation Mentoring Program of AOPA it greatly assisted me in obtaining my private pilot’s license. This was my initial interaction with the general aviation portion of flying; which eventually led to my current National Guard position as a Blackhawk instructor pilot. The membership with AOPA was beneficial for my position here at ECBC as well. It kept me tuned in on information such as the Future Vertical Lift (FVL) of the Army and what’s on the horizon. I found out that there are several commonalities of civilian aviation research and Army aviation research such as compounds that are being utilized and their interactions between one another.”

Sally Edler

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Chief of Permeation & Analytical Solutions Branch

Stephen Harper

“I am a Certified Military Packaging Professional (MPP) and have been certified for three years. To get certified, you must accumulate so many hours in classes (and pass each class per requirements) and also be employed as a MPP.”

Chacon met all kinds of people and even animals when visiting different Chilean Army sites

Stephen Harper

ngineering Roundtable is a column where we ask several employees to participate in a discussion about a single topic. In this installment of the Engineering Roundtable, we asked a few members of the Engineering workforce “What professional organizations do you belong to? What are the benefits? Why did you join?”

Debbie Brooks-Harris

As part of this assignment, Chacon visited different logistic regiments throughout Chile where she got to see their labs and appreciate the facilities back home. “We are lucky here at ECBC―we have great facilities and a lot of lab space. One of the benefits of going through this program and coming back is that at ECBC, we are the experts. We have the subject-matter experts, and I appreciate how much we do have and how much we are able to do. Other countries know us and do look to us as the experts.”

Outside of work, Chacon and her family traveled around South America, and took advantage of their experience living in another country. “It was great to be integrated into another culture. My husband’s dad is from Chile, so we got to meet some of his family and do things with them, and the kids got to meet them.”

Sally Edler

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At ECBC, Chacon works on a program for an aerosol biological detector, collector and identifier system for Soldiers in the field.

In Chile, she worked in the planning department of the Health Directorate of the Chilean Army where she developed a biology training course for their military online school, and was also responsible for planning for the logistics regiments. “They did not have much of a biological identification capability, so I had to research commercially available equipment to identify biological agents that could be found in the air, like bio threats, food and water, and vectors such as mosquitoes and mice.”

Professional Memberships and Certifications

“I belong to Women in Defense (WID) and American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). WID membership includes membership in National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA).”

Randy Weber “I belong to the American Society for Testing and Materials, where I belong to the Packaging Committee (D10) and the Flexible Barrier Committee (F02).”

Why did you join?

“It was a personal goal. I wanted to become certified and also understand the industry better. It has given me confidence coming into a new field, where I needed background foundational knowledge for my job and how to provide good service to our customers.”

Sally Edler “I joined WID three years ago and have participated in professional development meetings and luncheons. The luncheons had high-level speakers from local government and industry – women professionals in the community; topics included defense industry, being a woman in traditionally male field, how they got their career path, promotion and mentoring. It helped me gain insight into how others have been successful.”

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Randy Weber “In these committees we work on creating consensus documents for specification, procedural and testing documents for packaging and barrier materials. We members that are government represent the government’s interest in the creation/ revision of these various packaging and flexible barrier documents.”

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ENGINEERING ROUNDTABLE Professional Memberships and Certifications What are the greatest benefits of membership?

Debbie Brooks-Harris “It has since become a goal in the industry for all military packaging specialists to become an MPP, because it gives more credence to what you do. The National Institute of Packaging, Handling, and Logistics Engineers (NIPHLE) sends out industry info that is helpful. Our team has also attended industry showcases to network and learn about the latest technologies and policies.”

Sally Edler

future; getting literature and publications that tell you information about industry, new technologies, contract awards, funding, policy issues; community outreach – Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) scholarship awarded by WID to local students; WID annual breast cancer awareness luncheon (helps women in local area).”

Stephen Harper “Networking; belonging to a community; access to publications that keep you in tune with the industry (ex. Rotor & Wing magazine); if you are shy and not into networking aspects, you can still engage through publications, social media, attending conferences, etc.”

Randy Weber “All of the documents I’m working on in ASTM directly relate to my job, ensuring that pieces of equipment are packaged according to regulations. This helps confirm that materials and processes are being used to properly package and protect the items being shipped to the Soldiers – so they’ll get a working item with no corrosion, no damage. It helps make sure proper packaging is done for the Military, where packages are subjected to much more severe environments than normal packages encounter. Packaging must be more robust and stronger to provide that extra layer of protection. They need the government interest represented when creating standards for shipping and packaging.”

“For WID: Networking – not only with people from government, but also local industry; gaining contacts that might help you in the CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

LEADERSHIP PROFILE

Mark Schlein organization and these five thrusts will continue to be the focus of our group. We always do better when we work together. We need to apply innovation that will give our country clear advantage over our adversaries and we need to deliver world class product or get out of the way and let someone else do it. I believe ECBC is well positioned to be that world class provider. Now it is up to all of us.”

What are your top priorities as they relate to Mike Abaie’s vision?

“My top prioritiy is to expand ECBC’s product development capabilities and impact for the CBRNE community and the country. Mike does not think small and wants to see solutions that cross the classical boundries of teams, divisions and even directorates. This means we collaborate where ever practical across ECBC and the whole community. To this end, we are also looking at partnerships with other government agencies, industry and academia.”

area will function this way. Due to the large size of this interactive group, we distributed the management responsibilities across three division chiefs and myself. Mr. Strauch took on the lead role for oversight of the development of physical product. Mr. Wallace took on partnerships, conceptual modeling, systems engineering, contract processes and acquisition. Both ADM divisions will continue to dynamically function together with the addition of ALD.”

Can you explain the role of the ALD? “ALD provides support for acquisition logistics, provisioning, publications, packaging and standardization/specifications. These functions dovetail well with those of ADM and combined provide a robust, integrated product development service to our customers.

The synergies gained with this integrated approach should help us with our overall goals to expand ECBC’s role in CBRNE product development.”

Can you explain the restructure of ADM into two divisions?

“ADM was a large organization with over ten separate functional areas, over 100 people and 300 to 400 projects executed annually.

The reason it was one division was because folks from the different functional areas would dynamically regroup to quickly execute individual projects. One division allowed us to manage these dynamic resource changes effectively. With the realignment incorporating the ALD functional areas, the whole product development business APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE