A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/999359
WEEKLY MESSAGE FROM FAA ATO COO TERI BRISTOL A Great Place to Get Your Next Headset – the ATO Hi everyone, We usually think of ourselves as a service provider with many internal and external customers. But we also are a customer ourselves when it comes to some services and supplies. The ATO spends more than $148 million a year on a range of parts and services from the FAA Logistics Center (AML) at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City, where we get everything from headsets and radios used by air traffic controllers to the radar system components that Technical Operations installs and maintains in the field. We have been AML's largest customer for its $230 million a year business. Last year, the FAA decided to take a close look at whether it would be more cost- effective and efficient for the Logistics Center to report directly to its biggest internal customer, our Technical Operations service unit, instead of to the Office of Finance and Management (AFN). After a thorough evaluation from members of both organizations, the assessment team concluded that moving AML to the ATO would enable direct feedback that would allow us to improve cost, quality, and timeliness. Aligning elements of our supply chain will be important to creating the efficiencies that we need to drive cost savings. When there's a requirements change, for example, we think we'll get the modified product or service sooner due to decision-making authority being in the same organization as our supply chain. While the ATO is a major customer, AML will continue to serve others in the FAA as well as external buyers like the Department of Defense, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the U.S. Forest Service. The virtual standup of that transition begins next week, as Logistics Center Director Randall Burke begins reporting to Technical Operations Vice President Vaughn Turner to start the transition. More than 560 federal colleagues and nearly 200 contract employees from AML will come on board later while we await official reprogramming from Capitol Hill. We have been working closely with our colleagues from labor and AFN to ensure a smooth transition. We have also started working on process improvements recommended by the assessment team to ensure we have the right part and service at the right place, at the right time and affordably. Another re-alignment cleared its last step and will become official next week as well. Our Flight Program Operations service unit, which consolidated multiple flight operations into a single FAA Flight Program, officially becomes a part of the ATO as AJF. Welcome to our newest ATO employees from Flight Standards and NextGen. Thanks to all of our colleagues who helped with that transition as well because we've already started to see a number of benefits from that change. Thanks everyone! Teri L. Bristol AT O C hief Operating Officer

