Fort Polk transitions to “fence-to-fence” Army Maintenance Application

DPW

4-11-2022

FORT POLK, La. ­- Requesting routine maintenance repairs to most Fort Polk facilities is now easier. Fort Polk is one of 73 installations using the new Army Maintenance Application exclusively to eliminate emails, walk-ins and calls about routine work orders. As part of the Army’s continuous effort to improve quality of life and modernize services from the industrial age to the information age, a streamlined digital process is available for more than just barracks spaces. Any registered user who notices a maintenance issue on their Army installation will be able to report the routine problem with ease either with the app or with their Common Access Card.

ArMA was originally utilized for Soldiers living in the barracks, but has now expanded to facilities across Fort Polk. Most facilities on the installation, except for housing, that are supported by the Directorate of Public Works are now available in the ArMA database. That means that anyone with CAC access or the ArMA App on their phone can submit routine work orders using those means. There are several ways to access ArMA. 

One way is to visit www.armymaintenance.com and register an account using either a username and password, your (CAC) or by accessing the Digital Garrison app. There are training videos on the website and in-person training bi-monthly in the Facility Manager Training class.

Aligned with Army modernization efforts, ArMA digitizes the work order process for all Army-owned facilities with a centralized system for submission and tracking, enabling Soldiers, Family members, civilians and contractors who live or work on post to submit online routine work orders for any Army-owned facility.

“Automation of the maintenance-customer relationship is at the core of what we are doing,” said Doug Enfield, ArMA program manager. “Customers expect this. It’s part of the Army operating in the information age – not just for housing but for all facilities on the installation, which is what we call fence-to-fence.”

Fort Knox, Kentucky was the first installation to transition to fence-to-fence in January.  Fort Polk transitions will be complete April 14.

Derrick Raney, business operations and integration division branch chief at Fort Knox, said ArMA has “improved the process time efficiency while simplifying operations for both the customer and the work order team.”

“ArMA has and will continue to improve customer relations and communications with the DPW work order team,” he said.

“ArMA offers great benefits to our end users,” added Jason Root, Fort Knox DPW director. “Everyone is now able to identify and track the routine work that needs to be accomplished around them.”

The ArMA system has processed more than 200,000 housing and barracks work orders since its launch in January 2021.

At Fort Polk, ArMA currently services 89 barracks support facilities across the installation and has processed nearly 5,000 work orders through its system since January 2021. Of this amount, 66% were entered through the website versus in-person or telephone requests. ArMA officials estimate this saved more than 5,000 hours of manpower annually.

By including pictures and being as descriptive as possible when entering work orders, ArMA users enable service technicians to show up and resolve issues in as little as one visit. The system decreases the average age of a work order by 25% when pictures are included in the submission.

“The user can submit photos along with the work order to help the teams understand what needs to be done, which minimizes the times technicians need to come to the job site,” Root explained. “All in all, this is a giant leap forward for the user compared to what we had.”

Soldiers in the barracks have been submitting routine work orders through the user-friendly online application available 24/7, eliminating the need to make appointments or phone calls to service technicians. First-time users without an account are able to submit work orders in less than five minutes when using the CAC-authentication function. The technology improves the entire maintenance program and will streamline the information flow and help give ownership to the service members and civilians in Fort Polk facilities.

ArMA is only for routine work orders. Emergency work orders will continue to be accepted by phone, walk-in or online. Directorate of Public Works personnel man the work order desk from 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. daily and maintain an after-hours service for emergencies. The number to call is (337) 531-1379.

From now through the end of May, the ArMA team will reach all 73 IMCOM installations through a mix of on-site and remote support in an effort to complete expansion across the enterprise.

Stateside installations are expected to be complete by the end of April, with Europe and Asia following in May.

To use ArMA, visit www.armymaintenance.com or follow the link from within the Digital Garrison mobile app.