OCR Text |
Show AC7IOM LIHEEST. 77000. Finish tho first housing projoct Why can't rnilitary one housing complete project before beginning another? I just got an informa4 tion letter saying a contract has been awarded to replace the windows in all the units in Area C housing. My cabinets have not yet been replaced, and they are in much worse shape than my windows. They are buckled and burned and when the drawers are opened and closed, a black powder gets all over the drawers and utensils. I worry they might be painted with lead paint. Can I expect to get new cabinets in the near future? . I First, yes, you can expect to get new cabinets, sink and countertops this winter or next spring. This project is being done as a phasedearly program. Major projects are often handled this way to better budget for long-terneeds. For instance, if we do projects in each year, we have a better chance for money than phases if we try to appropriate a larger amount of money for an entire project: This method has proven to be very successful for us. Since you didn't identify your quarters, if you will call the housing office, they will tell you when you are . m scheduled for replacement. The black powder you refer to is probably metal shavings from the drawer guides that are worn. Please call and they can put some housing maintenance at silicone lubricant on the guides to minimize further wear until they are replaced. , No, new cabinets were not painted with lead paint. The cabinets are painted with a baked-o- n enamel much like that of a kitchen appliance. Lastly, your concern about the windows vs. the cabinets. A conscientious decision was made to replace all the windows in everyone's interest. They help conserve energy and will minimize noise. I hope you'll agree. It's very frustrating try get a call through to the hospital appointment desk, - ' whether you're calling from on base or off base. Placing a recorder on the line to record the number of calls initiated vs. the number of calls that are completed could help to better manage the appointment desk. Also, a line that would go directly to the appointment desk rather than through the base telephone system might help ease some of the frustration of trying to make an appointment. : . your comments will be recorded and staffed through the responsible agency for action. Please give your supervisor and chain of command the opportuni-- ; ty to work with you in . Ik smm $, calling ACTION LINE. This will help me better serve your interests through the ACTION .LINE. ;,; - - Gn. Ogden James W. Hopp ALC commander 773-596- 3 ? i , 0A sandblast unit was placed inside our building it makes more noise than a cat fight in a pillowcase. But even worse, it fills the air with a fine dust. It isn't good for the MX equipment we work on and I'm : sure it doesn't do our lungs any good, either. Our supervisors have been diligent in trying to get a priority work order established to isolate this hazard to health and machine, but it seems to be out of their hands now and the sandblast continues to do its thing to man and machine. Could you provide a little push in getting this important project started? I The noise problems were investigated by the Bio-- r environmental Office. They prepared a safetyhealth notice of hazarddeficiency and recommended enclosure of the booth. A project was submitted to MAD on Sept. 8, number K11446, to put a rubberized coating on the entire outside of the. booth and it is in the top 10 on the prioriV W ,'"''-- : ty list. . This project will alleviate the noise and dust problems cited. The full solution is to completely enclose the sandblast booth with an outer structure. A work request is being submitted to civil engineering for a minor construction project. We expect this structure will be completed by fiscal 1991. More noise than a cat fight in a pillowcase? Great example! Thanks. ' ':; ' 'Coke' fund against regulation? that have noticed that there are many squadrons a "Coke" fund. It was my understanding the Force Exchange Service had the contract for Army-Ai- r snack sales. Is it permissible for squadrons to be in competition with AAFES? QI Air Force Regulation 34-- paragraph 2a, authorizes the existence of organizational funds without formal organization and approval when current monthly assets are less than $50. The regulation cites unit coffee funds and flower funds as examples. Squadron "Coke" funds fall into this category of activity. Base personnel are allowed to bring in food for personal consumption from sources other than the AAFES commissary or the base restaurant; however, regulations strictly prohibit resale in competition with base organizations. I personally recommend that "coffee fund" type activities use base resources whenever possible to provide food, in order to ensure quality and accountability. I 4, Software instruction noodod 0 There are thousands of copies of a software pack age called "Smart Term 220" for which we have no operating manual. We were promised a class would be taught or a manual written, but still we have nothing. Could you help us get a manual? It is very frustrating to have to work without it. This is a very valid inquiry. The original contract for this software did not include the purchase of manuals. The Directorate of Communication-Compute- r Systems would like to provide copies to the users; however, the copyright laws restrict this. They are cure requirerently developing a class contingent to ments as determined by DPCT. time frame There is a possibility of a January-Februardirectorate to will be which provided for this training, representatives. There is also a possibility ifof being provided with the training copyright laws permit. SC is currently investigating the possibility of upgrading the site license to include documentation. A workable solution that can be provided at this time is on. I know line help. To access this feature use the ALT-Huse is must software a with you that being unfamiliar worked. is frustrating, but this being Jryi on-bas- y mini-manua- ls I, inter-directora- te real-tim- money.1;-I basically was desk. Also, several months ago, dedicated telephone lines were installed in the family practice, OBGYN and pediatrics clinics for patients requiring follow-u- p appointments. These are direct, internal intercom lines which were Installed to ensure that follow-u- p appointments can be made before the patient leaves the hospital. However, in terms of a dedicated line in the hospital for all appointments, this, unfortunately, would not solve the problem of calling volume. What the PAT recommended was a .. system to improve the processing of calls for appointments. As a result, a new computerized appointment sys- - "'. tern is scheduled to be installed and this system will reduce significantly the time required to handle each call. I appreciate your comments and suggestions. Rest assured that this area has my personal attention, and I will continue to monitor the progress and results of improvements. r How often should we check in? Question running of CFC realize the Combined Federal 0 1 Campaign was successful this year, but I submit to you that the way it is handled with our names already on a list is nothing more than extortion. Lists of who contributed and, in some cases, to whom they contributed are kept. Each division seems to be competing for the most amount of . Sandblast unit a hazard I thought I had answered this issue, previously; not. So here goes. Early this year an process action team was established to look at hospital appointment desk access, identify problems and develop solutions. As a result, a number of improvements have been considered, made, are in process or are programmed for the near future. These include the two improvements which you have recommended. An automated call distribution system was installed by the 1881st Communications Squadron. This system greatly enhances the handling of calls to the central appoint- - ? e ment desk. The system also provides and cumulative data such as the number of callers trying to reach the desk at a given time, the number on hold and the productivity of each appointment clerk. As you point out, this information can be used to better manage the yi ... answering questions and solving problems before Maj. 11 Hilltop Times dosk a hasslo Appointmont to to a hassle and ACTION LINE is your opportunity, to make Hill .. AFB a better place ta live, work and play. When you call Ext. 77000, .Jan. 26, 1990 told this year how much I should contribute as a minimum, not by guidelines but rather, this is it. Not only do I contribute to the charities that I wish to support, but I'm coerced into contributing to charities that I may not wish to support. That is the pressure that is brought to bear on employees. Would it be possible to put a stop to this by providing forms that can either be mailed in or dropped in a box so that supervisors would not have access to our names? I agree the CFC was an overwhelming success. Once again, generous Hill AFB people shared their good fortune with others who needed help and support. I do not, however, believe the administration of the cam7 paign was flawed as you described. Sure, there is competition among organizations, but that is healthy. It provides a little extra incentive to make the campaign a success. And yes, the contribution forms are controlled by name because they are financial documents. Ultimately, payroll deduction and proceed distributions are determined bythese documents so ' "' ; they must be right. ' ; We also provide examples of possible contributions to give each employee an idea of how much to contribute. Such things as "one day's pay for charity" or "be a member of the Eagle Club" are examples of possible conamounts tributions. There are no stated. It is a personal decision, just as donations to churches, schools and charities are personal decisions. As far as lists of who contributed and to what charity that is not useful and should not be done. If you have proof, I would welcome the evidence so that I can be sure it's not done again. There is no reason for such lists and I certainly do not and will not condone it. Again, I appreciate all the efforts of Hill personnel making our CFC such a success. We will continue to supr" port this worthwhile cause while ensuring all donations are voluntary. By the way, you obviously care about how CFC is run and have some strong opinions. May I suggest that you help us by volunteering to be a key worker next year? It's a great opportunity to see how we train people to try to avoid the things you are concerned about. yi " "have-to-contribut- ; Lot 1 holds hostages Parking Lot 1! I HELP! I'm stuck in Parking can't get around the ends because of all the illegally parked cars. Could we please get somebody to help? i Help is on the way! But I hope you didn't have to wait in your car until the Action Line was processed! Security police have increased their patrol coverage of Lot 1 and have issued tickets to those individuals blocking traffic or parking illegally. They will continue this procedure until the problem parking is Jr resolved. Slow crow realignment 225 and like work in my job and work on Bldg. aircraft. I was just wondering if they could slow down on realigning the crews. How can we get a decent annual appraisal when we are moved around every three months? QI I Crew alignment within the aircraft division is not taken lightly, and efforts to realign are only done when necessary to accomplish our mission. Unfortunately, the F-- 4 workload has decreased significantly while the program has increased rapidly. Therefore, we are in a period when we must realign our work force to meet the workload. Operating instructions require quarterly reviewsdiscussions be held with all employees to discuss their performance. This discussion is documented in the supervisor's employee work folder. The work folder is transferred with the employee and is reviewed by the current supervisor when the annual appraisal is accomplished. Keep up the quality work. Jh F-1- 6 required to call in every day we are on sick or just every third day? Our supervisor re-quires we call in every day and I've never been asked to do this before. QAre we An employee with accrued sick leave, who is in-- 1 capacitated for performance of duties due to illness, is required, to call hisher immediate supervisor as soon as possible after the beginning of the assigned shift. This is normally accomplished within the first two hours of the shift. No further call is necessary unless mutually agreed to by both the supervisor and the employee, Supervisors are encouraged to determine the nature of the illness and expected duration or request periodic calls if the employee is likely to be off for an extended amount of time. If you have a problem in this area, please contact your employee relations specialist. ' yi Fund-raisin- restrictions difficult g all the restrictions they have placed on fund for the program, it is very difficult to find projects we can do in a minimal amount of time that will make an optimum amount of money. Every time we decide to do something, we're told it's not legal. If they can't bend the rules just a little for this good cause, why don't they just do away with the program? QWith Sub-for-San- ta g is a very worthy project to help the less fortunate in the community. This year the base raised $63,527 through everyone's generosity. So I support it. However, I am aware through your call and other sources of some practices which could jeopardize the project's good intentions and may be in violation of the regulations governing its operations. I've asked the base commander and others to look into how we can improve our program and ensure it operates only during an appropriate time and only with g authorized, proper projects. yi Jr fund-raisin- Sub-For-San- ta Sub-For-San- ta fund-raisin- What will drug testing policy be? have been told that only the first level and workers are going to be tested for drugs. Why aren't second, third and fourth level supervisors going to be tested? QWe The final plan for the Air Force Civilian Drug Test-- r ing Program has not been received from Air Force. It is anticipated that Air Force Logistics Command will receive that plan early in 1990. The plan then will be disseminated to the air logistics centers and actual drug testing of civilians who are not members of the bargaining unit will begin shortly thereafter. Bargaining unit employees will not be tested until impact and ' implementation bargaining has been accomplished. Numerous sensitive positions have been identified as d positions by position title and series. Actual participants will be selected from among the d positions by a random selection method determined by Headquarters AFLC. All emd ployees assigned to positions will be subject to random drug testing, regardless of their yi testing-designate- testing-designate- testing-designate- status. At least a 30-da- y written advance notice will be given to all employees assigned to positions prior to implementation of random testing. testing-designate- d , |