The project was coordinated by the Business Performance Office which worked with team members from Marine Corps Community Services, Manpower, Installation Personnel Administration Center, Headquarters and Service Battalion, and Security Battalion.

After its completion, the project was presented to Col. Thompson Gerke, the out-going base chief of staff, and the in-coming base chief of staff, Col. Mark Kauzlarich, on March 11.

‘‘Col. Gerke saw the system needed a major overhaul, because Marines were being tied up, lost and left behind in the check in⁄out process,” said Fred Church, the deputy director of BPO. ‘‘We systematically looked at how we could improve the speed, efficiency and worth of the process.”

With the new streamlined system, each Marine saves 144 minutes in the check-in process and 118 minutes in the check-out process.

‘‘In 2009, we had 2,004 Marines check in, so that would have saved 4,809 man-hours, and we had 1,644 Marines check out, so we could have saved 3,233 man-hours,” said Church.

There is also a greater accountability for who attends the Welcome Aboard brief.

‘‘Now when you come to IPAC, your scheduled time to go to the Welcome Aboard brief is on the reporting endorsement order,” said Chief Warrant Officer 3 ReeshemaWalker, the deputy director of IPAC. ‘‘IPACprovides a list of who should be coming to the brief. Security Bn. and H&S Bn. takeaction to make sure the Marines who did not attend go to the next brief.”

The attendance has nearly tripled since the changes we’ve made, said Al Thompson, the deputy director of the Personal Readiness and Community Support Center.

To help guide incoming Marines, a new sponsorship program was put in place.

‘‘A sponsor is an MCCS-trained Marine who will be attached to an incomingMarine,” Master Sgt. Willie Morgan, administrative chief for H&S Bn. ‘‘The sponsor will guide the new Marine around the base when he arrives and answer any questions, such as how to register at a local hospital, schools or your car.”

Forging signatures was also an issue in the process, so now each office will have a unique stamp, said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Erik Fredrikson, the G-1 manpower personnel officer.

Some of the biggest issues were that Marines were leaving Quantico without going through all the steps, Church said. Those Marines who are leaving early seemed to be unaccounted for and slipped through the cracks.

‘‘For example, the post office asked to be on the check-out process because people were moving and not checking in their boxes,” Fredrikson said. ‘‘This held up mail boxes that weren’t even being used.”

‘‘Now when you leave, you must give a letter to IPAC saying you went to the MCCS workshop and hand in your check-out sheet before you’re issued orders,” Walker said.

By reviewing the check in⁄out process, otherissues came up that will be addressed in the future.

‘‘We are going to do an overhaul of the Web site to make it simpler for those who are coming to the base to find information,” Fredrikson said.

‘‘This team has really worked hard,” Church said. ‘‘At the BPO this is our job, but for everyone else on the team, they are doing this on top of their normal duties.”

‘‘The individual initiative, diligence and persistence of team members can’t be understated,” Gerke said. ‘‘The success of this project has led to cost saving, greater working efficiency and higher customer satisfaction.”

— Correspondent: jahn.kuiper@usmc.mil