CES inspects base infrastructure

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Cory Gossett
  • 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  Assess, prioritize and quantify: the Defense Department has mandated DOD installations to inspect and rate their facilities and components by the end of 2018.

The DOD has adopted software called "Builder," a sustainment management system developed by the Army Corps of Engineers, which creates a standardized rating system for buildings and equipment across all military branches in an effort to prioritize repair and replacement funding. The 56th Civil Engineer Squadron has already inspected facilities and equipment on base and a new team will be coming to Luke Air Force Base Monday to finish the remaining inspections.

"We saw the need to meet the new requirements as quickly as possible," said Rich Mousel, 56th CES senior facility engineer. "We needed a way to better distinguish good facilities from bad facilities and there was no way to do that before."

The 56th CES quickly responded to the new DOD mandate, putting a team together consisting of subject matter experts from different units to inspect and rate building conditions and equipment.

"We pulled the best guys we had from different units to complete the inspections," said Tech. Sgt. Richard Randall, 56th CES NCO in charge of requisition and optimization. "This allows us to get an expert point of view on the variety of components that make up a building or piece of equipment and also allows us to get the most accurate inspection and rating possible."

The Army Corps of Engineers created a rating system with nine index ratings. Inspectors can assess the amount of work required to repair or replace a component. This ensures the buildings and equipment are graded equally no matter what military installation they are located at. "Builder" will also track the life cycle of buildings and equipment and military installations, making it easier to plan ahead and determine which is the most cost efficient method to repair or replace.

The newly formed team inspected 230 of the 948 buildings assigned to Luke, assessing more than 2.9 million square feet of the total 4.1 million square feet. The new team will inspect and rate the remaining 718 buildings and will finish the inventory of facility equipment. They will also perform energy audits on select buildings to determine if there are ways to reduce consumption and save money. The teams will not need to be supervised, and facility managers will be notified ahead of time when the team will arrive at their building.

"Base activities should not be affected," Richard said. "The new team will be able to come in and handle everything without disruption."