DAPS Designated a High Performing Organization by the Department of Defense

MECHANICSBURG, Pa., May 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Document Automation & Production Service, a field activity of the Defense Logistics Agency, has received the designation of High Performing Organization in a letter signed by Wayne Arny, the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Installations and Environment.

DAPS, headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, is responsible for document services for the Department of Defense encompassing printing and high-speed, high-volume duplicating. It is also the preferred provider for the conversion, retrieval, output and distribution of digital documents. DAPS' mission includes the transformation of the department to the use of online documents.

As the result of an Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76 public-private competition in 2001, DAPS is managing a segment of its mission under a Most Efficient Organization. The resulting MEO from the competition will continue through September 2009. The new High Performing Organization will begin October 2009 effectively extending the MEO for three more fiscal years.

The DAPS enterprise is currently comprised of 187 world-wide production facilities. The MEO provides staffing at 145 facilities at military installations located throughout the continental United States.

Monica Kelliher-Hamby is a senior policy analyst at the DOD's Office of Housing and Competitive Sourcing who reviewed the Defense Logistic Agency submission for DAPS to become a High Performing Organization. She noted DAPS is an organization that pays great attention to details. "It can prove how much production can increase. The savings they achieved was far and away more than expected," she said. The DAPS MEO consistently met or exceeded technical and cost goals since its inception in Fiscal 2003 while achieving cumulative net savings to the Department of Defense of over $250 million. Kelliher-Hamby added, "I was also impressed by the customer endorsements that were part of the nomination package showing how much DOD customers appreciated their quality level of service."

Kelliher-Hamby commended DAPS for being proactive in support of its employees. DAPS submitted its nomination package through DLA two years before the end of its Most Efficient Organization term instead of waiting for its expiration and then attempting to achieve the High Performing Organization designator.

DAPS Director Steve Sherman credited the employees of the organization for achieving the HPO status. "DAPS is defined by our front line employees, the ones who are out there face-to-face with customers. They are the ones who have made the MEO successful and deserve receiving DOD's recognition of their achievements," he said. "Our managers and employees have shown the agility it takes in such a dynamic environment to support the warfighter and thoroughly understand the importance of excellent customer relations and service."

DAPS is the document solutions provider to the Department of Defense operating with a "Can Do, Right Now" approach to supporting its customers. DAPS can now add High Performing Organization to its list of recognitions.

DLA is DOD's largest logistics combat support agency. It provides supply support and technical and logistics services to the U.S. military services and several federal civilian agencies. Headquartered at Fort Belvoir, Va., the agency is the one source for nearly every consumable item, whether for combat readiness, emergency preparedness or day-to-day operations, inside the Department of Defense.