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For Gerhard Spuhler, chief of the U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern Directorate of Public Works Management Engineering and Systems Branch, one hat simply was not enough.
In addition to overseeing all work orders that come through the DPW, Mr. Spuhler, who also manages the DPW information technology systems and was acting chief of the business management division for seven months, was named the 2009 Installation Management Command DPW Business Management Executive of the Year April 26.
“We’ve done a lot of transformation as the Army in Europe has changed … and Gerhard especially in the last year, two years, really has been a main (point of contact) on a lot of these transformation projects,” said Brian Pendergast,
business management division chief and Mr. Spuhler’s supervisor.
As if that was not enough, Mr. Spuhler also worked to become certified as a Lean Six Sigma green belt.
“He does a great job keeping up with the work orders and the day-to-day work of the office,” Mr. Pendergast said. “But what really stood out for me, especially the last couple years … what he did with Lean Six Sigma and getting certified, which really was a challenge, and then also these transformation projects.”
A supervisor of four employees himself, Mr. Spuhler looks at the award as the result of teamwork.
“The award is not for me; it’s for the whole team,” he said, noting that while he devoted time and effort to extra projects, his staff picked up the slack.
“And we know we’re able to utilize him and if we need help with him being a POC on a construction project, something that’s outside the traditional scope of work, we know that we can count on him,” Mr. Pendergast said.
Mr. Spuhler, who has worked 26 years with the garrison DPW, still enjoys the challenges.
“You can move stuff forward. You can make things happen, you know, you can satisfy the customers,” he said. “I like to work with the contractors, and I like to work with the team.”
