USAFE consolidates all NCC help desks

Ramstein units are the first to benefit from a USAFE-wide consolidated help desk for all computer and network problems.

Communications and Informa-tion Directorate announced in August the start of the consolidation of all network control center helps desks.
By 2007, all of USAFE will call one consolidated help desk, a change expected to provide standardized around-the-clock customer support and reduce the workload of client support administrators, formerly known as workgroup managers.

Maj. Brent L. Belschner, Information Systems Flight commander for the USAFE Computer Systems Squadron, said the first units at Ramstein began migrating to the CHD last month.

“We have developed a customer support model that mirrors what is done in industry and takes full advantage of today’s remote administration technology,” Major Belschner said. “This initiative will have far-reaching implications not limited to USAFE. We expect our help desk to be the model for the rest of the Air Force to follow.”

Because of KMC’s large population, units will migrate to the USAFE CHD in four phases, with each phase adding approximately a quarter of KMC users. Each organization within the KMC will be notified prior to inclusion in the consolidated program. After the KMC has completely transitioned, the rest of the bases in the command will make the switch.

Once an organization becomes part of USAFE CHD’s responsibility, users will call the USAFE CHD directly for any computer or network issues, rather than contacting their client support administrators.

Master Sgt. Vici Lennon, NCOIC of the CHD, expects customers to see a dramatic improvement in service.

“Under the old way of doing business, a problem would often spend days being shuffled between the CSA, local NCC help desk, and USAFE Network Operations and Security Center,” Sergeant Lennon said. “We have taken the capabilities of all three and consolidated them in one place. In 85 percent of the cases, we are able to solve a customer’s problem at first contact while they are on the phone.”