Small office has large responsibility Published March 27, 2012 By Brandice J. O'Brien Tinker TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Tucked inside Bldg. 510 is a small, lesser-known office that carries an enormous responsibility. The 72nd Air Base Wing Communications Directorate's Information Technology Asset Management Office is responsible for information technology equipment for Air Force and Department of Defense on- and off-base. Its staff of six civilians and contractors manages roughly 650 accounts and 1,300 primary and alternate information technology equipment custodians. The accounts represent more than 85,000 assets totaling more than $80 million. "So many people are not aware of how important it is to keep track of equipment," said Kim Harris, ITAM supervisor. "Equipment belongs to an organization and if an individual ITEC leaves, accountability for the equipment falls back on the organization. It's the organization's responsibility to pick up the ball. Just because an individual leaves doesn't mean the requirements go away." The ITAM office, formerly known as Automated Data Process Equipment, does more than just track assets such as computers, monitors, hard drives, BlackBerries and telephones. It also receives and distributes them, trains ITECs, assists ITECs and units with managing their inventories, and offers assistance should anyone have questions. They are responsible for tracking which organization has what equipment, how much and its locale. Mandated by regulation, the office is also responsible for ensuring units and ITECs maintain current appointment letters, perform an annual inventory, and comply with training standards. The highest priority is put on inventories. To keep track of the 650 accounts, staffers rely on computer software that offers daily updates regarding an organization's compliant and non-compliant statuses. The statistics are displayed in percentages. "We constantly strive for 100 percent account compliance, but it's difficult to keep 650 accounts current at one time," said Janice Morrison, 72nd ABW/SC Base Equipment Control officer for the ITAM office. "So we work really hard to keep them as close to that 100 percent as we can." Ms. Harris said the biggest challenge the office faces is keeping accounts updated. Oftentimes, primaries or alternates retire or change duty stations and forget to have their names taken off the accounts. In other circumstances when an inventory is taken, itemizing missing equipment is not done leaving both ITECs and the ITAM office to try to solve the mystery. Ms. Morrison said to avoid these challenges the ITAM office asks everyone to simply follow the Air Force instruction and report of survey guidelines. By having primary and alternate ITECs record and report the identification number of the missing asset an investigation can begin. Depending on how many assets are missing, investigations can last anywhere from a week up to two years. In the upcoming year, the ITAM office is introducing new ideas to better the relationship between their office and the customer. Ms. Harris said the office will set up electronic SharePoint file folders, allowing custodians to update and pass documents to the office in a timelier manner. Office staffers can also task them with an assignment or request. The office will also offer staff assistance visits so ITAM personnel can see exactly what is going on at the custodians' worksite and help solve problems. Lastly, Ms. Harris said they hope to publish a monthly or bimonthly newsletter. "We're here for customer support. We'll help, not hurt, our commanders and ITECs in any way we can," Ms. Morrison said. "All they need to do is pick up the phone and ask."