JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- As technology constantly advances, the 673d Force Support Squadron’s Military Personnel Section pushes forward with several updates to their check-in services.
The first change was seen in April, when the old sign-in procedures were replaced by an automated kiosk.
“The kiosk affords customers the opportunity to sign in for any of the three sections—customer support, career development and force management—and see their name pop up in the queue,” said Linwood Land, 673d FSS personnel systems manager. “It is a very user-friendly and self-explanatory process.”
Lisa Memmel, 673d Medical Group, said her sign-in experience was very simple and she was able have her MPS needs met quickly.
“The kiosk also lists what each MPS element entails in case customers don’t know which category they fall into,” said Air Force Capt. Lauren Lampkin, 673d FSS Air Force MPS officer in charge.
In addition, the kiosk added a new text-message feature for customers when signing in, which informs the customer when they’re next in line, Land said.
“I definitely think it’s a great convenience that I can receive a text in case I have something else to do in the building and I’ll be notified when it’s my turn,” said Staff Sgt. Kari Jaeger, 3rd Maintenance Squadron.
The most recent improvement to the kiosk allows customers to sign in online at www.jberlife.com for all MPS services.
“When you pull up the site it will show you average wait times for each section and also allow you to check-in for services online,” Land said. “Once you check-in, you’ll have 60 minutes to make it into the lobby and confirm that you have arrived by using the kiosk.”
These changes not only increased modern online access but also increased JBER force support Airmen's ability to serve customers faster.
“Previously we would have a military member up front at a work station, and it was very old-school with pen and paper sign-ins,” Lampkin said. “Now we can better employ our manpower and have our Airmen utilizing the skills they were trained for instead of signing people in.”
This technological advancement has taken three years of hard work to bring to the JBER community, said Land.
“With how technology is progressing, this is something that can bring civilian wait-system reduction technologies to our military customer service programs,"Lampkin said. “We innovated, and our goal was always to improve mission support of customers.”
The 673d FSS is currently working on adding this sign-in technology to the Army MPS office, Lampkin said.
To view current wait times or sign-in online for the AF MPS, visit http://www.jberlife.com/MPS.