DLA Energy’s Quality Technical Directorate kicks off annual managers’ workshop

Quality managers from Defense Logistics Agency Energy convened recently for a five-day workshop aimed at breaking down operational barriers, tightening coordination across regions and business units, and reinforcing the agency’s mission to supply fuel to the force.

The gathering, planned by Chris Garduno, supervisory chemist and division chief for the Quality Technical Directorate’s Laboratory Support and Optimization Division, featured a revamped agenda designed to emphasize problem-solving from the outset. “In previous events, we’d have business units and the service control points give presentations, and then usually they would leave,” Garduno said. “This year, organizers front-loaded the event with active discussions so attendees could leave the room with concrete solutions to execute.”

Nearly 40 quality professionals attended, with participation expanding by about 20 when military service representatives joined and by another 10 when additional business units entered the discussions. The intent, organizers said, was to strengthen the connective tissue between DLA Energy headquarters, regional teams, service control points and internal partners such as contracting, ensuring quality oversight spans the entire fuel supply chain—from solicitation to delivery on the flight line.

“Our most important thing is that the warfighter gets the fuel they need when they want it,” Garduno said.

For Rodrigo Gonzalez, DLA Energy Americas West quality manager, the broader scope of sessions provided development opportunities and a clearer view of how functions interlock across the enterprise. “It’s about learning how to work uniquely outside the box,” Gonzalez said. “And making sure that we’re still meeting the requirements and ensuring that we’re delivering from purchasing product and delivering it to the warfighter as best we can.”

Attendees also underscored the value of convening in person, particularly for a dispersed workforce spanning multiple time zones. Brian Reed, a quality manager for DLA Energy Americas North based in Alaska, said face-to-face discussions help streamline information flow and align standards and expectations across regions. “Given the different time zones across the agency’s regions, the workshop allows us to put a face to a name for members of the workforce that we often communicate with via phone and email,” Reed said.

He noted that without gatherings like the quality workshop, “key information has the potential to get lost in translation.”

“When we come together to discuss activity across the DLA Energy Quality Technical Directorate along with business units and contractor engagement, it’s easier for us to get on the same page,” Reed said. “This also helps with fostering relationship building as colleagues work together with the common goals of support of the warfighter.”

The extended agenda brought service control points and other business units into the room to focus on improvements in processes, communication and contractor engagement—areas that directly affect the consistency and timeliness of fuel delivery. Organizers said that by prioritizing collaborative dialogue and tangible takeaways, the workshop aimed to translate cross-functional insight into actions that improve daily operations and sustain the agency’s support to the military.