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Eppley Institute Receives Prestigious W. Edwards Deming Award

National Park Service (NPS) Officials and the Eppley Institute for Parks and Public Lands Executive Director Steve Wolter met in Washington, D.C., on Apr.19, 2010, to accept the prestigious W. Edwards Deming Award, for their collaborative efforts on the Facility Management Leaders Program (FMLP).

The W. Edwards Deming Award is granted annually to a deserving organization of the federal government that has put into practice a workforce development and training program that has quantifiably increased the organization’s overall performance. 

The NPS and Eppley Institute’s FMLP received this prestigious award at a luncheon dedicated to “Excellence in Government,” which was attended by 500 federal managers. Senator Mark Warner (D-Virginia) provided the keynote address, discussing the importance of the federal workforce and of investing in this critical group to embrace the country’s challenges. 

Out of seven nominees, the FMLP was selected because of its great benefits to the NPS, and its efforts to better manage its assets portfolio. With over 70,000 assets including buildings, roads, utilities, bridges, trails, campgrounds, monuments and fortifications, the NPS is challenged to manage some of the assets such as historic buildings and monuments, while ensuring they are also operational and available for park visitors. 

“The FMLP is certainly something we are proud of and supports our strategic direction in workforce enrichment, as well as critical goals of the Department of Interior,” NPS Chief of Learning and Development Kathy Hanson said. “We believe this award, which is the first ever Deming Award received by the Department, is indicative of the unique collaborations and partnerships we are using to obtain the very best training, education and development for our employees as we approach the NPS Centennial in 2016.”

To date, more than half of all of the National Parks in America have been positively affected by the FMLP, either by an FMLP student, graduate mentor, or supervisor.  From the first class in 2006, in which only 30% of students held Park Facility Manager positions, to today, nearly 60% of all FMLP graduates have taken positions as facility managers or chiefs of maintenance. Additionally, 89% of all FMLP graduates have received promotions after completing the course. Regarding park improvements, the number of preventive work orders has increased by nearly 40% since the FMLP’s inception, and parks or units where FMLP graduates work have seen estimated benefits in the millions of dollars. In 2007, FMLP students and supervisors estimated monetary benefits as a result of FMLP training at approximately $4.75 million.

The FMLP, which serves to provide a succession management program for the NPS focusing on life cycle costs and total cost of facility operations for the NPS, also ensures that the graduates focus on proactive, instead of reactive, actions allowing for more stable, structured and prepared parks, enhanced leadership, and data-driven decision making in the asset portfolio of the federal government. 

“The Deming Award is certainly indicative of the agents-of-change role that our facility managers need to play in the NPS,” said NPS Chief of Park Facility Management Tim Harvey, a critical architect involved in the FMLP’s strategy. “The future of our bureau’s ability to sustainably manage all the resources, cultural, natural and ‘built,’ rests on an aggressive, informed and capable facility management workforce. The FMLP provides all of us at the NPS with this critical workforce foundation. We are proud to accept this prestigious award on behalf of the NPS and our partner, the Eppley Institute for Parks and Public Lands.”

The FMLP is an impressive year-long, assessment and deep learning based, certificate program composed of five courses. Students first take part in a week-long classroom course titled Principles of Asset Management. Next is the first Distributed Learning Session, a five-month blended-learning course composed of multiple e-courses, monthly discussion forums, three analytical paper assignments and monthly webinars. Students then attend a two-week classroom course that includes a week-long simulation called Advanced Facility Management Practices. A second Distributed Learning Session includes a week-long, directed field experience at a National Park. Lastly, students are invited to attend the Capstone Study in Facility Management, a week-long classroom course and graduation ceremony that takes place in Washington, D.C.

Interested NPS employees must apply to the program, and the final selection is made by the seven regional chiefs of maintenance. Each May, a new cohort of 15-18 geographically dispersed students begins the FMLP, which is taught by experienced NPS subject matter experts and trainers.

In 2005, the NPS partnered with the Eppley Institute to complete The Performance, Training, and Competency Gap Analysis, which studied more than fifty parks and two hundred park account managers and facility managers. This study identified a significant performance and training gap in regards to the Facility Management Software System, the foundation of facility management in the NPS. Thus, in 2006, the NPS partnered with the Eppley Institute and the FMLP was created as a solution to this problem.

Executive Director of the Eppley Institute Stephen A. Wolter serves as the link between Indiana University’s educational quality and rigor and the learning environment of the NPS by relying on “a completely dedicated group of academic, professional and support staff at the Eppley Institute that takes great pride in our role, reputation and success of our partners like the National Park Service. We are proud of the positive improvements and successes we contribute to in the federal government, and, of course, in this specific and strategically important program.”

The W. Edwards Deming Award is recognized by the Graduate School, a renowned organization that has provided workplace development training and services to the public sector since 1921. The NPS and the Eppley Institute now join the honorable ranks of past recipients of the Deming Award including: the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Naval Surface Warfare.

Established in 1993 by Indiana University’s department of Recreation and Park Administration, the Eppley Institute partners with recreation, park, and public land organizations to enhance access, choice, and quality of natural, cultural, and recreational experiences.

For more information on the Facility Management Leaders Program, contact Steve Wolter at:
Telephone: (812) 855-3095  Email:        eppley@indiana.edu