DoD taps Lockheed for new civilian personnel system

The Defense Department has awarded Lockheed Martin $43.8 million to deploy and operate one of the largest human resources systems in the world, Lockheed officials announced this week.

The Defense Civilian Personnel Data System (DCPDS) will consolidate all DoD personnel systems into one huge database containing information on all personnel actions-from position descriptions to payroll-for about 750,000 civilian DoD employees.

Lockheed Martin Federal Systems received the order to deploy, operate and sustain the new database under a Defense Logistics Agency contract originally awarded in 1997. Oracle Federal Consulting will partner with Lockheed Martin under the deal to provide support for Oracle's Resumix software, which allows people to apply for jobs by e-mail or other electronic means.

Lockheed Martin Enterprise Information Systems will manage the network, run help desk operations and provide backup and hosting services for the database.

DCPDS is designed to streamline personnel paperwork and services, as well as eliminate manual processsing of some human resources functions. It will replace various outdated legacy systems currently in use at Defense agencies. With a central, standardized database, information can flow across organizations and geographic locations. The system will be deployed in 23 regional service centers and supported by more than 300 customer support units.

The Pentagon estimates DCPDS will save approximately $150 to $200 million a year. DoD's Office of Civilian Personnel Policy has predicted that the ratio of personnel specialists to total civilian employees will improve from 1:61 to 1:100 under the new system.

"Believe me, they wouldn't do this if there wasn't a return on investment," said Tony Bitonti, director of enterprise solutions at Lockheed. Bitonti said the new system will be fully deployed sometime next year.