Marine veteran runs a tight convention

It's a little after 3 p.m. on Tuesday, time for Travis Dredd to make his rounds. As the convention's deputy CEO in charge of ensuring that everything runs smoothly in the Pepsi Center, the former Marine sergeant conducted an after-action review on Monday night to identify problems that needed to be fixed before the delegates arrived again en masse around 4 p.m.

"If systems were going to break down, this is when they would start to show," Dredd said, explaining that he has a mental map of how the convention should be running. "I keep replaying it in my mind to see if it's working out the way I thought it would."

Here is a look at how Dredd spent that critical -- and busy -- hour on Tuesday:

3:12 p.m. -- In his main office just off the Pepsi Center lobby, Dredd touched base with his accessibility coordinator. On Monday night, the 40 wheelchairs on site weren't enough, so after a lengthy meeting, he's got 20 more, plus golf carts outside the hall, to help people with disabilities and injuries get around.

3:18 p.m. -- Working his way through the halls, Dredd spied the construction managers. He gave them a couple of pats on the back, just as he did with workers in the media logistics office and in a general workspace in the bowels of the Pepsi Center. The National Anthem is being sung in the hall. "Around this time, the buzz just changes; you can feel it," he said.

3:20 p.m. -- On the way through the loading dock, Dredd noted that the Secret Service had blocked off the area on Monday night when Michelle Obama arrived. Attendees were getting frustrated, so Dredd notified the fusion center -- the convention's central command post -- to spread the word that everyone needed to go another way.

3:23 p.m. -- Dredd entered the hall, which was filling up with delegates. He saw that crews had added a plywood step to a section of the stands that delegates were tripping over on Monday night. And he tested a previously loose bolt near the Hawaii delegation with his foot. It's been tightened. Dredd checked in with two of his 40 troubleshooters, who are stationed throughout the arena. These two are keeping an aisle clear after Congressional Black Caucus members decided to descend from the stage by the front steps rather than through the back door.

3:29 p.m. -- After taking an elevator up to the club level, Dredd swung by the roof-deck set of NBC's Nightly News to make sure all is well. Then he headed to Section 233 for probably the most important stop of his rounds -- checking in on his parents, who came from Los Angeles to see their son in action. "Are you warm enough?" he asked his mom. "He's one of our stars," Dad beamed. "He sets a torrid pace for our other five sons."

3:38 p.m. -- Another troubleshooter walked by as Dredd circled the club level. The No. 1 question that troubleshooters get is, "Where are the bathrooms?" And the No. 2 question is, "Where do my credentials get me?"

3:39 p.m. -- Dredd took a quick peek in his support staff's suite. It's stocked with food, as expected. Then he goes around the corner to look into the stands to see how former Denver fire Chief Larry Trujillo -- Dredd's adviser on fire safety -- handled a concern about a row of seats that might need to be removed. It's still there, so Trujillo probably dealt with the concern another way.

3:47 p.m. -- Back down to the 100 level, Dredd eyed a spot at the top of the escalators rising from the grand lobby. On Monday night, the crew had stashed a bunch of crates filled with extra supplies along the wall. It had created a logjam as delegates poured up the escalators. Dredd had ordered them moved, and the area is still clear, allowing for easier traffic flow.

3:50 p.m. -- Dredd returned to his office. The troubleshooters' red fleece vests have just arrived -- a day late, but now the aides will be easier to spot. With his inside rounds done, it's time for the fun part: a quick swing outside around the perimeter of the Pepsi Center on his big-wheeled Segway. The crowds are beginning to stream in.