Project Location:

Afghanistan – All non-LOGCAP facilities

Client:

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) – Philadelphia District

Client Needs and Requirements:

In 2008, there were 19 fatalities of U.S. personnel in Iraq due to electrocution, and many more were injured to varying degrees from electric shock. A Congressional Investigation was undertaken in Iraq to investigate these hazards and it was determined that unqualified host nation contractors, third country contractors, and defense contractors on the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP) contract were facilitators of the problem. Lack of awareness and understanding of the risks associated with electrical hazards, missing requirements in the LOGCAP contract, and lack of technical experts to effectively enforce the standards created a serious problem. It was acknowledged that these incidents could have been prevented if proper safeguards and measures had been in place.

Task Force Protect Our Warfighters an Electrical Resources (TF POWER) was established in Afghanistan to address similar problems as were faced in Iraq. The central focus was to maximize the responsiveness to a large number of facilities requiring inspections and repairs and to act as the authority having jurisdiction over all electrical installations throughout Afghanistan.

Challenges and ISI’s Response:

This contract presented many different challenges for which ISI proactively developed new methods and procedures, which were implemented with the approval and support of TF POWER.

Some of the early challenges included movement around the country. The lack of highways and infrastructure, communications, and accommodations/logistics required extra management effort, creative problem-solving, and planning. These challenges required ISI to invest in housing facilities, a satellite communications infrastructure, and vehicles to accommodate the movement of personnel and materials to meet mission needs.

Given these logistical challenges, in order to ensure that required materials were on-hand for emergencies, we also began maintaining a small inventory with each two-man inspection and repair team. This grew into the procedures currently in place for resupplying mobile teams, which worked successfully for the duration of ISI’s involvement with the TF POWER mission.

The Results:

ISI has successfully performed all subsequent contracts for TF Power Inspection & Repair teams since the initial creation of the program outlined above.

ISI has worked directly with TF POWER to improve and adapt this program and the inspection and repair mission continuously since 2008 to meet the ever-changing conditions faced in Afghanistan. Fluctuations in troop levels, changes to base configurations, and growing needs for electrical connectivity have presented major challenges for the TF POWER mission. With ISI’s support, TF POWER has met these challenges and has an extremely productive mission.

The Details:

During the performance of the TF POWER mission in Afghanistan, ISI performed 1.3 Million man-hours of inspection and repair work, safeguarding the military and civilian personnel in country.  The following table details the multiple inspection and repair contracts that ISI has completed.