Upgrade halts service temporarily
/ Published June 27, 2003
RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) --
An upgrade to the Defense Civilian Personnel Data System will shut down its services July 18 to 31, according to Air Force Personnel Center officials here.
The improvement, which affects the servicing of more than 130,000 Air Force civilian employees, will allow all Department of Defense civilians to transact much of their personnel business via the upgraded Web-based system, officials said.
"During the downtime, users will still be able to go into the old programs and input data, but transactions will not be processed by the system until (the system) is brought online," said Charles Huerta, director of civilian personnel operations.
"Our users will soon be able to access the database using a standard Web browser," he said. "In the long run, this upgrade will increase the system's functionality and be an overall better system for the customer. But, we need to shut (the system) down while technicians do the conversion. We appreciate everyone's patience."
Users will benefit from increased security and performance, as well as a slightly different look on their computer screens, officials said.
"We think that this upgrade will improve personnel functions for our civilians," Huerta said.
Services that are affected by the upgrade include:
-- Updates in the Integrated Voice Response System that allows customers to call in changes to their health benefits, life insurance and Thrift Savings Plan accounts.
-- Resumix and Civilian Personnel Decision Support System, used to run hiring and promotion programs.
-- Civilian Servicing Unit for accessing employee data.
-- Civilian Virtual Inprocessing Program for new employees.
-- Personnel Automated Record Information System, used to update the electronic official personnel folders of employees.
-- Secure Web applications accessed by individuals to review personal records and change benefits.
For more information, contact technical assistance center at DSN 665-3995. (Courtesy of AFPC News Service)