'Families First' personal property movement program coming soon Published Feb. 12, 2008 By James Pehan Base Transportation Management Office BUCKLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- Permanent change of station moves can be a stressful reality of military life for service members, military civilians and their families. The Department of Defense has developed a personal property program, Families First, to improve the process for movers and streamline the process for those who support it, meeting the needs of our service members by promoting quality of service. The backbone of the program is the Defense Personal Property System (DPS) which will automate and simplify the PCS move process. DPS is the one-stop source for managing personal property moves. It will provide 24-hour access to personal property shipment information throughout the entire moving process. The Department of Defense will implement Families First in three phases: Phase I - Introduction of the electronic billing and payment process, and the Interim Customer Satisfaction Survey (ICSS) Phase II - Deployment of DPS, featuring online pre-move counseling, claims filing, customer satisfaction survey, transportation service provider (TSP) rate filing and shipment management Phase III - Inclusion of local moves, non-temporary storage, special storage and direct procurement method (DPM) in DPS Key improvements to be expected are: -Shipments awarded based on quality of service, and best value carrier selection -Full replacement value on loss and damage claims -Electronic rate filing for TSPs; allowance for seasonal rates -Increased direct deliveries Streamlined acquisition will result from: -Adoption of commercial rate base -Simplification/consolidation of moving elements (crating items-long haul, stair carry, third party services like a front-load washing machine and other specialized equipment) -Elimination of agent approval and Letters of Intent Best value/best service will generate: -Direct communication between carrier and service member -Simplified claims process, because the member files with TSP carrier -Web-based pre-move counseling support -Reduced government-unique forms and processes -Improved invoice payments through the PowerTrack system -Customers rate TSPs -Enhanced real-time decision support system Helpful Web sites include: http://AFmove.hq.af./mil, https://icss.eta.sdcc.army.mil and http://www.whereismypov.com. For more information, call 720-847-6685.