FLEET READINESS CENTER EAST, CHERRY POINT, N.C. — The best has a tendency of standing out. On May 12, Fleet Readiness Center East’s Darrell Hamilton’s outstanding efforts during the first quarter of 2015 garnered Naval Air Systems Command 6.0 Logistics and Industrial Operations’ validation as Employee of the Quarter.

Hamilton was noted for being “instrumental” in developing a web-enabled, electronic-component tracking system, known as HeloNet, and making it easier for logistics and records personnel to use.

“His background was perfectly suited for this job,” said Russell Wilson, H-60 air vehicle logistics lead who nominated Hamilton, of Hamilton, whose 20-year military career included maintenance administration and six years as an engine aircraft logistics analyst and aircraft functional analyst.

Hamilton, a logistics management specialist and retired Marine, said such a program was always anticipated during his career — when all record-keeping, computations and calculations were done manually.

“We always heard talk of it,” he said. “It was said: ‘Everything’s going to change. Everything’s going electronic.”

But when the potentially life-changing program’s prototype was rolled out to users, its functionality was lacking.

Hamilton and others said that the system interface for clerks was a bit “clumsy” and “clunky.”

“The developers are super-intelligent people, but they didn’t make this software something clerks could use,” Hamilton said, explaining that it lacked familiar software functions such as autofill, dropdown menus, auto-populating fields, and cohesive, printable data output.

Hamilton joined the development team as a subject matter expert and trained system programmers in component tracking techniques. He also began working with developers to transform the product into something worthwhile for logisticians and records personnel. After testing the system, Hamilton recommended a complete redesign of its functionality.

“It’s here. I see the potential. Let’s make this happen,” Hamilton said. “Plus I like a challenge.”

While the system was in the design phase, Hamilton was instrumental in developing the operational capabilities document and approval of deviation request to the Naval Aviation Maintenance Program, Wilson said. Hamilton also played a key role in in developing training materials, deployment strategies, intermediate and depot-level system development, beta testing and laying the plans for optimized-organizational maintenance activity integration and for posting to the Decision Knowledge Programming for Logistics Analysis and Technical Evaluation (DECKPLATE) database.

Hamilton performed all this concurrently with his normal duties.

“He’s been an integral player in getting this right; making it do what we said it would do,” said Robynn Storm, FRC East Logistics and Industrial Operations Group head. “He took this on as collateral duty because he cared.”

While the program is being developed to support the H-60 Multi-Mission Helicopter Program Office (PMA-299) and the H-60 aircraft platform, its primary function of tracking component life expense is expected to have a much broader application and impact. Cost avoidance due to missing parts’ history and mathematical errors is estimated to be more than $73.8 million for the H-60 alone.

“This system is prepared to go enterprise-wide and maybe globally,” noted Wilson, adding that foreign military sales customers have already expressed an interest in acquiring the package.

Hamilton said the project is nearing completion, as it is currently being tested at two squadrons and at the intermediate level in Norfolk, Virginia.

“We’re close,” he said excitedly as he spoke of the trials of proving the system. “The development phase is very near the end. We’re fine-tuning and putting in very necessary adjustments.”

Logistics officials said the program is slated to roll out to the fleet in late July.