ANALYSING COMPLAINT HANDLING SYSTEM OF MILITARY ENGINEER SERVICES (MES) AND RECOMMENDING MEASURES TO ENHANCE ITS PERFORMANCE

Abstract

Military Engineer Services (MES) is one of the largest construction agencies in the country. Its history dates back to the history of warfare itself. This organization is responsible for construction of new and maintaining old facilities in all the cantonments across Pakistan. The department is in service in Pakistan since 1924. It is a semi military organization which works under the overall control of Engineer–in–Chief, of Pakistan Army. It comprises of huge network of skilled workforce throughout Pakistan which are working round the clock to maintain the civic facilities of the Armed Forces of Pakistan. Apart from new construction, MES is also busy in maintaining electricity, water supply, Sui gas, building repairs and wood work etc. Clean and green maintained cantonments are attributed to the efforts of MES. PAC Kamra is a key cantonment with regards to the facilities pertaining to Pakistan Air force (PAF). Presently PAC Kamra is the 3rd largest installation and the base of PAF. It comprises of four major factories, F-6 Rebuild Factory (F-6 RF), Mirage Rebuild Factory (MRF), Aircraft Manufacturing Factory (AMR) and Kamra Avionics and Rebuild Factory (KARF). Each factory has a separate domestic colony for its employees. It has a population of approximately 75,000 with over 5000 residential units of various sizes. PAC Kamra is divided into four Industrial zones of MES, each being looked after by a separate Garrison Engineer (GE) with 1x Commander Military Engineering Services (CMES). Although MES is performing its task with due diligence, however, poor quality of work, poor response to the complaints, absence of modern management techniques, lack of requisite skilled manpower, financial management etc, are some of the areas which need to be looked at in-depth in order to enhance its performance. In this research study, effort will be made at discovering and analyzing the existing MES complaint handling system at PAC Kamra, carrying out critical analysis of complaint handling system, management techniques, service quality parameters, employing various statistical quality control tools, identifying the problem areas and causes of mismanagement of complaints with a view to offering actionable recommendations for improvement of the system as a whole.