Little Computer Solutions, Inc Wins Sub-contract with Northrop Grumman

10/8/2003 — NEW ORLEANS — Northrop Grumman Corp. will have a list of local job postings for the $281 million Defense Integrated Military and Human Resources System contract by the end of the week, a senior official with the program said Wednesday.

The program, known as DIMHRS, will create at least 200 high-paying, local information technology jobs at the University of New Orleans Research and Technology Park on the Lakefront.

Northrop Grumman is working with 20 subcontractors — 11 from the New Orleans area — on the project to develop a Web-based personnel and payroll software system for the armed forces. It will be the largest human resources database system in the world, serving 3.1 million people.

Mark Jendzejec, Northrop Grumman IT vice president for mission support systems, said his company will handle half of the work for the nine-year project, while the rest will go to subcontractors. He is hoping to let subcontractors know the type jobs they need to fill by Thursday.

“We know the time is short,” he said.

Northrop Grumman wants to have all 200 jobs filled in time for work to begin in January.

DIMHRS officials are hosting a job fair for the project from 2 to 8 p.m., Oct. 15 at the Doubletree Lakeside Hotel in Metairie. Those who want to apply for work on the project are strongly encouraged to attend.

“It’s not the only opportunity people have (to apply), but it is certainly the best,” said Doug McVicar, Northrop Grumman program manager.

Jobs will also be posted on Monster.com and the Northrop Grumman Web site, www.northropgrumman.com.

DIMHRS officials flew into town for a morning press conference Wednesday to give an overview of the project to modernize all human resources records for active, reserve and retired military service members. The program will customize popular database software made by PeopleSoft into a Internet-based system.

“If you can get to the Web from anywhere in the world, you can get to DIHMRS,” said Capt. Valerie Carpenter, Navy joint program manager for DIHMRS.

Work on the project will take place at the SPAWAR Navy Information Technology Center at UNO.

“Our intent is for our entire team to be physically located here in New Orleans where DIHMRS will be developed and implemented,” Jendzejec said. “Our company will remain diligent to building community relationships that establish a new high-tech long-term workforce here in New Orleans.”

The New Orleans subcontractors are: Advanced Computer Technologies, CommTech Industries Inc., Computer Programmers Unlimited Inc., Dataquest Software Services Inc., Enterprise Network Consulting, Images-Images, Nola Computer Services, Object Technology Information Specialists, University of New Orleans College of Engineering, Little Computer Solutions Inc. and AEF.

Local subcontractors will handle 23 percent of the work for the project.

Stanley Jordan, president and chief executive officer of Nola Computer Services, said Northrop Grumman hasn’t yet met with subcontractors to give them an idea of how much work each will be doing for the project.

“We don’t know how they are going to wind up allotting these positioned to be filled,” he said. “They have some housekeeping that needs to be done in terms of transitioning to the project.”

Nevertheless, CommTech President Darryl d’Aquin said his company has been getting calls from prospective job applicants since the news of the project broke late last month.

“I’ve gotten more resumes in the last week and a half than I’ve gotten in the past year,” he said.