The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) has completed a $1.2 million project to modernize the watch floor of its Joint Operations Center (JOC).

DISA said Tuesday the 18-month effort included architectural refurbishment and equipment upgrade at the facility where personnel help operates and secures the Department of Defense Information Network.

The agency uses the watch floor to also manage situational awareness across joint operations and inform senior leaders about enterprise activities.

“Before the upgrade watchstanders were using monitors that were more than 10 years old, several of which no longer worked," said Capt. Rick Larson, director of the DISA Joint Operations Center.

Larson noted that the command-and-control space now features 11 large display monitors for the battle captain and other personnel to monitor the agency's operational areas.

DISA plans to conduct a regular evaluation of the display layout in an effort to sustain the availability of critical information at agency-operated watch centers.

Unanet announced its latest enhancements to its award-winning software. The new features are designed to give customers integrated, industry-leading service and support, including enhanced dashboards, project management and billing functions and new mobile capabilities. 

"While we continue to innovate and deliver the latest features and functions that the market expects from an industry-leading ERP provider, the customer experience is our true focus," stated Assad Jarrahian, Unanet’s chief product officer.

"Companies using Unanet are more than customers, they are partners in the Unanet community with the ability to engage, suggest, explore and innovate right alongside us, so they have the best solutions possible to achieve success."

The latest release provides project customers with four distinct advantages. They are Unanet First Look Program, New Customer Experience Portal, The Unanet Customer Suggestions Portal Unanet University

The First Look Program enables clients to participate and provide feedback throughout the development process. In this program, Unanet product managers and designers conduct surveys, interviews, focus groups, design reviews and usability tests across the customer base to learn more about customers' unique needs.

The New Customer Experience Portal provides a forum for customers to share best practices while also offering seamless navigation, training, knowledge, support tickets and suggestions. 

The Unanet Customer Suggestions Portal is a responsive feedback loop for product suggestions, unlimited voting and real-time updates on product deliveries. This portal promotes product growth and fosters community among Unanet users while serving as a collaborative tool for development.

The final advantage is Unanet University, a program with high-value information enabling industry leaders to become certified experts on Unanet's solution suites and access points.

"The Unanet community is stronger than ever and we're focused on bolstering it with portals, features and experiences that are meaningful to the users. We succeed when our customers do, so collaboration and the user experience is always our top priority,” commented Jeff Davison, Unanet's chief customer officer. 

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has recommended that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) develop clearly defined processes and update documents to facilitate coordination on spectrum management. 

GAO said in a report published Monday that are no clear processes for addressing matters when agencies cannot reach an agreement on issues related to spectrum management.

The FCC and NTIA regulate use of radio frequency spectrum to prevent potential interference and coordinate with other agencies through interagency groups and agreements. 

GAO evaluated collaborative mechanisms for spectrum management against leading collaboration practices and found that agencies' collaborative activities did not fully reflect the practices of clarifying roles and responsibilities, developing written guidance and agreements and defining outcomes and monitoring accountability.

The congressional watchdog assessed the country’s participation in the International Telecommunication Union's World Radiocommunication Conferences and found that the lack of updated documents guiding agencies’ coordination efforts when it comes to developing U.S. positions also affected collaboration.

“For example, disputes among the agencies and the inability to reach agreement on U.S. technical contributions challenged the U.S.'s ability to present an agreed-upon basis for decisions or a unified position,” the report reads.

Lightbridge will work with Battelle Memorial Institute's Pacific Northwest Division and the Department of Energy (DOE) to demonstrate a manufacturing process for the company's nuclear fuel technology under a $663,000 research and development agreement.

The company said Monday that it will demonstrate the use of depleted uranium-zirconium material in manufacturing the Lightbridge Fuel, which is made for use in small modular and light-water reactors.

Lightbridge Fuel is designed to boost a reactor's fuel proliferation resistance, safety and economy-friendliness. The effort marks Lightbridge's second project under DOE's Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear or GAIN program aimed at driving the country's use of nuclear power.

“Partnering with the GAIN program enables us to save the high costs of time and capital to create these experiments ourselves while retaining our intellectual property and fast-tracking our R&D efforts,” said Seth Grae, president and CEO of Lightbridge.