On a regular basis, the Enterprise Services Center (ESC) supports users who encounter situations where their government furnished equipment (GFE) computers are experiencing hardware issues and need to be re-imaged, or completely replaced. When situations like these arise, it can cause users to experience down-time in their work production, possibly leading to a backlog of tasks. On multiple occasions, deadlines had to be extended due to personal computer issues.

Whenever these problematic conditions have happened in the past, the solution was to physically take the user’s laptop to troubleshoot it, repair it, or replace it, which left the user with no machine to continue their work. In order to reduce down-time and delay in any customer projects, ESC’s Desk Side Support & Implementation Section was tasked with providing a solution for users when they encounter computer complications. To meet the needs of every customer and to ensure that production is not halted, the team required the immediate use of emergency machines.

The ESC team organized 40 laptops to be used as loaner machines, which can be available for any ESC supported user. These machines are imaged with different customer images, are kept updated, and are managed through the ESC’s Deployment and Special Projects teams. When the Desk Side Support & Implementation Section is notified that a machine is not functioning properly, the team troubleshoots the issue and if they are unable to resolve it, a loaner laptop is provided.

On a daily basis, ESC loaner machines are deployed throughout most organizations on the Center. As a result of the ESC Loaner Laptop Program, supported users have experienced less down-time and have been able to continue a high level of production and job performance. This program allows the Desk Side Support & Implementation Section to maintain user functionality while ensuring the most effective level of troubleshooting possible.