Tracking essential spare parts

The U.S. Commander Naval Air Forces Reserve (CNAFR) maintains and repairs military aircraft such as the E-2C Hawkeye, an early warning radar aircraft; AH-1 Cobra, a strike helicopter; and EA-6B Prowler, an aircraft that jams electronic signals. During times of war, CNAFR sends troops to battle, reducing manpower on the base. This means fewer Sailors are available to repair aircraft. So at the beginning of the War on Terror, CNAFR wanted a way to optimise the manpower on base while expediting the repair process so aircraft could return to combat as soon as possible.

Several Naval Air Force Reserve bases have warehouses that store equipment and parts for the repair of military aircraft; when a repair part is not available at one base, logistics personnel must input a requisition for stock from another. Mistakes with manual data entry meant there were delays and stock was often lost in transit - wasting unnecessary time and labour for personnel searching for misplaced parts.

A Base Level Inventory Tracking System (BLITS) was introduced in order to reduce the opportunities for error and optimize labour. Using the new system, when a driver delivers a part, someone’s Common Access Card (CAC) must be scanned using mobile computers before it can be received. When the CAC card is scanned, the system identifies who received the item and the date and time. This information is stored on the mobile computer until it is docked and uploaded to a central server. At each point of exchange throughout the warehouse, a CAC card must be scanned before the person can take receipt of the item. This enables the status of an order to be determined easily at any point.

The initial intention of BLITS was solely to assist with tracking repair parts. The scope of the system has expanded to include tracking assistance with stock requisitions. Similar to the way an auto parts store might operate, users check the computer for stock and then retrieve the part from the shelves. The part is then scanned and removed from the inventory. The driver delivers the part to the flight line, scanning the CAC card of the individual who receives it.

Since the implementation of the BLITS, CNAFR has recovered several pieces of equipment that might have otherwise been lost in the distribution chain. When parts are ordered and unable to be located, they have to be written off, causing CNAFR to incur an expense without having received the product. On one occasion, a squadron reported a$2.3 million infrared pod was missing - even though the suppliers insisted it had been delivered. Using BLITS, they were able to execute a search and learned that the part was actually placed in the wrong area.

BLITS saved approximately 100 man hours a month at each location where it was deployed.

Suppliers: Intermec Technologies, Diamond Data System
Product: CK31G mobile computer, Base Level Inventory Tracking System