Air Force IUID Part Marking - A2B achieves “lift off” for enterprise-wide seek and apply marking
Air Force has been a frontrunner in the rollout of IUID since it was introduced in 2003. A2B is proud to have been a significant partner in the AF rollout, first in 2008 with the award of the EBS (Enterprise Barcode Service) contract and later in 2010 with the award and implementation of the IUID Part Marking contract. The former requires the manufacture and delivery of IUID labels to USAF bases worldwide – some 10 million over five years. The latter requires the fielding of part marking teams who physically label parts at all USAF bases – 221 in all.
This case study not only tells the story of what AF is doing to mark legacy items, it also serves as a template for the marking and registering of legacy and government furnished property (GFP) in any large enterprise.
Make no mistake, enterprise-wide seek and apply part marking involves a great deal more than someone slapping a label on an item. That person must know which label to use, which part to label, how to prepare the part for marking, which label material to use and how to position the label. The data management challenges faced in large enterprises – to capture, cleanse, verify and register serialized item data should not be underestimated. The first step is to develop a methodology that is consistent with IUID data management best practices.
Coordination and consistency - keys to success
In our work with the Air Force, A2B has developed a multi-layered approach that involves worldwide coordination, intensive training, a precise process for project management, field support and no small amount of diplomacy and creative problem solving.
The AF part marking effort began as a pilot in 2009 when A2B was tasked with marking a single base - MacDill AFB. That effort ran concurrently with an AF “organic” part marking effort at five other locations. Using AF personnel, they wanted to compare a contractor part marking approach to an approach of enlisting their own equipment custodians. After recognizing that their “organic” effort wasn’t going to achieve the required results, AF expanded the pilot effort to 29 bases. The methodical approach to marking, which A2B has painstakingly developed, grew out of the earliest experiences. “We sat in many hotel rooms drawing up plans,” says Field Operations Manager John Jay Mouligne. ‘The plan evolved as we saw what really worked out on base. Now we feel we are a well oiled machine and have contingency plans in place for when things don’t go as they should.” Part Marking Program Manager Mark Freydl and Mouligne were the principle marking team and process designers.
Having worked side by side with AIT PMO since the first contractor part marking pilot project at MacDill AFB, A2B has played a central role in the development of the Air Force’s approach to contractor part marking. Coordination continues with staffing, both within the continental United States (CONUS) and outside the continental US (OCONUS). A2B enjoys access to qualified labor pools, ensuring that the part marking services have a global reach, including in-theater such as Iraq and Afghanistan. A2B also makes every effort to hire military veterans and disabled veterans whenever possible. “This is a great way for people with military experience to be trained in a management role that they can use going forward,” says Freydl.
Fielding teams around the world has its challenges. Early in the process, A2B utilized a large amount of feedback from its existing teams as to optimal team compositions, leadership to subordinate ratios, and capacity to handle fluctuations in the schedule. Elements such as these are incorporated into a detailed hiring package, which guides the team fielding process. Refinement of this process is ongoing, with A2B making modifications and additions to the team structure as needed. For example, Matt Corso, a former Coast Guard Operations Specialist, was recently moved into a newly created Field Supervisor role with the ramp-up of concurrent bases in the marking process.
Team structure
Both A2B leadership and field personnel work closely with military representatives from each base, to schedule and coordinate the efforts of the part marking teams. The assistance and cooperation of the base personnel plays a crucial role in planning and is extremely important to the marking team outcome.
When asked about his greatest challenge in the field Corso didn’t hesitate, “Without a doubt it’s managing personalities and communication,” he says. “That’s understandable when you think about it. We arrive on a base and require that all these people work together: equipment custodians, various squadrons, and the Air Force AIT program office, not to mention personnel in secure environments. Things can get territorial. We are sometimes seen as auditors. The good news is that we’re there to fix problems, to improve the system, and people are starting to get that.”
Training and support the keys to marking success
A2B has developed a steady plan to effectively train and support field personnel. A centralized train the trainer conference is the starting point for team support in the field. Additional measures include direct interface with the A2B Field Operations Manager (FOM), interconnectivity between teams, web-based training materials, an in-house help desk, and access to other partners round out that support. “The implementation of this training and support component was designed, from the ground up, for scalability,” says Freydl, “and it has proven effective in the smooth transition we have experienced on the most recent project in which our scope is up to 221 bases.”
A2B has also developed robust visibility of key performance indicators, specific to part marking, that can tell where a project stands and predict where it is headed. Coupled with this oversight “Surge Strategies” have been developed for adjusting to unforeseen changes, midstream in a project. “Surge Strategies” are a series of measures that range from increased velocity to adding of technicians.
A precision process for every base
In addition to the requirement of properly marking parts and cleansing data, the motivation to develop a precise, repeatable process for each marking site was efficiency. “The business of part marking can be straightforward when done correctly, but it becomes very problematic and expensive when done incorrectly,” says Freydl.
A typical marking process looks like this: Having already coordinated with base personnel, the CPML (certified part marking leader) meets his team at the base visitor’s center where they are greeted by the EAE. This individual is usually designated to work closely with the team and is responsible, in large measure, for a successful marking deployment.
The first day is given over to base orientation, usually a base tour and a safety brief covering everything from on-base traffic laws to proper ear protection around the flight line. At overseas bases, this brief will include important customs and expectations while off base.
Once the team is settled into their workspace, usually a free desk in the Logistics Readiness Squadron (LRS) offices, the CPML will take inventory of the pre-shipped marking equipment (handheld computers, laptop, labels and marking kits). The first task is to sync their handheld terminals with the account database, and the team heads out to mark the account. The team is not expected to hit their prescribed quota of items marked on day one.
Once the team has established a daily rhythm with the EAE, marking progresses smoothly. The CPML arrives early to sync the handhelds. Depending on what kind of accounts are on the day’s schedule, the CPML and the scheduler will confer as to how the team should be distributed. For example, with weapons accounts it is usually more efficient to send two people with one handheld.
Depending on how the team is progressing through the base, the CPML will either be marking with the team or out performing quality assurance checks on accounts already marked. This is a major part of the CPML’s job, continuously ensuring that the team is performing their job to both IUID and A2B quality standards.
Part marking and data cleansing act, in part, as an inventory process for each equipment account. As a result A2B has gained many keen insights into the nature of issues faced by LRS and its equipment custodians. When discrepancies are found between the database and the actual parts, A2B’s team must inspect the data for each asset, which often turns into a detective process with the following two steps: first, locating certain information that may be missing from the equipment database and second, dissecting and taking proper action on information presented by the equipment custodian’s tracking software.
“You’ll be standing in front of something that is described as a ‘scooter’ and you are picturing a childhood scooter,” says Corso. “About 99% of the time that ‘scooter’ turns out to be a Humvee or some other huge vehicle. When that happens, the other data on that vehicle usually doesn’t match either. That’s when we have to go into detective mode to clean up the data.”
Once the team has completed marking at a base, the CPML and the EAE do a “walk-around” to perform spot checks. This is to ensure that labels have adhered properly and that the data harvested is accurate. Finally, the LRS office issues a sign-off document that the job is complete, and the team moves on to their next base to start all over.
And the result is…
With nearly one million Class VII Assets – major end items - marked to date, the Air Force leadership role in IUID compliance is beginning to pay off. Even seasoned military men like Matt Corso see it that way. “In the long run this is going to save taxpayers money,” he says. “A lot of the AF data that is fed to us needs to be brought up to date. Our job is to clean up that data to help everyone from the warfighter to the top brass get what they need.”
John Jay Mouligne agrees. “We’re definitely improving the systems, and as a result AF can more effectively redistribute its assets,” he says. “The attitude has switched from ‘buy a new one’ to ‘let’s improve the visibility of our inventories so we can use what we’ve got.’ It’s a big shift. AF personnel seem to recognize and appreciate what IUID is doing.”
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