VT Miltope
VT Miltope Gets UID Compliant
VT Miltope is a leading U.S. manufacturer of computers and computer peripheral equipment for military, industrial, and commercial tactical and aviation applications that call for reliable performance in the most demanding environmental conditions. With decades of design and development experience, the company excels in the design, testing, and manufacture of equipment that meets the stringent standards of MIL-STD-810, MIL-STD-461, FCC Class B, RCTA DO-160 and IEEE 802.
Now VT Miltope can add another standard to that list – MIL-STD-130M. With manufacturing engineer Shane Kelley as the point man, the company has been proactive in meeting the stringent new requirements mandated under new Department of Defense unique identification (UID) policy.* UID is mandatory for manufacturers of end item deliverables, contractors with government property (GFP) and contractors with legacy items.
With a new contract in hand, Shane knew he needed to get up to speed quickly in order to meet all contract requirements, including UID item marking compliance. Four new devices would require the UID label. In addition, in order to be compliant the labels would need to be verified, validated and uploaded to the new IUID Registry.
Doing the Homework
Shane began his quest by attending a DoD phone seminar, obtaining DoD literature about UID policies and requirements, and studying the DoD’s website designated for UID implementation. He also searched the web for companies supporting UID implementation. There he found A2B Tracking Solutions. Shane says he was quickly impressed by A2B’s knowledge of UID policy and technology, responsiveness and the ability to work closely with a veteran bar code label expert to design the right label for VT Miltope.
His choice of label material and placement was of paramount importance. The company’s products are frequently subjected to harsh environments and temperatures ranging from -40°F to + 160°F. Another consideration was consolidating data from existing labels into the new UID labels, and getting approvals from a variety of customers for label content and placement.
After thorough investigation thermal-printed polyester labels were chosen. The label printing system, which was supplied by A2B to print the new UID labels in-house, is now used throughout the facility on all manufactured products. A customized label option is a bonus that is available to non-military customers.
Planning for UID Implementation
Because the changes required for UID compliance cause ripples throughout an organization, the process of planning for UID implementation involved several business units: Program Management, Contracts, Operation Control, Quality Control, Procurement, Design Engineering and Manufacturing Engineering. Shane offers this advice for others charged with implementation of UID compliance, “Ensure that UID implementation is not taken lightly and ample time and support are afforded for implementation. Invest a great deal of time in research and training into requirements of UID compliance within the facility, along with team involvement and support. Make sure that everyone is aware of what is involved.” What follows is the implementation plan Shane followed in order to keep his team on track.
UID Implementation Plan
Hold meetings with manufacturing engineers and director of operations to determine the following:
- Type, size, real-estate and number of new label(s) required to meet UID requirements
- Obtain quotes from suppliers on UID implementation systems
- Perform environmental evaluation of the UID label
- Meet and select the appropriate supplier of UID implementation systems
- Generate an engineering change to implement new label design for all effected products
- Perform validation and verification of UID implementation systems
- Train appropriate personnel on the operation of equipment for UID label printing.
Shane used a decision spread sheet to help him determine his best vendor choice. In the end VT Miltope chose UID Comply!™ lifecycle management system from A2B, because the Implementation Team was impressed by the depth of knowledge A2B demonstrated during a webinar presentation to the group. “We also appreciated that A2B offered full implementation capability,” says Shane. “Other vendors could take implementation only so far, and then they would subcontract for other requirements and technologies. We wanted one point of responsibility.” This is understandable when one considers that achieving UID compliance at VT Miltope has required the integration of UID Comply!™ software for managing all UIDs and contract data to the IUID Registry, wireless network connections, desktop scanners, handheld computers (HPCs), and a label design and printing software.
Proactive VT Miltope is Ready for New Contracts
To date, in addition to label generation VT Miltope has successfully performed validation and verification of those labels and electronically uploaded the data to the IUID Registry. What remains is the harvesting of data from items that are maintained by the company, when those items are moved.
Shane says that there are always some surprises when implementing a new program, including the cost and the time required for integration between software operation and production flow. Now that the learning curve has settled down, VT Miltope is experiencing little affect on production and manufacturing cycle times. The good news is that they have the UID learning curve behind them. They are fully UID compliant and ready as new government contracts come their way.
* UID compliance requires all assets and personal property owned by the DoD, including newly manufactured deliverables and assets in the possession of contractors, to be marked with a unique serialized identification number which must be verified, validated and registered in the IUID Registry. When UID compliance is complete, the military will have total visibility of assets deployed around the globe, thereby enabling efficiency and fiscal accountability.
Comment