7/28/2019 phnsycasesCase Study: Inventory Management System Keeps Pearl

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CaseStudy:InventoryManagementSystemKeepsPearlHarborMissionReady......................................................................................usercasestudy

WinWare Incorporated1955 West Oak CircleMarietta, GA 30062..........................................Phone: 888.419.1399

Fax: 770.419.1968..........................................www.cribmaster.com..........................................March 2010

7/28/2019 phnsycasesCase Study: Inventory Management System Keeps Pearl

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InventoryManagementSystemKeepsPearlHarborMissionReady

..................CribMasterInventoryManagementSystem|WinWare,Inc.

WhenasubmarinearrivesatthePearlHarborNavalShipyard(PHNSY),it

undergoesawell-plannedscheduleofmaintenance,overhaul,repairs,and

upgrades.On-timecompletionoftheseandothermaintenance-typeopera-

tionsplayamajorroleinmaintainingthereadinessofsubmarinesinthe

Pacific.Toensurethesecriticaldeadlinesaremet,PHNSYreliesonskilled

mechanicsinthreeshiftsadayandsomeweekends.AccordingtoIrisSeiki,

PHNSYSupplySystemsAnalyst,nothavinginventoryreadilyavailablefor

themechanicsonallthreeshiftsandweekendshasadirectimpactonthe

projectandonotherpeople'sjob.

Justasinanymaintenanceandrepairoperation,PHNSYstores

tooling,personalprotectiveequipment(PPE),andconsumable

productsincentrallylocatedtoolrooms.Withtheexceptionof

theoccasionalwalkandwaittimetoandfromthewaterfront

toolroom,gettingtheneededitemsforthetaskathandwas

generallyasimpleprocess.Simple,thatis,ifyouareafirst

shiftmechanic.Becausethetoolroomwasstaffedforthefirst

shiftonly,gettingmaterialswassomewhatmorecomplicatedfor

theothershifts.

Forsecondandthirdshiftmechanics,thisprocessrequired

additionalstepsintheprocess.Ifthemechanicfromtheprevi-

ousshiftdidn'tturnoverthematerialstothenextshift,he/shewould

havetosubmitanitemrequestfortheneededmaterialsforthetaskat

hand.Uponreceiptoftherequest,thetoolroomwouldsupplythematerials.

Therewasonlyoneproblem-thematerialscame24hourslater.Thenthere

wereotherconcerns.Whatifthematerialsthemechanicreceivedwerenot

theitemsrequested?Whenthisoccurred,theprocesswouldstartallover

againaddingmoreunproductivetimetotheworkschedule.Theseprocess-

escreatedbarriersthatdirectlyimpactedtheon-timeprojectcompletion.

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USS Houston (SSN 713) entersPearl Harbor - J une 2008

(Courtesy US Navy)

7/28/2019 phnsycasesCase Study: Inventory Management System Keeps Pearl

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InventoryManagementSystemKeepsPearlHarborMissionReady

..................CribMasterInventoryManagementSystem|WinWare,Inc.

Barrierssuchas:

- Workstoppageduetoinefficientprocesses

- Wastedtimewalkingtoandfromtoolroom

- Inventoryshrinkage

PHNSYdecidedtoaddressthesituationbygettingbacktobasics.The

seniorpersonnelstartedbyinterviewingthemechanicsabout

thebarriersputinplacethatharmproductivity.Whatthey

uncoveredwastheneedtoimproveaccesstoconsumable

materials,tools,anddrawings.Thefirststepinremoving

thesebarrierswastoaddresstheaccessibilityandaccounta-

bilityfortheconsumablematerials.Consumablesarecom-

monlyuseditemssuchaspaintbrushes,batteries,washers,

nuts,andgloves.PHNSYlookedtoWinWare,Inc.,themak-

ersofCribMastertoprovideasolution.

CribMasterisasetofinventorysolutionsusedinmilitaryandotherindustrial-typeenvironments.Theirfullsuiteofinvento-

rymanagementdevicesusingbarcodesandRadio

FrequencyIdentification(RFID)isalldrivenbyarobustsoft-

warepackagecalledCribMaster.

Intheirsearchforastoragesystemthatofferedflexibility,PHNSYchosea

suiteofToolCubepoint-of-usedevicesandlocatedthemdocksidewhere

thesubmarinesundergomaintenance.TheToolCubeisalarge,heavy-

gauge-steelconstructedcabinetthatcontainsdrawersandcompartmentsof

varioussizes.Here'showitworks.Themechanicsimplyscanshis/her

badgeandselectstheitemrequested.CribMasterthenprovidesaccessto

onlytheapprovedquantityoftheexactitemrequested.Withthe

ToolCube'suniquestoragesystemofconfigurabledrawers,PHNSYcould

accommodatemanydifferenttypesofinventory.Moreover,thissystemhad

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ToolCube Point-of-Use Device

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InventoryManagementSystemKeepsPearlHarborMissionReady

..................CribMasterInventoryManagementSystem|WinWare,Inc. 4

hecapabilityofaddingmoredevicesastheiroperationgrewandcontrols

neededtobetightened.

AlthoughthesystemwasrecentlyimplementedinSeptember2009,PHNSY

hasrealizedimmediateandpositiveresultsontheiroperation.Stock-outsin

heirconsumablematerialshavebeengreatlyreduced.Themin/maxfeature

onthesoftwareensuresoptimuminventorylevelsbysendinganemailalert-

ngsomeonewhenreplenishmentisneeded.

Moreimportantlyfromthemechanicspointofview,theyenjoyhavingtheightmaterialattherighttime24hoursaday,7daysaweek.Thishas

allowedthemtodotheirjobregardlessofwhichshifttheyareworkingand

allowedPHNSYtocontrolmaterialusageallatthesametime.

WheredoesPHNSYtakeCribMasterfromhere?Accordingtothesenior

personnel,oncethefinalcostanalysishasbeencompleted,PHNSYantici-

patesaddingmoredispensingdevicestotheirexistingsuite.Theyarealso

esearchingtooldispensingdevicesutilizingthecutting-edgetechnology,

RadioFrequencyIdentification(RFID).RFIDhasproventoaccuratelytrack

ools,mobileassets,andotherindirectmaterialsusedinthemaintenance,

overhaul,repair,andupgradesofsubmarinesinothernavalshipyards.

PHNSYisproudtokeepthesurfaceshipsandsubmarinesofournation's

Navy"FittoFight".ImplementingtheCribMaster"made-in-the-USA"auto-

matedinventorymanagementsystemhasprovidedcontinuousimprovement

nmaintainingfleetreadinessinthePacific.Thistypeofcontinuous

mprovementandmoremakesPearlHarborNavalShipyard"NoKaOi"-thebest.