Asset Visibility; What, Where, and Condition
In order for DoD to make data-driven decisions, asset visibility is a must. One of the most complex and vital tasks facing the Department of Defense (DOD) is providing users and sustainment managers with timely and accurate information on the serialized configuration, location, quantity, condition, movement, status, and identity of equipment, materiel, and supplies. Gaining this asset visibility requires integration among all the DoD Components, and industry partners that operate DoD’s supply chain, and includes asset tracking, in-transit visibility (ITV) and lifecycle management of assets (item unique identification (IUID)). The purpose of this forum is to examine how asset visibility can improve maintenance operations by effectively and efficiently providing spare parts, fuel, and critical supplies and maintenance in the right quantities to the right place at the right time, and at the right cost. Please join us and participate in the exchange of information and ideas.
Minutes
Event: On 31 January 2023, the Joint Technology Exchange Group (JTEG), in coordination with the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS), hosted a virtual forum on “Asset Visibility; What, Where, and Condition”.
Purpose: The purpose of this forum was to discuss the challenges and solutions, research and development, and implementation of asset visibility capabilities in support of DoD sustainment.
Welcome: Steve McKee, OSD-MR, welcomed everyone to the forum and provided a brief introduction of the presenters and emphasized the significance, challenges and impact that asset visibility related innovations have within the DoD sustainment community.
Administrative: There were 47 people in attendance on the open forum. The presentations, along with questions and answers, were conducted through Zoom.Gov which provided a well-used chat capability for comments and Q&A.
5G Smart Warehouse – Manny Casas (DLA) described the Defense Logistics Agency’s Strategic Distribution and Distribution (SDD) Program’s mission, structure, and asset visibility challenges in maintaining end-to-end visibility and traceability of supply-chain transactions across the DOD’s supply chain. He discussed the Smart-Warehouse which utilizes systems of business systems such as augmented reality, predictive analytics, modeling and simulation, and autonomous robots to improve asset visibility. He concluded with a detailed description of DLA’s 5G Smart Warehouse Roadmap.
Naval Autonomous Data Collection System (NADACS) / Automated Item Tracking –Steve McKee provided an overview on NADACS and how it could be implemented as a joint solution. Michelle Pommier (NAVSEA 04T2) described that NAVSUP is implementing NADACS at the Naval shipyards to perform asset tracking. NADACs uses commercial off the shelf (COTS) products to merge radio frequency identification (RFID) with mesh network, Bluetooth, and 5G. NADACS has an Authority to Operate, and is currently deployed at NAS Oceana and Norfolk Naval Station. Implementation at the remaining shipyards is planned for FY23-25.
Marine Corps Platform Integration Center (MCPIC) – Scott Prouse (USMC) described MCPIC as a Government owned and accredited platform that uses a collection of applications in an open architecture to perform inventory visibility, speed to count, and location. MCPIC uses passive Radio Frequency Identification (pRFID) and Global Positioning System (GPS) to rapidly capture and locate assets. MCPIC use has resulted in shortened inventory cycle times from months to hours and has been a huge tool for quality control and inventory management. Scott demonstrated the usability of MCPIC and concluded with a description of robotics integration.
LogSmart™ Supply: A Supply Chain Risk Management Solution – Bob Meteer (LMI) described LMI’s LogSmart™ Supply as a supply chain risk management tool that leverages an organization’s historical supply chain data to provides data-driven insights.
Bob explained that LogSmart™ Supply can run configurable risk modeling and simulation against companies and parts in your supply chain, conduct scenario analysis for pre-and post-disruption mitigations, and provide insights such as available investment options, associated return on investment, and alternate vendor identification. LogSmart™ Supply’s visualizations can help decision-makers identify mitigation options, execute prioritized action plans, and optimize resource distribution.
Q&A – A Q&A occurred after each briefer finished their presentation. The slides cleared for public release will be posted on the JTEG website with these minutes.
Closing Comments: Steve McKee thanked the presenters and participants for their attendance and all the work being done to support asset visibility innovations in support of DoD sustainment operations.
Action Items:
- Obtain copies of remaining cleared presentations once they are approved to post to a public website, and post to the JTEG website at https://jteg.ncms.org/.
Next JTEG Meeting: The next scheduled JTEG virtual forum is 28 February 2023, 1:00 – 3:00 pm EST. The topic is “NAVSEA Sustainment Technology”.
POC this action is Ray Langlais, rlanglais@lmi.org, (571) 633-8019