Center of Parts Activity (COPA)

Transcription

1 RG Perspective Center of Parts Activity (COPA) Design, Tools, Data Feeds, Impact 11 Canal Center Plaza Alexandria, VA HQ Robbins Gioia

2 In 1999, an effort to reduce the number of hours spent manually researching paper reports from the Air Force s (AF) D035K retail legacy system resulted in the web-based application named COPA. In 2010, COPA transitioned to Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) as part of the 2005 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC) adding to DLA s standard and common Information Technology (IT) solutions. COPA uniquely combines AF and DLA data to provide a one stop location for supply chain management. COPA is utilized by the three DLA Industrial Support Activity (ISA) locations: Ogden (OO), Tinker (OC), and Warner Robins (WR). The tools and reports in COPA provide the following benefits: Reduces research time needed to identify and correct supply chain problems. Instead of researching multiple systems for AF and DLA data to identify supply disruptions, COPA guides the user to specific actions with "stoplight" alerts proactively resolving supply problems such as filling backorders, ensuring stock is inbound to fill levels, ensuring due-ins are established for backorders, and improving the overall health of the ISA. Achieved DLA Aviation s goal of 25 percent backorder reduction early for two of the three ISAs (29.48 percent WR, percent OC, 18.6 percent OC). Provides immediate D035K ten year historical data aiding the end-users in their ability to perform trend analysis, research financial data relating to inventory gains and losses, and formulate demand support strategies. Identifies material/transaction corrections such as imbalances between AF and DLA legacy systems, misidentified material receipts, and D035K exceptions DLA COPA user types vary from parts managers to ISA commanders. Some examples of users include 1) Material Support Specialist (MSS), 2) Customer Support Technicians (CST), 3) Customer Support Managers (CSM), 4) Demand Planners, 5) Customer Support Specialists (CSS), 6) Stock Fund Managers, 7) Demand/Supply Chain Analysts, 8) Business Process Analysts, 9) Cross Process Analysts, and 10) various members of management. COPA users have gradually increased each year since inception. Most notably, since 2010, there have been 723 new users with 301 of those new users in fiscal year Due to the necessity of COPA to the forward located DLA users and its impact on the retail-focused industrial mission, COPA s usage averages over 30,000 page hits monthly. COPA Design Prior to the 2010 COPA transition from an AF network to a DLA network, the AF hosted three servers (development, test, and production) for COPA s frontend using Microsoft (MS) Internet Information Services (IIS) on a MS Windows server and three servers (development, test, and production) for COPA s backend using Oracle. The frontend web application consisted of a mixture of Active Server Pages (ASP) and ASP.NET. Conversion from ASP to ASP.NET began in 2008 and was required since classic ASP was no longer supported. Approximately, 80 percent of COPA utilized ASP.NET technology prior its transition to DLA. During the 2010 transition, COPA added code to incorporate the use of DLA s Account Management and Provisioning System (AMPS) for user management and DLA s Single Sign On (SSO) for user authentication. COPA s existing technologies include: 1) Oracle; 2) MS Visual Studio; 3) Crystal Reports; 4) MS IIS; 5) ASP.NET C#, Web Parts, profile properties and membership services; 6) JQuery and JavaScript; 7) Toad; 8) HyperText Markup Language (HTML); 9) MS Silverlight components; 10) MS SourceSafe; and 1

3 COPA Users and Usage Center of Parts Activity (COPA) Avg Monthly Hits Avg Monthly Users Chart 1 COPA Users and Usage 11) Classic ASP. During the transition, these technologies were validated against the existing approved DLA IT document. Further, since the six COPA servers reside on a J6R network and the COPA team members reside on a J6N network, COPA utilized the J6N Configuration Control Board (CCB) process with coordination at J6R for additional supporting software requirements exclusive of the approved DLA IT document. COPA Tools COPA consists of the following modules. Monthly usage of these modules is depicted in Chart Shop Service Center (SSC): This module provides stoplight alerts for SSC asset posture including the total number of items and value. Some examples of SSC alerts include 1) Candidates for SSC stockage; 2) Items with no usage; 3) Items in Transit; and 4) Items with excess material. 2. Customer Support Specialist (CSS): This module provides pre-planned actions and 2 stoplight alerts quickly discerning problem items needing attention. This proactive approach narrows the daily workload for the CSS community and other users. Some examples of CSS alerts include 1) All backorders greater than 30 days old; 2) Backorders with assets on hand; 3) Backorders with positive Y-store balances; and 4) Backorders with Acquisition Advice Code (AAC) Y or V. 3. Additionally in July 2012, the automated Resolution Checklist was added to this module. COPA was chosen to house this functionality as a result of the numerous data feeds. Users were manually researching questions on this form and now this time has been reduced substantially. This functionality is restricted to only DLA users and currently has over 4,300 page hits monthly. 4. Shop Service Center (SSC): This module provides stoplight alerts for SSC asset posture including the total number of items and value. Some examples of SSC alerts include 1) Candidates for SSC stockage; 2) Items with no usage; 3) Items in Transit; and 4) Items with excess material. 5. Sustainment Specialist (SS): This module was deployed in August 2012 and provides stoplight

4 alerts for the SS community and other users. After only one day, this tool highlighted a problem that would have gone unnoticed by the SS community. This problem brought attention to the fact that there were DLA worldwide balances for items and no purchase orders or requests were automatically generating as expected : This module provides users the ability to manage special level items and its revalidation process. 7. Parts Analysis Reporting Tool System (PARTS): This module provides users the ability to manage items within a specific shop. 8. Material Supportability Tool (MST): This module provides supportability for the aircraft, commodities and electronics communities. For aircraft, the historical issues are combined with the current PDM schedule to provide a supportability viewpoint. Also, planned and unpredictable issues can be viewed by each aircraft throughout the PDM process. 9. Material Analysis Repository System (MARS): This module contains 800+ pre-canned reports and is the most used module with an average of 19,500 page hits monthly. These reports have the functionality to be printed or downloaded. 10. Supply Supportability Tool (SST): This module provides demand data and is used to compute monthly metrics such as stockage and issue effectiveness. 11. Metrics: The module combines an assortment of metrics for users. For example, stock and issue effectiveness, CSS rollup, dynamic flash report, and feedback. 12. Backorder: This module provides the health of backorders with a cascading view (executive summary to CSS). This module tied directly into one of the fiscal year (FY) 2012 priorities set forth by the DLA Director, a 25% backorder reduction in FY2012. This module aided WR and OC in reaching its goal ahead of schedule. By having this functionality, DLA Aviation is able to affectively determine backorder bottlenecks and resolve backorders with unexplored stock on hand. Also, 3 this module deployed in March 2012 has an average of 3,700 page hits monthly. National Item Identification Number (NIIN) lookup: This module allows users to view information relating to an item combining AF and DLA data such as the AF and DLA AACs, all AF and DLA balance & levels data, all alerts, and historical usage. Every NIIN throughout COPA is hyperlinked back to this module such as the automated Resolution Checklist, CSS, SSC, and Backorders. 13. Administration: This module provides the ability to manage users, monitor the status of daily data feeds, and displays user statistics. This functionality is limited to the COPA team members. 14. Feedback: This module provides the users with a line of communication with the COPA team and allows them to alert us immediately if a tool is not functioning correctly. It also allows the COPA team members to track requests by users for additional functionality. COPA Data Feeds COPA receives data daily from the following AF and DLA systems: 1) AF D035K contains the retail backorders (due outs), due ins, balances, levels, and Mission Capable (MICAP) backorders data; 2) AF Navair Industrial Material Management System (NIMMS) contains the Y-store balances; 3) AF Programmed Depot Maintenance Scheduling System (PDMSS) contains the aircraft Programmed Depot Maintenance (PDM) schedules; 4) AF Enterprise Management Information Systems (EMIS) contains actual PDM departure dates; 5) AF Manufacturing and Planning Control System (MPCS) contains the organic manufacturing data; 6) DLA Enterprise Business System (EBS) contains the purchase orders and purchase requests, wholesale and worldwide balances, asset, and due-ins data; and 7) DLA Distribution Supply System (DSS) contains the Shop Service Center (SSC) balances and levels data. COPA sends data daily to the DLA Fusion Center relying on COPA as its only source for D035K data.

5 COPA s Impact Previous to COPA s existence, users would spend an entire work day researching AF D035K backorders in a large and cumbersome report called a transaction register (TR). COPA translated this machine-coded report into an easy-to-read format. After the development of COPA, this TR report was removed from the AF D035K legacy system. Since the AF D035K legacy system only stores two years of historical data, COPA has been warehousing more data and stores more than 10 years of historical data. This repository is used daily for trend analysis during special project requests by analysts at each ISA. Some examples of these projects include 1) DLA Aviation monthly How Goes It charts briefed monthly to ISA Commanders and quarterly to DLA Aviation Commander; 2) C-17 Boeing (source of supply F77) monthly demands data with unexpected increases in requisitions; and 3) End item and component Awaiting Parts (AWP) backorders weekly analysis. COPA s impact is far-reaching and touches every facet of supply as it relates to managing the ISA. COPA provides its users with a proactive approach to solving parts problems. Further, COPA reduces the multitude of systems users would log into for daily research. This enables users to focus on the necessary actions required to improve the health of an item, the SSC, and ultimately, the ISA. Further, combining AF and DLA data together in one system promotes information sharing amongst DLA users providing a unique single focal point for DLA management and all areas in DLA Aviation. Finally, as budgetary pressures force DLA to continue to perform at a high level with an ever shrinking workforce, COPA ensures users can filter the crucial daily work requirements allowing each ISA to do more with less. 4