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Innovative Asset Management
Asset management and tracking is a significant challenge in any organization. In some cases, errors in identifying correct information about an asset or the location of an asset can lead to a shutdown to re-certify equipment, potentially causing long delays and large expenses, both direct and indirect. This is especially true in mission-critical situations, thus lending credence to the proverb "for want of a nail, the battle was lost." Despite these concerns, however, a majority of companies are still using manual processes to track physical assets and, because of latency and human error, have asset management systems riddled with inaccurate data.
According to a study conducted by real-time locating system (RTLS) vendor WhereNet [Bar Scan], 78% of companies reported that operations personnel perform at least one search per day for assets, with 25% reporting more than 10 searches per day; 64% indicated that search times to locate each item were 30 minutes or longer.
The survey, completed by 146 operations managers, engineers, and IT executives, found that 84% of respondents still use manual asset tracking techniques. More significantly, 100% of respondents admitted that their data capture information was inaccurate: the result of human input error or improper or missed scans. Similarly, 100% of respondents reported that the latency associated with current inventory systems resulted in errors in the location of inventory. Respondents also reported that their companies write off $500,000 or more in annual losses as a result of lost assets or inventory. The survey highlights a range of concerns associated with current asset management methods, including significant labor costs and expenses incurred due to a lack of real-time information about inventory and assets in the supply chain.
KBSI offers these capabilities in responding to these challenges including:
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Real-time asset visibility |
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Configuration management/technical data |
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End-to-end supply chain visibility utilizing its variety of software tools |
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Employment of enterprise architecture expertise |
Working closely with you and your organization, KBSI will identify specific and achievable best practices that advance your company’s strategic asset objectives. Once an enterprise-wide consensus of the best practices to implemented is reached, KBSI's professionals will determine the resource requirements necessary to meet these goals and recommend the specific steps for optimizing labor, materials, and assets.
Examples of KBSI logistics solutions programs include:
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The U.S. Air Force's Tinker Air Force Base is tasked with the repair and maintenance of aircraft in the Air Force's enormous aircraft fleet. Central to these activities are the Aircraft Maintenance Operations Controllers who must quickly locate, stage, and deploy critical resources needed for aircraft movement and maintenance work over a very large maintenance and storage area. This lack of visibility into the status and location of MRO assets has resulted in unnecessary aircraft and parts moves, schedule slippages, and, consequently, increased costs. KBSI's RampMap® toolkit provided the Aircraft Maintenance Controllers with a tool that affords additional support and visibility into aircraft staging and movement operations on the ramp while increasing visibility in aircraft maintenance status. |
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The Agile, Wireless Enabled Workflows for Ship Manufacture and Repair (AWSM™) initiative developed tools that enable U.S. shipyards to take advantage of pervasive computing and the ubiquitous pull and push of information to optimally deliver information to every user, work crew, or process. The focus of the effort was to completely redesign processes using a new paradigm in which the workload is constantly adjusted to achieve peak performance and to optimally utilize the flexibility and connectivity of PDA, Tablet PC, and wireless technology. |
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One of the most significant difficulties facing shipbuilders today, in both new ship construction and ship repair, is the inability to efficiently identify, procure, and deliver to the jobsite the material necessary to complete the job. This inefficiency often leads to increased construction costs, delays, and extended lead-times. KBSI was tasked with creating a system that facilitates information-integrated synchronization of construction activities with material management functions through a re-configurable, centralized database management system. The Material Identification and Procurement System (MIDAPS) provides an information-integrated approach to synchronizing construction activities with materials management. MIDAPS allows users to identify materials, determine the current status of materials (in terms of both purchasing and planning), and procure materials by linking purchase orders. |
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