KBSI’s Material Identification and Procurement System (MIDAPS) automates the planning, procurement and management of materials for manufacturing and maintenance and repair operations (MRO). Implemented at Bender Shipbuilding
& Repair Co., Inc., MIDAPS addressed Bender’s need for organizing and coordinating the material procurement process. At Bender, material information is developed, maintained, and tracked by a large number of departments, each with a different interest in the material. Estimating is concerned with initial major material identification. Engineering needs design information. Procurement requires vendor and
cost information. Planning requires availability dates, and production requires that the physical material be in the right place at the right time and with the right accompanying information. To complicate matters further, changes to materials
and their attributes (cost, suppliers, availability, need by dates, design information, etc.) occur frequently, but are only recorded in the subsystem that deals with the particular attribute change. Histories are difficult to maintain, and even more difficult to track.

MIDAPS tackles these issues by addressing the high level of interdependency between multiple materials management activities and information systems—activities and systems that must account for constant change. MIDAPS provides an information-integrated approach to the synchronizing of construction activities with materials
management using a rapidly re-configurable, centralized relational database management system. The system stores data related to jobs, materials, and shipyard
departments in this centralized database, allowing users across the shipyard to view real-time data concerning the status of materials in production and procurement. Users can also perform other material management activities like procuring
materials, creating material estimates, and automatically generating requests for quotes (RFQs). The MIDAPS Analysis Agent, a set of problem detection algorithms, analyzes data for individual jobs and alerts users of potentially significant
material procurement issues. The algorithms scan the data and uncover materials that are past due, were ordered too late to satisfy the schedule, or were ordered too early and may cause inventory problems.

MIDAPS gives Bender an efficient, integrated, and synchronized material system that addresses Bender’s need for responsive and effective material management. While
MIDAPS was developed to meet the requirements of the shipbuilding industry, it also includes a number of customization features that make it easily adaptable to any generic MRO environment, providing material identification, procurement, material statusing and decision support for the complete life cycle of materials. The results at Bender? Job cost savings, a reduction in cycle times, an increase in profitability, and an increased throughput capacity—results that can benefit any manufacturing or MRO environment.