FAA: Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center

Flying┬áhigh┬áThe Logistics Center of the FAAÔÇÖs Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center must move people, parts and heavy equipment at a momentÔÇÖs notice, Linda Seid Frembes finds out. The Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City is one of only two centers for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and serves as the central logistics organization for the FAA and the Department of Transportation (DOT). The Center provides service and support for 28,000 FAA facilities with air traffic control systems and acts as supply chain manager for instrument landing systems and radar. The Center is headed by director Lindy Ritz and deputy director Stan Sieg, both of whom oversee the various organizations within the Center, such as the FAA Academy, the Logistics Center, and the Enterprise Services Center. ÔÇ£As centralized support for the FAA and DOT, our organization focuses on technology, executive and manager training, logistics and providing enterprise services,ÔÇØ adds Ritz, who joined the FAA in 1979. ÔÇ£We are now a shared services provider to other departments within the government as well.ÔÇØThe Center employs 5,500 full-time government and contractor employees and is the largest DOT facility outside of Washington, DC. As of January, the organization completed ISO 9001 quality management certification, though individual departments like logistics, acquisitions and parts of the academy had been certified since 1996. ÔÇ£Bringing it all together sends a powerful message that we stand behind the quality of our organization,ÔÇØ says Ritz. ÔÇ£It also enabled all departments to learn about each other and improve their communication and processes.ÔÇØThe Center, which is also ISO 14000 certified for environmental management, is currently working to reach ISO 18000 certification. ÔÇ£With the large number of employees coming to retirement age, we felt the need to better organize and put work procedures in writing. Once procedures are properly documented, the organization can run better as a whole,ÔÇØ says Sieg, who also points out that employee certifications around lean and Six Sigma have also come into focus.From its location across from Will Rogers International Airport, the Aeronautical CenterÔÇÖs Logistics Center provides support to the National Airspace System (NAS) 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. According to the FAA, the Logistics Center offers the ability to manage and track vast amounts of material and equipment nationwide. It specializes in distribution, relocation, transportation and delivery of products, equipment or supplies.Michelle Coppedge, acting director of the Logistics Center, notes that it oversees supply chain management activity for over 62,000 stock numbers. The Logistics Center manages $760 million in inventory in a 725,000-square-foot warehouse to support core functions such as organic repair, storage and distribution. According to the FAA, 600 men and women provide those services in support of air traffic control services in the US and 44 different countries. Nationally, it provides services to more than 45,000 different facilities at 28,000 different locations.In order to insure a high level of service, the Logistics Center uses a state-of-the-art warehouse management system based on an off-the-shelf software package that has been highly customized. Additionally, the Logistics Center has taken the lead role in upgrading the Logistics Information System (LIS) currently used to manage parts inventory across the FAA. According to Sieg, LIS was developed in-house but is being replaced by the Logistics Center Supply System (LCSS). ÔÇ£LIS is built on a 1980s-era technical platform,ÔÇØ explains Coppedge. ÔÇ£The new LCSS will streamline our processes and give us more data visibility.ÔÇØThe FAAÔÇÖs Logistics Center also assists with disaster response, such as to the recent spate of major hurricanesÔÇöKatrina, Rita, Ike and Gustav. ÔÇ£We provide support of procurement, repair and anything else to help get things working again. WeÔÇÖll assemble a cross-functional group to identify problems and develop the shortest timeframes to get parts and people to the site,ÔÇØ says Coppedge, who notes that any damage to FAA equipment usually means a significant impact on cargo carriers and commercial airlines. ÔÇ£Sometimes a runway or an entire system is down and they need parts ASAP. In specialized areas, weÔÇÖll send a team to get the equipment up and running.ÔÇØCoppedge also explains that any order placed by 3:00 pm local time, if in stock, is guaranteed to be shipped to the field the same day. The Logistics CenterÔÇÖs location near an airport and its agreements with carriers such as FedEx ensure that it can uphold that guarantee. In addition, a customer care center is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to take calls from the field. The CenterÔÇÖs response also includes international support to areas hard hit by tsunamis and other natural disasters. According to the FAA, the Logistics Center responded to a request for navigational aids for the islands of the Maldives in South Asia, an area directly in the path of a tsunami. The local airport was in need of aircraft guidance to continue the support of commercial aircraft into the area. In response, the Logistics Center loaned mobile very-high-frequency omnidirectional range/distance measuring equipment (VOR/DME) to the area. This equipment could quickly re-establish aircraft guidance to aid in the relief efforts. ÔÇ£Sometimes the response includes more than equipment parts; we also send expert technicians and specialized equipment,ÔÇØ says Coppedge.Also under the CenterÔÇÖs purview is regular maintenance of radomes and towers installed throughout the NAS. Last year the CenterÔÇÖs 35-person site services team went on 410 visits to maintain and repair these radomes, towers, and antenna systems. According to Coppedge, the shells on the radomes will deteriorate and get damaged due to weather.The site services team requires specific certifications and often attends special workshops on field safety, as well as hazardous material identification, containment and storage. In addition, there is a safety meeting with all team members at the beginning of any job so that each person understands the specifics of the task. ÔÇ£We have a large environmental health and safety program. Every incident, no matter how small, is reported and tracked. Department managers are given a trend analysis every month to constantly evaluate incidents,ÔÇØ says Coppedge.Sieg notes that the agency is one of two percent of all companies rated as merit status for OSHAÔÇÖs Voluntary Protection Program, which promotes a comprehensive safety and health management system. ÔÇ£The Logistics Center exists to reduce risks, whether safety or financial, to the government,ÔÇØ says Sieg. The Center relies heavily on strategic sourcing and the use of long-term contracts to normalize prices on agency-wide commodities. Ritz adds that, as part of the Franchise Fund, the Center sells its goods and services at competitive rates.┬á ÔÇ£Our customers and business are not guaranteed,ÔÇØ she highlights. ÔÇ£We must be competitive." Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *   ┬áFirst published March 2009