CRANE, Ind. - Crane Army Ammunition Activity increased the percentage of Inventory Count Accuracy and percentage of Compliance with Army Regulations through a Lean Six Sigma project that examined durable tools valued over $50 maintained and tracked by the CAAA main tool room.
The Black Belt project, conducted by CAAA Chemist Trish Staggs, provided a process for accurately tracking durable hand and power tools, valued over $50, at the CAAA Tool Room from its purchase to its final disposal. The project also brought the tool room procedures into 100 percent compliance with Army regulations.
According to Staggs, "The project benefits CAAA because the new process lays out tool room personnel responsibilities, ensures tools are tracked no matter their location, safeguards tools at tool storage locations, and reduces the amount of tools unaccounted for in the system. Maintaining the correct level of inventory of tools and tracking those tools helps provide CAAA personnel with the tools they need to do their jobs to support the Warfighter."
Through the use of an excel spreadsheet tool tracking file, CAAA increased the percentage of inventory count accuracy from 84.2 to 99.87 percent. The excel spreadsheet process improvement increased the sigma quality level from a 2.5 to a 4.5. CAAA also increased the percentage of regulatory compliance from 72 to 100 percent compliance with Army Regulations for durable hand tool tracking. This project equated to a projected cost avoidance of $43,154 for FY2011.
Staggs explained that having a good team helping her on the project was critical to success on the event.
"The project took about nine months to complete from start to finish. The team really pulled together to get this project done; it truly was a team effort," Staggs said.
CAAA was established in October 1977 and maintains ordnance professionals and infrastructure to receive, store, ship, produce, renovate and demilitarize conventional ammunition, missiles and related components. The Army activity is a subordinate of the Joint Munitions Command and is located on Naval Support Activity Crane.
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