The Army's #1 priority is readiness and Anniston Army Depot's #1 priority is to deliver readiness by delivering combat-ready vehicles, artillery, small arms and secondary items through the effective and efficient execution of the hundreds of programs we manage each year.
Fortunately, we have fielded some technology in recent years that is enabling us to do just that!
It has been seven years since the deployment of Army Materiel Command's Logistics Modernization Program, the web-based method of managing Army materiel assets.
Transitioning from the old system -- Standard Depot System -- was challenging for ANAD, but we embraced the change and, as a result, today we are highly adept at using LMP and are leading the organic industrial base in our understanding and management of the data in LMP.
Simply put, because of our overall mindset and willingness to quickly adapt to change, we are driving improvements across AMC as we head toward the future.
Everyone here at ANAD should be very proud of the fact that we are known across AMC as a highly flexible organization.
We have once again shown our willingness to embrace change and improve our overall capabilities as we went live with Complex Assembly Manufacturing Solution, or CAMS.
CAMS provides ANAD better visibility of shop floor operations, increasing our ability to streamline and improve all of our production processes.
As we learn this new system, CAMS will also improve our ability to deliver programs on schedule and simultaneously provide better visibility to our mechanics and artisans on the floor by providing increased access to production related information.
CAMS is already live in all of our production shops. We have 2,961 active production orders and over 87 percent are in the CAMS system. The remaining 373 were issued prior to go-live last year.
It is crucial to the Army that we meet our objective of delivering readiness by delivering each program on time, at or below cost and at the highest level of quality. In fact, when it comes to quality, perfection is our ultimate goal!
Our current system of record for capturing quality-related information is the Electronic Maintenance Inspection Data Analysis System, or EMIDAS, which we started using in 2007 on the M1 Abrams line. Over time, we expanded EMIDAS use to all combat vehicles and weapon systems.
The Quality Assurance Office is also transitioning to CAMS and is beginning to phase-in the processes that will allow the depot to capture quality data and rework processes in CAMS.
As we begin this transition, we have to capture quality data in both EMIDAS and CAMS. The intent is to stop using EMIDAS at the end of September 2017 and use CAMS exclusively from that point forward for inputting all quality data.
For the short term, using both systems will effectively double the data input requirements, but we will move as quickly as possible to using only CAMS.
Here is where we need that great ANAD workforce to help: Our focus on recording quality-related data in all work centers is of the utmost importance.
The more quality data we record and capture, the faster we can provide improvements across the depot that will make all employees daily work easier as we improve work instructions, add new work instructions (if needed), adjust and streamline work flow processes, provide improved tooling, adapt reclaim procedures or improve our workforce training opportunities, for example.
All of these initiatives will reduce rework associated with defects, which will also lower our rates and simultaneously improve quality and increase the speed at which we are able to complete programs to meet the Army's readiness demands.
Together, these improvements equate to improved combat systems performance for the Army and will open ANAD up to additional opportunities as we prepare for the future.
As we begin to capture rework in CAMS, there is one critical step we must not miss. Whenever we have to do rework, it is absolutely vital that supervisors contact planners in the Directorate of Production Management so a separate production order for that rework can be quickly generated.
Supervisors are required to review the Cost of Quality Letter of Instruction so they understand this process and can help employees as we strive for excellence in everything that we do.
Additionally, all supervisors will receive a class and "live illustration" of the CAMS quality module during our April all-hands supervisor meeting.
As we work together as a depot-wide team to focus on our quality improvement initiatives, we will make ANAD even stronger and posture the depot to support Army readiness in the years ahead.
These improvements will also make us more competitive as we boost the reputation of ANAD with our nation's warfighters as we focus on delivering quality products, on-time, every time.
As always, please know how proud I am of each of you and what you do every day to support our troops serving in dangerous places today and those who will serve in unknown and difficult circumstances in the future. Thank you for what you do, and thanks for living up to our motto -- the Pit Crew of the American warfighter!
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