FORT McCOY, Wis. -- An updated computer database system for maintenance records is improving the efficiency of equipment transactions at the Fort McCoy Installation Materiel Maintenance Activity (IMMA).
Eric Fox, chief of the IMMA Production Control Division, said Standard Army Maintenance System (SAMS)-Installation Enhanced (IE) was created specifically to meet Army needs.
The old system was web-based; the new system uses local servers.
“It’s definitely an improvement to have the local servers,” Fox said. “The new system responds much faster and saves us a lot of time.”
SAMS-IE includes client (user) computers, which allow for data to be input.
The new system also is compatible with the program units use, and allows them to input data directly into the system, he said.
Fox said this is very helpful for mobilization/demobilization units that may have a number of work orders. This saves them time and helps them to meet their tight training schedules.
“SAMS-IE also streamlines our tracking system and cuts down on paperwork,” Fox said.
“When you realize we have more than 1,500 open work orders and more than 60,000 work orders in the system you can realize the time savings we get. It allows us to give our customers better and quicker service.”
While the new system primarily is used to take care of customer equipment requests, it also helps IMMA run its reset programs more efficiently, Fox said. The reset upgrades bucket loaders, water distributors, bobcats, tank and pumper units and air compressors, which then are sent to the U. S. Army TACOM Life Cycle Management Command and allocated to units.
The system allows IMMA to streamline the process to get the other equipment into the shops for maintenance and repair and returned quicker to the units, he said.
A contractor, McLane Advanced Technologies of Temple, Texas, installed the system at Fort McCoy. Fox said the company held a two-week training course and then offered three-week over-the-shoulder familiarization training before the system went live at Fort McCoy in April.
“The system allowed us to convert data from the old data base system to the new one, so that saved us a lot of time,” Fox said. “Our people have appreciated the new capabilities of the SAMS-IE system.”
Social Sharing