1 Identifying Logistics Educational Needs Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane, Indiana Gail W. DePuy, John S. Usher, G. Don Taylor, Cindy Edlin University of Louisville

2 1.Determination of Workplace Competencies:  What are the items of general logistics knowledge that must be learned to prepare a person adequately for the practice of logistics?  Can a set of workplace competencies be identified? 2.Measurement of Logistics Preparation and Progress:  Is there a scale to measure the level of logistics competency that is currently held by an organization or its members?  How do Crane organizations perform on this scale?  How do Crane individuals measure up on this scale?  What metrics should be used to assess the value of specific logistics training methods? Project Purpose

3 Benefits  Employee understanding of position requirements  Identification of logistics training needs  Employee preparation for new job/position  Demonstration of existing qualifications  Personnel decision making  Logistics competency of all workers in the organization

4 Basic Elements In order to do this, the system that is proposed herein closely follows the model designed by Cooper (2000), by offering the following features:  Competency Model – The list of individual workplace competencies that workers must possess to be qualified for a position.  Position Standards – The level of knowledge required for each competency and each job.  Assessment Instrument – The measurement tool that will be used to determine levels of competency.  Gap Reports – A description of the differences between actual competency and required competency for a given job that can be used to determine training needs.  Individual Development Plans – a system for identifying to employee and management the areas where gaps exist.

5  Collected from subject matter expert interviews, military internet sites, logistics course descriptions, and career development plans.  Ms. Melissa Boeglin and Mr. Russell Dart, funded through the National Science Foundation “Research Experience for Teachers” program.  Review of the literature, including Lambert, et. al. (1998), Blanchard (2004), Simchi-Levi et. al. (2003), Bowersox and Closs (1996), and Turner et. al. (1987)  30 specific logistics workplace competencies deemed to be critical to the mission of NSWC-Crane. Competency Model

6 Competencies

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8  Target levels for each competency set for each job.  Many scales are possible.  The research team recommends the following five-point scale: 1= No experience, training or education 2 = Conceptual knowledge, but no experience 3 = Limited performance with supervisory guidance 4 = Frequent experience in performing the competency without supervisory review 5 = Expert level with no guidance; has provided consultation and training Position Standards

9  Customized package for NSWC-Crane using Microsoft Excel and Visual Basic.  A supervisor to define the position standard for competency within each job.  A supervisor to rate an employee by entering an actual score for each competency.  An employee to enter a “self-assessment” score for each workplace competency. Assessment Instrument

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13 Conclusions  Software package enables employees and managers to evaluate the logistics workplace competency levels for each job and design specific development programs.  The assessment tool is tailored to NSWC-Crane  Easy to use  Good data security  Enables competency evaluations from supervisor and employee  Helps identify the current logistics competency level of an employee and compares it to a stated position standard to identify “gaps”.  Based on the gaps, development plans can be designed  Case study implementation is underway now, by the RETs.