1. DoD Item Reduction Program
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DoD Item Reduction Program
DSCC-VSC
Intro
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2. Item Reduction (IR) The Item Reduction Program is defined by:
Title 10 of the United States Code “Cataloging and Standardization Act”
DOD M “Defense Standardization Program Policies and Procedures”, Appendix 8 “Item Reduction Program”
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Item Reduction Studies (IRSs) are intended to reduce to the highest practical degree possible the number of sizes and kinds of items that are similar (considering form, fit and function)
This concept supports where one item can satisfy the requirements of several items (e.g., considering: material finish, material type, size of items, head type, etc.)
Defines Item Reduction in very general terms.
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Expedited Item Reduction Study List (EIRSL) – An item reduction study listing containing items where logistics support is jeopardized.
Proposed Item Reduction Study List (PIRSL) – An item reduction study listing containing items that are grouped because their form, fit, and function allows one or several items to be replaced by a single item.
Defines the functions and methodologies used within IR
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The Item Reduction Activity (IRA), as defined in SD-1, shall:
Determine the cost benefit of conducting an IRS.
Develop IRS.
Coordinate IRS with the Custodians, Using Activities, and GSA.
Resolve comments.
Approve IRS after resolving comments.
Submit Item Standardization Code changes to the Federal Logistics Information Service (FLIS).
Print and distribute approved IRS (CIRL).
Further describes the functions of IR
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IR Tools
DLA uses several automated and manual tools in developing & conducting IRS:
Item Reduction Web site Capability (IRWSC)
Item Standardization Application-On-Line (ISA-OL)
DLA’s SAMMS
FLIS
JEDMICS (Technical Drawings)
FEDLOG
Commercial Research capability:
Haystack
Commercial hardcopy catalogs
Shows the number of tools used. Emphasized the new IRWSC used to coordinate proposals among the services.
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IR Coordination
Resolving Nonconcurrences - The IRA shall resolve nonconcurrences in one of three ways:
The IRA may accept the nonconcurrence
The IRA may reject the the nonconcurrence with justification, allowing the submitter at least 30 working days to rebut the rejection
If no reply is received in 30 working days, the IRA shall contact the custodian
If the custodian is unsuccessful in getting a reply the service DEPSO will be contacted
Items shall not be standardized by default
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IR Issues
Timeliness of responses are particularly important for EIRSLs
EIRSLs are often the result of a backorder, and the answer may be the solution to that backorder
Delays in EIRSLs may result in readiness issues for the services
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IR Results
Effectively, the Using Services/Agencies have identified that an NSN they currently use in their equipment can be supported with another NSN. This replacement has been coordinated with all recorded users of the NSN being replaced
The IRS results in agreed to standardization relationships being recorded in FLIS
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IR Benefits
The IR program benefits DLA and our customers in many ways:
Increases the use of standard parts
Decreases the number of redundant NSNs
Decreases backorders and DMS situations
Increases interoperability
Decreases cost
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Cost Avoidance
The benefits of Item Reduction are measured by cost avoidance
Cost avoidance attempts to measure the cost that is saved due to the use of these programs
It is difficult t measure the benefits of the MPCAG program. The concept used to measure these benefits is called Cost Avoidance. Cost Avoidance is the act of avoiding spending money. If spending money can be avoided a gain is realized. The difficulty is determining what that cost is, particularly in the rather complicated world of military parts procurement.
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Cost avoidance is based on the costs associated with maintaining standard part numbers instead of non-standard ones
This cost avoidance impacts DLA as well as the military services and contractors
Formal Cost Avoidance is based on the cost during the life of the weapon system to maintaining multiple non-standard parts numbers versus the cost of maintaining one standard part number.
These costs affect DLA and DoD to a great extent, but also impact the contractors involved.
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Cost avoidance takes many aspects of total ownership into account
Cost of additional NSNs
Paperwork costs
Tracking costs
Bins
Larger buys of fewer unique items
Less DMS problems
Cost avoidance takes the entire cost of ownership of that unique part number for the duration of the specific weapon system and compares it to the cost of a shared or standard part number.
Costs associated with a particular part number (standard or non-standard) include:
- Paperwork to put the part in the contractors, services, and DLA system
Tracking costs to determine how many parts are available, where the parts are, who is making the parts etc
Storage costs for maintaining an inventory of the parts.
For unique parts these costs are related to a particular weapon system for the life of that system. For standard parts these costs are shared across multiple weapon systems.
When true standardization is realized, everyone (DLA, Services, Contractors) benefit from the ability to buy larger quantities of fewer unique parts. This allows for economies of scale.
Also, standard parts are generally available longer, thereby lessening the problems and costs associated with DMS problems. This can be a very big benefit of using standard parts.
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