May - Library

d i s c re p a n c y. The short part is due on October 5, while the equipment
is expected to be repaired on a revised due date of Sept 30 (from the
equipment maintenance screen). Thus, the analyst is now aware that
the equipment will not likely be ready on September 30th, as in the
revised plan, but will more likely be available some time after October
5, after the short part is shipped. The analyst can either change the
equipment expected due date or attempt to accelerate the shipment
of the short part. To facilitate the latter action, the system pro v i d e s
capabilities to support inquiries to the purchasing agent, or dire c t l y
with the supplier.
The part number can also link to transportation provider tracking
details if the part has been shipped, so that exact arrival status can
be determined. In addition, the part number inventory information can
be accessed from the part number hot link.
Exception-Based Feedback
One of the objectives of near- real-time management support
systems, such as MERIT, is to build in feedback loops so that
exceptions can be identified and monitored without the need for
excessive database search and query. MERIT accomplishes this
objective in two ways. The first feature is a screening mechanism
that allows the analyst to segment the full database into a MyMerit
v i e w. MyMerit filters the database so that organizational units or
equipment items are isolated. This provides focused analyst control
at appropriate levels of re s p o n s i b i l i t y. This feature is like establishing
and tracking a stock portfolio. The second feedback approach is an
email alert feature. The user can configure the system to pro v i d e
email alerts when perf o rmance ratings drop below or improve beyond
established thresholds. Finally, because tools like MERIT draw data
f rom many diff e rent transactional systems it highlights many
disparities between and among them. Accord i n g l y, many
reconciliation features were included, such as the following fre q u e n t
conditions:
• parts are not on order in the supply system even though the
Equipment Readiness and Visibility Using Honeycomb Maps
maintenance system indicates they are.
• parts have been delivered to the requestor’s facility even though
his system indicates they are still due in.
F e a t u res such as these can be used to actively manage the
maintenance and supply system to overcome equipment repair delays.
Conclusion
MERIT is a new tool that is receiving wide interest both inside and
outside the Department of Defense community. The tool pro v i d e s
managers at various levels a “honeycomb” visual re p resentation of
maintenance performance along a number of different performance
characteristics, within a number of diff e rent data hierarc h y
a l t e rnatives. The tool links the visual display with underlying re p a i r
cycle detail, indicating equipment level and part number level status.
Such information can be used to follow-up and focus on part i c u l a r
p roblems, identify potential solutions, monitor ongoing eff o rts, and
identify responsible persons or organizations.
References
1 May 30, 2003, Johnstown, PA.
2 Shneiderman, B. “Tree Visualization with Treemaps: a 2-d spacefilling
approach,” ACM Transactions on Graphics, Vol. 11 (Jan.
1992), pp. 92-99.
3 The MERIT application was developed as a collaboration
between Concurrent Technologies Corporation (CTC), U.S.
Marine Corps, and Defense Logistics Agency.
4 See Steve C. McConnell , “Rapid Development: Taming Wild
Software Schedules”
(http://www.credata.com/research/rad.html).
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