BITS Barcode Technology to Manage EM Assets

  • Published
  • By John Burt
  • AFCESA/CEBH
AFCESA --  Whether it is devastation caused by severe weather, or the threat of chemical or radioactive disasters, Air Force Emergency Management professionals stand ready to assist Airmen and their families. Their preparations include the acquisition and maintenance of a wide array of specialized equipment and supplies for home station, emergency response or unit deployment. A consistent challenge to Air Force leaders has been to accurately and efficiently track and manage surplus and shortfalls in emergency management. The Air Force Civil Engineer Support Agency, headquartered at Tyndall AFB, Fla., is fielding a new barcode inventory system to track the valuable EM assets that Airmen use at home and abroad. Training for this new system will be provided by the Air Force Reserve Command.

The Barcode Inventory Tracking System, similar to inventory scanning systems in large retail stores, prepares barcode labels to affix to EM equipment. Pre-packed sets of equipment and supplies, known by their five character unit type code, can contain hundreds of individual items compiled for a specific type of disaster response, mission or location. An emergency management flight could typically stock as many as five different UTCs to be deployed if needed. BITS can be programmed to manage an extensive amount of data on each UTC including expiration dates of perishable items or individual inspection requirements on components within the set. The UTC data is referenced when its barcode is scanned by a hand-held device.

Emergency Management's current inventory process is tedious, requiring Airmen to spend days unpacking each UTC and checking individual items manually from a printed checklist. The UTCs are then reassembled and packed for storage. The data is returned to the EM logistics section and manually keyed into the Automated Civil Engineer System, known as ACES. This lengthy process must be repeated at regular intervals to maintain EM readiness.

Randy Jones, AFCESA's Asset Visibility Program Manager, says that once the new Asset Visibility system is implemented and utilized, it will streamline the inventory procedure and create up-to-date equipment visibility across the Air Force.

"BITS gives the EM flights an excellent management tool to quickly and accurately inventory and track supplies, identify shortages and the cost to fill them. It offers the flight better control of their deployable assets and will significantly reduce the amount of time it takes to maintain their inventory." Mr. Jones adds, "From the results at the bases we've tested, this system reduces inventory time by 75 percent."

BITS also stores the history and profile of each piece of equipment. "BITS tracks both UTC and non-UTC supplies," Mr. Jones says. "When an Airman scans an item, BITS identifies the item, its classification and unit affiliation. From the history section of the BITS database, the user can also access the complete life-cycle record of that equipment from cradle to grave." Mr. Jones points out that the equipment data can also include purchase information, deployment history and a complete record of maintenance and service.

In Emergency Management's current system, inventory reports often only show shortages in equipment and do not identify surplus assets available. BITS data can be exported as an Excel spreadsheet to provide Air Force leaders a faster, more accurate picture of EM inventory across the Air Force. Darren Wetzel, BITS instructor and technician says, "BITS is a better tool to help ascertain shortages and overages before deployment. The ultimate goal is to utilize the supplies we have now and redistribute them to locations that need them without the Air Force having to go out and unnecessarily procure new equipment."

Currently, BITS is a stand-alone system and does not interface directly with ACES. Although Mr. Jones expects BITS to be approved for network connection within two years, all data that is presently collected through the hand-held scanners and batched through the BITS software requires operators to manually key the results into ACES. Mark Hewitt, the ACES Project Manager, describes the ACES/BITS relationship, "ACES is a unit deployment manager's tool. It's broader than just inventory management." Mr. Hewitt continues, "All of the deployable UTCs that civil engineering uses are loaded in ACES Personnel Readiness module. There, each unit maintains their inventory. The inventory maintenance portion is where BITS comes in."

BITS planners have worked to make the manual data transition to ACES as easy as possible. "The BITS templates are designed to line up with ACES UTCs. For example, line 45 in BITS is line 45 in ACES," Mr. Jones says. "When you compile your shortage report you can efficiently update your ACES in minimal time."

Although ACES does not offer the barcode features of BITS, Mr. Hewitt says the civil engineering system in development, called NexGen IT, will have this capability. "The idea of NexGen, which will replace legacy systems like ACES, is to centralize the equipment data. It will streamline the process and, as a part of that, utilize barcode technology." Mr. Hewitt continues, "The expeditionary engineering and emergency management spiral of NexGen IT, however, will not be released until sometime after 2015."

"BITS is not a replacement for ACES. It is a bridge until NexGen IT is in use. With that release still years away," Mr. Jones says, "we can utilize BITS to help MAJCOMs see their EM assets now. Until NexGen comes online, asset visibility through BITS will be at the forefront."

Each EM flight will receive a notebook computer with the BITS software installed, two hand-held scanners, and a barcode printer. "With this, the unit will be able to complete all of their EM UTCs in inventory," Mr. Jones explains. "When we looked at the EM requirement, we had enough equipment to provide an additional set of scanners and a printer for the squadron commander to decide where best to utilize it. The capability of BITS isn't limited to emergency management. It can be used for Prime BEEF UTC management and eventually be employed squadron-wide."

"BITS offers customizable control," adds Mr. Wetzel. "One of the unique aspects is that it can be used in different areas. EM, Prime BEEF, RED HORSE, Fire, and the depot warehouse at Grissom Air Reserve Base are all able to use the same system. It has flexibility."

In May, the first phase of BITS training and execution began with a two-week course at Grissom ARB, Ind. BITS trainer candidates from six major commands gathered to learn the system and go through the training that they themselves will conduct. Through this course, all BITS trainees will receive classroom instruction and valuable hands-on experience, spanning the complete inventory process from bar coding individual items to compiling reports. Mr. Jones admits that the implementation schedule is aggressive.

"This first phase will finish by November, 2011. We'll begin the next phase, training the remaining MAJCOMs, in September and should have our 105 installations completed by March of 2012." Mr. Jones continues, "The long-term challenge that we are addressing is to ensure we sustain the training. AFCESA will be conducting periodic quality checks and providing training resources through this process to ensure the training stays consistent."