RIGHT-SIZING
ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSONS WE LEARNED IS THAT
RESULTS WHEN YOU ADJUST TO THE TRANSPORT
THAT IS AVAILABLE, RATHER THAN EXPECT THE TRANSPORT TO ADJUST
TO
With the heavy demand for space on these aircraft, PM SPIE faced delays of nearly two weeks before the uniforms and gear were shipped in the 20- or even larger 40-foot containers.
Logisticians at PM SPIE were also aware that these containers would not fit on the C-130, the air transport workhorse of OEF. This meant that if uniforms and equipment were shipped in standard con- tainers, each shipment would have to be broken down for shipping out to forward operating bases (FOBs), a time-consum- ing and expensive task that could lead to damage or loss of equipment.
COST CONTAINMENT PM SPIE looked at using smaller ISU 80 metal cargo containers, which, at 9 feet x 88 inches x 80 inches, can fit in the C-130. The problem was cost: $11,868 each.
“When we first ran the numbers and saw that we would need about 400 of them, we were looking at a price tag of over $4.7 million,” said COL William E. Cole, PM SPIE. “I asked the team to look for a more flexible and less expensive solution.”
PM SPIE’s logisticians decided that the best approach was to build low-tech
wooden containers for shipping out the equipment. Although the wooden con- tainers would wear out sooner than metal containers, the lower cost more than com- pensated for more frequent replacement.
Eure & Sons Construction Co., a small woman-owned firm in Hertford, NC, was one of several small firms that were contacted by the contractor NCI Inc. to build containers on short notice. The contracts were awarded under an existing cost-plus-fixed-fee contract with NCI.
The firm’s President, William “Chicago” Eure Jr., recalled that three firms were asked to estimate how many crates it could produce within a week or two. “We weren’t the first firm that was awarded a contract, but we were willing to make them at the right price within the allotted time,” he said.
A SOLUTION ON MULTIPLE FRONTS Eure & Sons, which is three years old with eight employees, made 580 of the total of 610 wooden shipping containers built for PM SPIE. The wooden contain- ers cost $1,600 each.
YOU.”
The containers saved something besides money: jobs.
“This was a lifesaver for us,” Eure said. “Construction was slowing down in our state, so this work flow fit in very well with what we were doing. I believe in supporting our troops, and it was great to be able to play a role in getting them the equipment they need overseas.”
Another advantage to using wood containers was the ease with which the design could be modified. PM SPIE soon realized that containers that could fit in the C-130s were still several inches too tall to fit in the other, smaller transport aircraft,
such as Antonov 24s and
Ilyushin 76s, that contractors sometimes use to ship supplies out to remote FOBs.
So the height of the boxes was reduced enough to enable the same crate to be shipped all the way from the United States to the receiving unit in a far corner of Afghanistan.
Using the new containers also cut the wait at Dover Air Force Base, DE, from 14 days to 3 or 5 days, accelerated the delivery, and ensured that the fielding was
YOU USUALLY GET BETTER
146
Army AL&T Magazine
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