SCRUB-A-DUB DATA


Data cleansing ef forts at AMCOM look to ensure cradle- to-grave data accuracy to enable Army readiness.


by Jacqueline M. Hames E


ach part of the acquisition process is connected to the next—some parts connected in more ways than one—in a continuous cycle; a cycle that is dependent on data. And much like a small pebble thrown into


a pond, a small error in data will create far-reaching ripples. Te U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) Logistics Center is working to prevent those ripples along the aviation and missile supply chain through data cleansing.


Soldiers are consumers of everything AMCOM produces, said Fred Pieper, deputy director of the AMCOM Logistics Center (ALC). When he was in uniform as an Army warrant offi- cer, he didn’t understand or appreciate that—all he knew was that he got the parts, tools or manuals that he needed when he needed them. But quite a bit of data and manpower goes into guaranteeing the right thing at the right time.


“When a Soldier accesses the supply system, all they can know is sitting at their terminal or whatever access point they are using,” he said. “Tat’s it. Tat’s the entire truth as far as they know it—so we owe it to them to ensure what they can see on their screen or their portal is as accurate as we can make it.”


ALC is responsible for sustaining fielded aviation systems and ensuring that those systems are fit and usable and work as advertised, Pieper said. Its workforce of about 1,700 civil- ians and 3,500 contractors based around the globe sustains the tools, instructions, parts and maintenance for systems whenever and wherever Soldiers need them. Te center is synchronized with the Program Executive Office (PEO) for


36 Army AL&T Magazine Spring 2020


Aviation and PEO Missiles and Space, and works closely with several other PEOs. Even with a robust workforce and close working relationship with other offices, the center is constantly looking for ways to develop. To that end, ALC has multi- ple, ongoing efforts to improve the quality of data to enable multiple business processes: the data quality assessment tool (DQAT), the forward-looking tool and the compatibility tool.


“We have to get better at what we’re doing because the demand on our product, which is support to the field, is ever increas- ing,” Pieper said. “One of the things we wanted to focus on was our decision-making ability, our ability to analyze and plan, and we’ve determined that we’re not going to get any better at that until we improve both the confidence in our data and the quality of our data,” he said.


Te data that ALC receives from industry enters the Army inventory via the supply system at AMCOM, Pieper explained. Tat’s the beginning of the data collection process for the supply side of the house, which feeds directly into the Acquisi- tion Data Domain. Te domain is a framework for holistic and effective data management that will provide Army acquisition leaders comprehensive information on all aspects of the Army’s modernization programs through three tiers: data entry, data management and data-driven decisions.


Pieper recently attended a meeting that included Dr. Bruce D. Jette, assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology. “We talked for a long time about decision- making at his level; [he] relies on the guys in the trenches,


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