Army Logistics

The Aviation System Command's current management approach is to react to specific part problems to minimize the effect of these problems on readiness rather than to identify the systemic causes of the problems. When problems with parts arise, this approach leaves managers with little choice but to take costly actions such as expediting procurements and deliveries on contracts. Although the Command has the basic framework in place for gathering information on the systemic causes of problems with parts, it is not collecting accurate and up-to-date data that are expressed in consistent, uniform terms. GAO found that the Command has no comprehensive initiatives to identify systemic causes of problem parts. One activity within the Command, however, has been evaluating a proactive system to avoid supply availability problems. This activity has shown potential for reducing parts' costs and improving readiness.

GAO found that: (1) the Command's approach has been to resolve individual problems as they arise, instead of identifying the systemic causes of problems; (2) the Command collects information necessary to identify parts with quality problems, but the information is not useful in its current state; (3) the completeness and accuracy of the information in the Deficiency Reporting System (DRS) depends on input from functional directorates that are responsible for investigating identified problems; (4) the Command is developing a proactive approach to improving the quality of its parts and reducing operating and support costs; and (5) one activity within the Command has been developing and testing a proactive system to promptly identify parts that are likely to develop problems with supply availability.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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