Congratulations to the MRR and procurement team members producing extraordinary results in one of SOUTHCOM’s most challenging areas! Pictured from left to right: Jose Martinez, Doris Vallecillo, Novia Galan, Carmen Rodas, Doug Bellah, Kayla Moran, Geena Marquez, Ron Vlieg, Jorge Corea, Horacio Navas, and Eduar Moreno
Two Amentum teams have strengthened operational readiness for the warfighter. The teams performing critical vehicle maintenance support and procurement services at Soto Cano Air Base (SCAB), Honduras, provided immediate access to non-tactical vehicle and equipment repair parts and procurement status despite challenging conditions.
Providing procurement services in Honduras has unique challenges with heavy rainfall, high humidity, mountainous terrain, narrow coastline, the occasional earthquake or hurricane, and inadequate infrastructure throughout the country to meet continual supply chain demands. The government’s average lead time for receiving non-tactical repair parts for vehicles and equipment was 120 days when Amentum first arrived to begin operations and deliver logistical services.
APLS Logistics Director, Doug Bellah knew from experience his team could meet customer needs by improving the procurement process and overcoming obstacles. After seeking and receiving the procurement award from the customer, his first order of business was to reduce the lead time for arriving repair parts. Bellah immediately implemented a Maintenance Readiness Review (MMR) team to improve efficiency that resulted in reducing the over 90 days open work orders from 135 down to 18 and the average material lead time from 120 days to 35 days. Furthermore, the contractual Acceptable Quality Level for fault repairs is now 96.64%. A goal unreachable prior to MMR implementation.
“The first six weeks of implementing the MRR was arduous, but after the team’s hard work at understanding the process and taking ownership, they are enthusiastic about seeing the results of the MMR throughout the project,” said Director Bellah who meets weekly with the MMR team.
Additional improvements to the procurement process included increased visibility on material order status, which was not readily available before the procurement team created and implemented an expediting report. The procurement team met over several weeks focusing on customer needs regarding Purchase Order (PO) status to develop the report, which is now circulated to all end-users. Training sessions were also offered to end-users that demonstrate the report’s full visibility on every PO. The benefits include buyer visibility on critical PO dates that led to setting performance metrics and increased confidence.
“Fully functional vehicles are a critical element of all military operations, and I am very proud of the teamwork that has produced exceptional visibility and readiness for our customers and end users,” said Richard Hayes, VP of Operations, Critical Missions Logistics and Supply Chain, on a recent visit to Soto Cano.
Carlos Perez recently accepted the Program Manager role at SCAB and had this to say about the remarkable work being performed by his teams, “By achieving our goals, our team members take pleasure in their outstanding performance. I am consistently proud of the work being accomplished in Honduras in support of the warfighter.”
The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island awarded Amentum-Parsons Logistics Services the LOGCAP V SOUTHCOM task order for support services at Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras in May of 2019.
