Original Date: 02/10/2003
Revision Date: 01/18/2007

The Materials Identification and Procurement System is a management tool that will document material requirements and status. Bender Shipbuilding and Repair Company, Inc.’s departments can obtain tailored views that assist in ensuring the right material is made available at the right time to the right place. Improved access to necessary information and communication between departments will enhance effectiveness and efficiency throughout the entire organization.

All shipyard material requisitions, from nuts and bolts to sophisticated engines and machinery, are currently prepared independently of other projects and monitored on disjointed database resources. Shipyard departments use manual methods to link information entered in different databases. The absence of a centralized database and lack of a single systematic approach in documenting procurement data creates difficulty and effort in preparing and tracking material procurement requisitions. The current methods of managing material procurement information result in duplication, surplus material not fully utilized, lack of ready access to historical cost information for validating current estimates, and relevant engineering and planning data not linked to current procurement and status data. Data changes in one department are not immediately apparent to other departments. Such information must be uploaded, sometimes manually, into Bender's IBM mainframe system.

Bender teamed with Knowledge Based System, Inc. (KBSI) to produce an application referred to as the Materials Identification and Procurement System (MIDAPS). Initial development is being funded under Small Business Innovation Research. Development is now in Phase II of a three-phase development process. MIDAPS, based on Bender’s needs, is being evaluated using its data. Bender will implement MIDAPS upon successful completion of Phase II testing. MIDAPS, much like Microsoft Excel, operates in Windows and is user-friendly. The single database will be accessible by all departments, but include data relevant only to each department. Changes will become available to others as soon as they are entered. Specialized report screens will be easily tailored to a particular department’s needs and preferences. Columns may be rearranged, and data may be filtered in different ways. Department accountability for a particular column of data will be annotated and built-in permission controls will prevent unauthorized changes from being made.

MIDAPS, when implemented, should substantially improve communication between departments. This information management tool is likely to produce quality requisitions, improve decision-making, and enhance effectiveness and efficiency. MIDAPS will link material procurement specification and tracking information to engineering and planning information. Surplus material will be made more visible and be better utilized, resulting in cost savings.

For more information see the Point of Contact for this survey.