Original Date: 12/06/2004
Revision Date: 01/18/2007

The U.S. Army Aviation & Missile Command Integrated Materiel Management Center developed and implemented a unique, web-based Munitions History Program for commodities that require continuous verification of product condition, limitation, shelf-life, or usability factors. This program ensures users that the latest and most consistent data requirements are being used and that product information is consistent from location to location.

The tracking, physical condition, and restrictive uses of products are problems faced by many industries and commodity logistics personnel. The U.S. Army Aviation & Missile Command (AMCOM) Integrated Materiel Management Center (IMMC) developed and implemented the web-based Munitions History Program to track the conditions and limitations of all munitions used by the Army worldwide.

IMMC’s Munitions History Program was launched in mid-2004 and replaced a paper-based system that was field generated for each commodity inspected and documented. The paper-based system was prone to errors because various field personnel entered data, used different methods to gather data and, at times, omitted data. Field inspectors/quality assurance personnel would inspect munitions, note the pertinent munitions conditions, limitations, etc. on the appropriate form, and then transport that information to another site for data entry into a main database. Because of the high volume and variability of a product and the world-wide dispersion of product locations, often the reports were inadvertently mixed with the wrong munitions, giving incorrect information to the warfighter. Since the data existed in many separate locations and formats, appropriate personnel could not cross-query or exchange data for possible problem resolution or proper management planning.

IMMC’s Munitions History Program eliminates most of the problems that were inherent in the paper-based system. The web-based program is hosted on Oracle web-to-go (also know as Oracle-Lite database), and the server information files are developed off-line for all individual commodities requiring condition/limitation inspections and what inspection criteria are to be followed. This information resides on a main database server remotely located from the actual inspection sites. As field inspectors/quality assurance personnel (who may be at a remote location anywhere around the world) prepare for an inspection, they can download the inspection criteria for a particular commodity they are authorized to inspect. Password protection and unique user identification codes prevent the inadvertent field downloading of wrong source documents. The person performing the actual inspection/quality assurance function now uses the latest database information/inspection criteria. The required data inputs reside on the inspector’s laptop, handheld, or personal computing device being used in the field. Immediately after the physical commodity inspection, the inspection data is synchronized with the main database files via Internet connectivity. This ensures that the information on all munitions is current and can be shared with other external information systems as required.

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