Container Management initiative saves money, eliminates waste

Published April 25, 2008
By 2nd Lt. Tania Bryan
379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- In an effort to not only improve the aesthetics of the installation but also save the Air Force hundreds of thousands of dollars, the 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Group and Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron's traffic management flight have joined forces to combat extraneous shipping containers.

With the help of units within the mission support and medical groups that use containers, along with several outside agencies, this partnership has led to the establishment of a program to ensure they are promptly returned to their commercial source, avoiding additional fees.

"So far, this aggressive program has eliminated more than 690 excess shipping containers and has saved nearly $800,000," said Lt. Col. Scott Fike, 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Group deputy commander.

"The nearly year-long endeavor has help provide civil engineers a way ahead to support long-range planning associated with moving into hardened facilities," said Colonel Fike. "As we transition from an expeditionary to enduring presence, we need to reduce or eliminate items with no value or remaining purpose. Eliminating hundreds of shipping containers is simply a smart way to save money and free up space."

The first phase of the program was to identify, locate, enumerate, categorize and inventory all the shipping containers on the installation, said Colonel Fike. An Army Assist Team supported the endeavor by providing information on the container management system that logs cargo movements. A cross-wing functional team was then able to begin identifying and building the initial inventory list, he said.

"The inventory provided a couple pieces of important information," said Senior Master Sgt. Rodney "Q" Phillips, chief of the traffic management flight and base container management program manager. "One piece we keyed in on instantly was the container's utilization percentage. For instance, 'is it half full or three quarters of the way full?' With that information we could consolidate some of those assets into fewer containers."

Another key to making this happen was determining not only who actually had the containers, but also what they were being used for and finding out where each container was physically located.

"With Chief Master Sgt. Sam Desai, 379th EMXG superintendent, leading the way, we were able to verify custody of the containers and pinpoint those that were unclaimed," Sergeant Phillips said. "With this information, we then arranged for unneeded containers to be returned to the commercial source or to the transportation system."

A great example of the success of the base container management program was the de-stuffing of more than 500 containers during a short two-month time span. On average, 40 containers were emptied per week.

"The hard work of the 379th ELRS container management team formed during the last rotation and led now by Tech. Sgt. Jennifer Ochoa and Airman 1st Class Joseph Trevino was also key," Sergeant Phillips said. "The team braved the heat and endured the long hours coordinating each movement with outside agencies, while making sure everything was done safely."

"Next month, the Army Assist Team will be visiting again to look at our inventory, we'll have a [point of contact] in each unit with custody of a container who will receive training on accountability and inventory management," said Sergeant Phillips. "In the beginning, most units did not want to let [the containers] go, but now with the program in place to make sure they are being properly used and accounted for, we won't go back to where we were before."