DLA enterprise improvement project supports process redesign

NEW CUMBERLAND -

Subject matter experts from across the Defense Logistics Agency enterprise gathered for a Rejected Disposal Workshop at DLA Distribution Headquarters in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania, July 29 - Aug. 1.

The workshop is part of a DLA improvement project that focuses on activities for two of the project phases. Moving forward, the team will begin identifying related tasks for each of their recommendations developed during the workshop and obtain the approval of the project champion.

"This is the first of several DLA enterprise improvement projects to support a redesign of the Disposal Release Order process for items that require special handling," said Sherry Amrhein, program manager, Continuous Process Improvement, DLA Distribution. "Currently, the Disposal Release Order process does not account for items that require special handling, which increases costs to DLA and has a negative impact on resources. This workshop is the first step in improving that process."

Currently, the Disposal Release Process begins when a materiel owner no longer needs items they store at a distribution center. The materiel owner then releases a disposal order and requests that DLA Distribution pick, pack and ship the material to the DLA Disposition Services location within closest proximity to the distribution center.

"In some instances, DLA Disposition Services does not take physical custody of items unless specific actions and certifications are obtained first. Sometimes these items must be shipped to a site other than Disposition Services," Amrhein said. "These items are identified as requiring special handling. Because of these requirements, disposal orders shipped to Disposition Services will be rejected and sent back to Distribution where the material is placed back in the materiel owners stock account."

In some cases, DLA Distribution preemptively prevents the release of the disposal order and processing due to these handling requirements since it is known they will be rejected.

"So essentially, Distribution is not able to execute the materiel owner's request to dispose of the items, hence the reason we discovered a non-compliant finding during Distribution's Agency Management Review, which kicked off the enterprise-wide project," Amrhein explained.

Since fiscal 2023, DLA Distribution has shipped over 180,000 Disposal Release Orders and of those, over 3,000 were items that required special handling. DLA has identified 13 categories of items that fall under special handling.

"We have a population of NIINs [National Item Identification Numbers] that we know require absolutely zero handling. Automatic and manual DROs should flow all the time," said Kevin Scheetz, division chief, Inventory, Transpiration and Disposal Management, DLA Logistics Operations. "It's the ones that need something that we have to make sure the owning major subordinate command has the money and a contract in place to facilitate."

Perry Knight, deputy commander, DLA Distribution, provided opening remarks at the workshop and emphasized the importance of efficient, cost-effective processes.

"At the end of the day, if we don't get the processes right and the financials right, it costs us money and costs us time," Knight said. "What you do over the next handful of days is vitally important."

By bringing together subject matter experts from DLA Headquarters, DLA Distribution, DLA Troop Support, and DLA Land and Maritime, the workshop provided a holistic picture of the Disposal Release Order process throughout the enterprise.

"Coming together as a group is a great way for people to share policy requirements and ideas more freely that other members may not be aware of," said Bill Farmer, project manager, Disposal Policy, DLA Logistics Operations. "Policy changes are ever evolving and will always be necessary as technology and process changes occur and should always be viewed as a positive thing, even if the change is a little uncomfortable in its implementation."

Participants began by reviewing the process' current state by evaluating the requirements, current process maps and current data. From there, the team identified and prioritized process gaps.

"The principles of Continuous Process Improvement constitute the overall framework to organize the project focus and activities," said Jonathon Andell, master black belt and lead project facilitator, DLA Transformation.

During the workshop, the team identified 14 processes that can create special handing disposals. The team developed recommendations to prevent the release of these disposals until DLA redesigns the process so disposal actions for these items can flow smoothly.

"Overall, participants found the workshop informative and were able to better understand the processes in more detail as well as the various role in the process in the process and how those individual roles align to what they do within DLA," Amrhein said. "Hosting the workshop in person gave the team members the opportunity to network and engage directly with the DLA team members that impact their day-to-day work."

After the conclusion of the workshop, the team made the decision to modify the project type from Define, Measure, Explore, Develop, Implement, or DMEDI, to Define, Measure, Analyze, Propose, or DMAP.

"What is unique about DMAP is that the actual implementation of the changes is not part of the project, but rather the implementation tasks are assigned to the subject matter experts from the project team as a separate follow-on activity," Andell said. "A key rationale for breaking out implementation can be when that implementation of necessity must take significant time."

The DMAP project type is not intended to design or redesign a process but rather to deeply understand how the current process works and identify ways to adjust the process. One key deliverable of the project type is a project plan, often a Plan of Action and Milestones, to track the activities in a project management setting.

"I really appreciate you coming together here, and it's like anything else, where there's many, there's wisdom," Knight said. "If we work together and get this all sorted out, it's going to make things better for the agency and for our employees."

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