An exercise in logistics Luis Salinas You have relocated to somewhere in Utah/Nevada and have to take a 1,000 mile trip through the desert on short notice. You are going to drive there because that is the only mode of transportation available. What preparations do you make before the trip (ILS Element considerations)? Choose one. Fill her up & head on out! Change the oil, top the fluids, and check the tires yourself. Have the car serviced at the…
With a “guest” introduction by Kevin E. Williams, Director for Studies, Analyses and Assessments for Headquarters, US Air Force, the Journal of Defense Analysis and Logistics (Volume 1 Issue 1; ISSN 2399-6439) made its inaugural on-line debut in late 2017. Published by the US Air Force Institute of Technology’s Center for Operational Analysis (AFIT COA) and delivered on-line by Emerald Publishing Services, this Open Access peer-reviewed semi-annual technical journal considers a broad range of topics across the fields of logistics, operations research,…
Know an individual or team that you think might make a good candidate for a SOLE Field Award? SOLE’s 2018 Field Awards will recognize technical achievement and professional experience in, and contributions to, a given specialty of logistics. A Field Award may be presented only to an individual or small teams of individuals. An organization, agency, or institution is not eligible. Nominees are not required to be SOLE members. Nominations for Field Awards may be made by any SOLE member/friend of SOLE. Nominations will…
SOLE is pleased to announce that on 23 March 2018 Major Thomas S. Bihansky was awarded SOLE’s Jerome G. Peppers, Jr., CPL Prize Paper Award for his paper “Resilient Aircraft Maintenance Constructs: Enhancing Repair Network Designs to Effectively Manage Risks and Supply Chain Disruptions.” Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for his MS in Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Maj Bihansky’s research aims to extend the understanding of supply chain resiliency by employing a simulation model of a USAF aircraft engine…
For a bit more than six months I was the logistician (C-4) for Provide Comfort, the Humanitarian and return home mission for the Kurds and Iraqi Shia driven from their homes in Northern Iraq in mid-1991 (by that POS Saddam). Here are some lessons worth remembering. American military logisticians start off well-equipped to handle HR Logistics. Why? Because they already practice (incessantly) to operate in large areas, in large numbers, in dangerous, no, deadly environments, in lousy weather and from swamps to mountain tops. They…
For me, laziness is always the mother of invention. Sometimes the simplest of solutions will solve complex engineering problems. Here is a short story about the manufacturing of toothpaste. More specifically, boxing the product for market. A consultant was hired to find a way to detect empty boxes that accidentally slip through the packaging assembly process. Find out what happened. http://cs.txstate.edu/~br02/cs1428/ShortStoryForEngineers.htm
Your local grocery store is a wealth of logistics activities. Have you ever looked at the banana you are eating for lunch and wondered where it’s been? Do you care? The process of getting that banana from producer to consumer is an interesting exercise in logistics and transportation. The average banana travels about 4,000 miles before being pulled out of your blue & white metal “Logistics Superhero” lunchbox (with ubiquitous matching Thermos bottle). Bananas already come in a protective “container”, but bananas are delicate…
More than 2 1/2 years ‘in the making’, the SOLE-authored Global Logistics For Dummies (ISBN: 978-1-119-21215-7, John Wiley & Sons, $26.99, 336 pages) is scheduled to arrive in US bookstores on/about 11 December (today!) With its addition to the Wiley For Dummies imprint (now in its 26th year), Global Logistics For Dummies (or ‘GLFD’ as the writing team fondly calls it) is designed to help companies and individuals weigh the pros and cons of expanding their logistics operations into global markets, and describes the pitfalls that can be anticipated (or not!)…
If you’ve got the time, expertise, and inclination to make a personal difference, be aware that FEMA is currently seeking “talented and hard-working” people to help support the response and recovery efforts. Immediate temporary jobs are available in several locations (e.g., California, Maryland, Nevada, Texas); and there is a need for on-call reservists to work on an intermittent basis due to the irregular nature of disasters, supporting survivors and first responders during disasters or emergencies. FEMA’s official hurricane workforce job…
Remember that “whole community of logisticians and responders there to help” we mentioned, above? The “name” that should be on every logistician’s lips – in addition to Harvey, Irma and Jose – is “ALAN” … The American Logistics Aid Network (http://alanaid.org). Founded in 2005, ALAN is a 501(c)(3) that serves as a clearing house/’expediter’/portal for connecting businesses and organizations that want to provide emergency relief goods and support to the areas needing it in the US. Founded by several professional and trade associations that…