Development of tracking system at Grand Forks sets benchmark

GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. (USTCNS) --- Members of the 319th Logistics Readiness Squadron are now scanning and tracking supply items as they are delivered using the Standard Asset Tracking System, or SATS.

SATS is a paperless initiative designed to improve the efficiency of warehousing and asset movement by using barcodes and radio links. Instead of signing for property on paper, a smart card is inserted into a handheld terminal and a personal identification number is punched in just like using an automated teller machine.

The biggest change is 319th LRS customers will no longer accept deliveries by signing a paper document.

From the time a part arrives in the base system until it reaches the actual customer, 319th LRS will know where the part is every step of the way. They'll know who handled the part and the actual times that it was delivered to various locations.

The handheld terminals, called JANUS 2020s, look like ray guns with calculators on top. The terminals are small portable computers with a built-in scanner and radio transmitter. The smart cards contain a microchip and look just like an ATM card.

SATS handles aircraft parts and all accountable equipment like test sets and specialized machine tools, but does not handle mobility bags and fuel.

Several other bases have converted to SATS and the feedback on the new system has been very positive and will be installed Air Force wide.

SATS is an initiative that adapts the best practices used in private industry, of benefit to both the logistics readiness squadron and customers.

"SATS will simultaneously allow more efficient operations by replacing all of our paper issue documents while providing greater accountability, accuracy and customer support," said Tech. Sgt. Sgt Thomas W. Austin, a supply systems analyst in 319th LRS.

"SATS cuts labor and manpower costs by eliminating the need to file and maintain paper documents," he said. "It also automates many of the older paper-oriented processes."

Sergeant Austin said no longer will his unit have to store, search and retrieve paper documents, which often have illegible signatures.

"Under SATS, the only way to accept delivery is to use a smart card," he said. "Signing a paper document is not an option."

Sergeant Austin developed a SATS Computer Based Training program that was sponsored by the 2003 Supply Chief's Advisory Board.

The CBT was "so impressive" that the Air Force Supply Career Field Manager requested it be made available Air Force wide. As a result, the Grand Forks SATS CBT is being used at Air Force technical training for supply trainees and has been distributed to all major commands to include the Guard, Reserve, and more than 50 individual units.

Sergeant Austin has already conducted one of four scheduled Air Force-wide SATS Training Workshops here at Grand Forks. People from as far as Yokota Air Base, Japan, attended the first workshop.