U.S. Marine Maintenance Center Cuts Repair Cycle

March 1, 2003
Realization Technologies (formerly Speed to Market), whose multi-project management software is used by more than 60 organizations, such as Pharmacia,

Realization Technologies (formerly Speed to Market), whose multi-project management software is used by more than 60 organizations, such as Pharmacia, LSI Logic, Medtronic and others, announced that a combination of commercial best practices including the company's Concerto Multi-Project Management software, Manufacturing Resource Planning and 'Lean Thinking,' have helped the U.S. Marine Corps Multi-Commodity Maintenance Center in Albany, Ga., improve operations across the board. This center is a remanufacturing depot for Marine Corps vehicles, armament and equipment. Realization Technologies partner Vector Strategies (San Diego, Calif.) directed the initiative, which went live in April of 2002.

"The center was spending too much time compensating for multi-tasking," says Realization Technologies CEO Sanjeev Gupta. "Unplanned uncertainties make projects unique. They account for more than 30 percent of a project's work. As uncertainties strike, plans go haywire, especially in the multi-project situations that the center faces. People are constantly pulled from one project to fix other project's problems. Priorities become unclear and people start multi-tasking. Delays compound. Schedules slip."

According to Gupta, Concerto manages project uncertainties. The software inserts blocks of unscheduled time, called buffers, into a plan typically at its end. These buffers weaken the cascading effect of uncertainties by absorbing and lessening their shocks. As uncertainties create delays in execution, the buffer gets used. The software's Reality Engine then calculates how much of the unscheduled time is still available for future uncertainties and sets forward-looking priorities for everyone, including managers.

For more information, visit www.realization.com.