Operations Research Enhances Supply Chain Management at the US Coast Guard Aircraft Repair and Supply Center

We describe a series of projects at the US Coast Guard (USCG) Aircraft Repair and Supply Center (ARSC) that demonstrates the value of OR methodologies for efficient supply chain management. These projects provided critical decision support for planning various repair and maintenance activities at ARSC. The establishment of an OR cell within ARSC, with several new employees and interns hired for this purpose, demonstrates the sustainability of these OR initiatives. The projects have created a strong emphasis on data-driven planning at ARSC. Their quantifiable benefits include reductions in inventory by 20–70 percent for 41 critical parts; repair-cost savings of 10 percent by using maintenance information for component repair planning; a successful planning of the conversion/upgrade of the H65 aircraft, thus enhancing the safety and capability for Coast Guard missions; and a 50-percent increase in throughput of the H60 Program Depot Maintenance (PDM) line, resulting in a reduction in deferred depot maintenance from a peak of $23.6 M to $6.5 M. OR techniques have clearly been successful in transforming the culture at USCG’s ARSC from a “data rich and knowledge poor” decision-support culture to an “OR ingrained” decision-making environment.