Activities that affect tool availability come from many parts of the solution. Currently, when a person is looking to see the overall demand and supply for tools, they need to build a complicated CRIM.
Demand Signals:
- Tool Demand from Manufacturing, Component Repair Shops, Complex Assembly Repair Shops, and Airframe Repair Shops. Tool demand can change as tasks are updated and/or rescheduled.
- Tool Calibrations (tool is unavailable for the duration of the tool calibration, which can include shipping)
- Tool Sales
- Tool Rentals (outbound)
- Tool Exchanges (if the user is sending out the tool before they get the replacement)
- Tool Shipments (shipping tools to another location, either temporarily to support specific maintenance, or long-term as a transfer of capability)
- Damaged, Missing, or Lost tools (no ETA is likely available)
- Quarantined Tools (no ETA is likely available)
Supply Signals:
- Tool Purchases
- Tool Rentals (inbound)
- Tool Exchanges (if the user is getting the tool before they send out the exchange)
- Tool Shipments (shipping tools from another location, either temporarily to support specific maintenance, or long-term as a transfer of capability)
This data comes from a lot of different places in the application. It is unlikely that any customer will use every possible factor in a single solution, but all tool users will use multiple elements.
The requests:
- A view that highlights tools (or tool groups?) that have a shortfall in a projected time period, for a specific location. A quick link to the tool demand projection view, so that the user can review the details for a specific tool or group.
- A detailed summary that identifies, for a specific tool or tool group at a specific location, the forward looking demand and supply to identify time periods when the demand of tools exceeds the supply. The ability to link to the individual actions that affect tool availability (scheduled calibrations, rentals, exchanges, items in quarantine, etc.) so that the user can act upon this shortfall