Published by the Logistics Management Division/Code 230
April 1996
Since April 1995, Cortez III Service Corporation has been Code 230's prime contractor providing logistics support services to Goddard (Greenbelt and Wallops) and NASA Headquarters.
While relatively new to the Goddard Space Flight Center, Cortez III is no stranger to NASA. The 173 Cortez employees on the job at GSFC are part of a team of over 1,000 people nationwide who also provide administrative, information technology, security and technical logistics, and test support services at the NASA Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio; NASA's Reston Facility; the US Army's Tri-Service White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico; and the US Army Yuma Proving Grounds in Arizona.
Cortez III's support at GSFC is focused on providing stores stock and space flight parts support, purchasing, receiving, warehousing and transportation services, operation and maintenance of GSFC's fleet of over 150 vehicles, mail services, equipment management and excess property disposal, integrated logistics support for space flight projects, and traffic and shipping management.
This first year at Goddard has been a busy one for the Logistics Management Division (LMD) and Cortez III. Upon award of the contract last April, Cortez III was immediately faced with workyear reductions due to zero-base budget cuts, while trying to meet customers' undiminished support requirements. In partnership with Code 230, Cortez III has forged ahead with a number of efficiency-enhancing and streamlining initiatives designed to sustain vital support services in an increasingly austere financial climate. "What makes Cortez III different," says Greg Warner, Program Manager, "is our overall approach. Our company's strong corporate emphasis on innovation, and on total partnerships with our customers, employees, and unions are bringing out the best in our people. During our first year at Goddard, we have seen this approach make a difference, resulting in sustained or improved performance in our environment of declining resources."
Another challenge during the first year has been the conversion of the contract from level-of-effort to performance based. The conversion was jointly planned and implemented by LMD and Cortez III, and it represents the first major support service contract in Code 200 to become performance based.
The name Cortez is of historic importance to the American Southwest - an honored Hispanic surname that also means "courteous." In combining New Mexican tradition with the number (3) of founding partners, the company was established in 1979 as a small disadvantaged, minority-owned business in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Cortez III graduated from the Small Business Administration's 8(a) program in 1992, and today is an employee-owned business.
Cortez III's President and Chief Executive Officer is Johnny E. Glover; F. Craig Wilson is the Chief Operating Officer and exercises oversight of all contract operations, corporate wide. In addition to acting as the Program Manager of the GSFC operation, Greg Warner is a Vice President of Cortez III.
Code 230 has had excellent success selling our surplus property on-site, in lieu of utilizing GSA's services. Since October 1996, we have conducted 10 sales, sold over 5,000 items, with proceeds of more than $127,000. Anyone is eligible to participate with the exception of Code 230 employees who have access to disposal records. The types of sales are auction, retail and sealed bid. Computer equipment accounts for the majority of equipment sold. The average price for a complete computer system (including CPU, monitor, key-board, and printer) is $300-$350. Even though the equipment is sold "as is" and includes no warranty, no refund requests have been received since implementation of the program. Fixed Price Sales are scheduled at Greenbelt on May 2 and May 16, 1996. An Auction is scheduled at Greenbelt on May 30, 1996.
The sales schedule and other related sales information are available at the Finance Net site. For further information, contact Art Wade at 6-8740.
To assist employees at both the Greenbelt and Wallops facilities, Code 230 has published a Logistics Customer Services Guide. The guide provides information and points of contact in the areas of project support, transportation, supply, equipment management and property disposal. General information and easy to follow instructions make the guide user friendly. Copies of the guide were distributed to Section Heads and above, and Program Managers, at Greenbelt and Wallops, in May 1995. To obtain additional copies of the guide, please contact Beth Booker, Code 239, via e-mail or at 6-9594.
We would like to encourage any recommendations you may have to assist us in making subsequent versions of the guide even better. Please provide your comments on the guide, or feedback on any of our Code 230 services, to 6-6225.
AT WALLOPS.... Any questions concerning supply should be directed to Alvin Taylor, the Customer Service Representa tive, at 7-2235, or Erich Gillespie at 7-1854.
Acquisition support for GSFC customers needing to acquire flight or non-flight Electrical, Electronic, and Electro-mechanical (EEE) Parts continues to be provided by Code 230. In support of this task, a new storage facility has recently been installed in building 16W at Greenbelt. The facility is designed to Code 300 specifications for the prevention of electrostatic discharge. A Project Parts Section has been established by the logistics contractor to provide acquisition, storage, and delivery support for project parts, and testing is provided by Code 300. Projects currently supported include HST, XRS/XDS, CIRS-CASSINI, TRACE, WIRE, and two projects for the Marshall Space Flight Center. For more information, please contact Patricia Gilbertson, Code 239, via e-mail or at 6-9556.
A Process Action Team on Customer Value was established by the LMD in October 1995. The team is comprised of logistics personnel from Greenbelt and Wallops, Cortez III logistics contract employees, NASA Headquarters personnel, and is led by the Code 234 branch head, J.R. Hedgpeth. The team is using an approach and statistical analysis method developed by the University of Maryland's Center for Quality and Productivity. This project has been designated as a pilot for Code 200.
To date, a series of interviews have been conducted with both internal and external customers, and a survey has been distributed to approximately 2,500 people at Greenbelt and Wallops. By analyzing the survey results, the team will be able to identify customers' current and future support needs and, considering NASA's constrained resources and downsizing climate, make recommendations to improve, prioritize, and retool our services to reflect those needs. Final survey results and recommendations will be published in a future newsletter. If you did not receive a survey, but would like to provide input into Code 230's services, please contact Dave Maxwell via e-mail or at 6-3414.
Early this month, the NASA-8 Administrative Aircraft began providing transportation between Wallops, Langley Research Center, and Washington National Airport every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. This is in addition to the currently scheduled Tuesday and Thursday flights between Wallops and BWI. The expanded service will be provided until September 1996. At that time it will be reviewed to determine whether it should be continued. Contact your NASA-8 Scheduler/Dispatcher (6-6977 at Greenbelt and 7-1473 at Wallops) for flight times and details.
Code 230 and Cortez, along with its purchasing subcontractor, ANSTEC, have implemented a next-day direct vendor delivery program for office products. Because of continuing budget and staff reductions, it was necessary to look for different ways to deliver supplies to our customers. Office Depot was the selected vendor and now provides desktop delivery of office supplies under a subcontract to ANSTEC. So far, the customer response to this new program has been over-whelmingly positive, based on the feedback received from customers. In the near future, we are planning to expand the direct delivery program to include other commodities.
Code 230 recently selected J. Norman Geipe, a United Van Lines agent, to perform office and lab moves at Green-belt. J. Norman Geipe will continue to consolidate moves for five people or less and accomplish these moves on a regular bi-monthly schedule (the first and third Tuesday of each month). Larger moves for six or more people will be accomplished as required. Moving organizations must provide a Move List, GSFC 20-35, to the GSFC Move Coordinator, Margaretta Davis-Hall, building 16W, room S99, or via facsimile to 6-1740. Margaretta can be reached via e-mail or at 6-5200. We look forward to providing professional and courteous moving services for our GSFC customers.
Code 230 now stocks about 115 different metric fasteners, in stores stock at Greenbelt. These are flight-grade parts which include items such as self-locking nuts, stainless steel helical inserts, and various types and sizes of screws, bolts, rivets, and washers. These are available to any project, science, or engineering customers who are authorized to order parts and supplies from GSFC stores stock. For more information, call the Cortez III Customer Service Office at 6-8900.
Just a reminder about PROMPT MAIL..... The Prompt Mail System is designed for the delivery of urgent mail. Because prompt mail is sorted on the trucks by our Mail Driver between buildings, excessive use of prompt mail creates a tremendous burden and slows down delivery times for all the mail. Also, any mail processed through the GSFC mail system must be official government business mail. All personal mail should be placed in the US Postal Service boxes located near buildings 1, 8, and 21 or taken to the US Postal Service Sub-Station in building 1.
To ensure prompt delivery through the Prompt Mail System, please include the recipient's name, code and building, and the word "Prompt" written in bold letters.
DID YOU KNOW.....?
The Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act, which allows federal agencies to transfer excess research equipment to public and private schools, is still going strong and growing. So far GSFC has given research equipment valued at more than $15M to schools in Northern Virginia, the District of Columbia and Maryland. For more information, please call Art Wade at 6-9005.
The Logistics Management Division has implemented an automated gas dispensing system, the Gasboy Fleetkey System, at the Greenbelt and WFF motor pools. The system uses an encoded key to activate the gasoline or diesel pumps. The new system captures fuel transactions and automatically imports the data into our vehicle management information system, thereby eliminating the need for customers to log fuel transactions. Government and contractor personnel, authorized to use the fueling facilities, have received the encoded key and training on use of the Gasboy Fleetkey System.
The GSFC Inactive Equipment Storage Program provides short- and long-term storage of inactive equipment for center projects. The program includes provisions for customer-defined environmental conditions, packing and crating requirements, special handling/transportation requirements, and the need for offsite storage facilities. Recently, due to policy changes in the program, Code 230 began charging customers for offsite, leased warehousing for storage, in order to offset yearly lease and operational costs. Code 230 is currently testing the Storage Information Management System (SIMS). SIMS, an on-line, menu-driven system, provides rapid and accurate on-line information on the status, location, and item history of all equipment in the GSFC Storage Program. The system also has forms generation and automated data retrieval from tables. Code 230 will pursue full implementation of SIMS at Greenbelt and Wallops once testing has been completed. For further information on the GSFC Storage Program, please contact Lindy Bingham, Code 234, via e-mail or at 6-9640.
We have received many requests lately asking what organizations can do to obtain "more bang for their travel buck". Here are a few tips:
Last fall, Code 233 worked with the Suborbital Projects and Operations Directorate, Code 800, to plan and arrange for shipment of scientific equipment, rocket motors and miscellaneous ground support equipment from Wallops Island, Virginia, to Woomera, Australia. This material was used to support the Australia 1995 Sounding Rocket Campaign. The purpose of this project was to increase scientific understanding of galactic astronomy and high energy astrophysics by using astonomy and high energy astrophysics by using our sounding rockets to carry instruments to measure x-ray and ultraviolet emissions from sources found in the sky of the southern hemisphere.
The transportation planning and routing was complex due to the types of equipment and material being shipped (trailers, steamship containers and rocket motors). There was no carrier that could meet all of these requirements from the port of Norfolk, Virginia, so a combination of carrier services was chosen. Despite many problems and unforeseen complications, the shipments arrived in Woomera on schedule. Upon completion of the campaign, the equipment was packed, crated and returned to WFF in November 1995. The last shipment of returned equipment arrived at WFF in February 1996. Congratulations to Wallops, Code 233, for supporting the Sounding Rocket Campaign!
Saving money for the flight projects at GSFC is beginning to be a routine thing for personnel in Code 230 and Cortez III. Over the past two years, creative thinking by the logistics engineers and up-front planning with the projects have resulted in savings of more than $1.3 million! The LMD provides, among other things, Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) to the center, which includes packaging, packing and handling; transportation; storage; and supply support. Code 230 has provided a combination of these support elements to more than 20 flight projects at Goddard, both in-house and contracted out. Specifically, Code 230 has been able to achieve significant cost savings by arranging for the transporting of payloads to the launch sites on an Air Force C-5 aircraft. By making arrangements well in advance and allowing for the shared use of the aircraft with other missions, we saved over $200,000 for the GOES and XTE projects.
Another area of big savings is in shipping container design, development, and fabrication. With the advice and workmanship of the LMD engineers, flight projects have seen extensive cost savings through the refurbishment of shipping containers from previous missions. For example, the GRO shipping container was refurbished and will be used for the shipment of the HST Second Servicing Mission; the XTE and TRMM projects are also sharing their container. The key to maximizing savings is planning, planning, and more planning! The LMD personnel have the insight, expertise, and experience to work with the projects and identify savings in all ILS areas. For more information on how LMD can provide technical assistance to your project, visit our Logistics and Transportation Management Branch home page or call the branch office at 6-7678.
Author: Maureen Barber
Last Revised: March 2, 1998
NASA Official: Thomas M. White