Showing posts with label LOGISTICS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LOGISTICS. Show all posts

Monday, September 29, 2014

NSF ARTICLE ON FOOD BANK ENGINEERING

FROM:  NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 
Engineering a better food bank
Key nodes in a vast national food distribution system, food banks manage complex logistics that help connect families to farms

For the past few years, a team of engineers has spent long hours poring over data files and complex computer models. They weren't designing nuclear reactors or high-tech cars--they were using their technology and expertise to improve programs that feed the hungry.

Food banks are enormous enterprises, serving as the linchpin for hunger relief efforts across the United States. But they are as complex as the nation's food system itself, collecting food from sources ranging from local farmers to charitable donations and distributing it to myriad agencies that then share it with people in need. Their goal is to do this as fairly and efficiently as possible. But, like many complicated systems, this is easier said than done. That's where engineering comes in.

Julie Ivy is an industrial and systems engineer at North Carolina State University. Industrial and systems engineering (ISE) focuses on understanding processes (like those at a food bank) and using computational models to find ways to improve them.

In 2009, an ISE researcher at North Carolina A&T State University named Lauren Davis contacted Ivy with an idea. One of Davis's students was volunteering at an area food bank and had noticed inefficiencies in the system. What did Ivy think about working with food banks to make them run more smoothly?

That conversation launched a National Science Foundation-funded project that plunged Ivy, Davis and a team of fellow researchers into the intricacies of how food banks operate.

To get a handle on food bank operations, the researchers teamed up with the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina (FBCENC), based in Raleigh, and the Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina, based in Winston-Salem. Both food banks serve extremely large areas and work with many partners. For example, FBCENC alone works with more than 800 agencies to feed more than 550,000 people in 34 counties covering hundreds of square miles.

Each food bank is dedicated to providing its partner agencies with its "fair share" of the food that is available.

The fair share is determined using a formula that is designed to ensure each agency receives food in proportion to its percentage of the overall need. For example, if a county's residents have 17 percent of the need within FBCENC's service area, FBCENC wants to make sure that county's agencies receive 17 percent of the available food.

"But, as we learned, it can be difficult to meet that 'fair share' standard," Ivy says.

"The supply is primarily generated from donations, which adds a degree of complexity not typically present in for-profit supply chains," Davis adds. "The uncertainty associated with both the supply and demand processes make food distribution challenging."

Furthermore, some agencies face limitations on the amount of food they are able to retrieve from the food bank. These limitations may be due to financial pressures, constraints on the availability of personnel, lack of access to adequate transportation, or limited storage space.

"An agency's limitations on receiving food can in turn constrain a county's ability to receive food," Ivy says. "We call these 'bottleneck' counties, because their fair share might be 17 percent, but they might only be able to collect and distribute 14 percent of the available food."

With support from two three-year NSF collaborative research grants, Ivy and Davis assembled a team to collect food bank data, analyze it, and create computational models of supply and distribution processes. The team included Reha Uzsoy and Irem Sengul at NC State, Steven Jiang and Luther Brock at NC A&T, and Charlie Hale and Earline Middleton of FBCENC--as well as a host of undergraduates.

There were several significant outcomes from their work, designed to make the food distribution process more efficient--work that could help limit waste in food distribution systems nationally.

First, the researchers were able to characterize the role that bottleneck counties play in preventing food banks from meeting their fair share goals.

"Food banks have historically focused on demand, and our work made clear that the capacity of agencies to retrieve and store food is actually a key factor in reaching fair-share targets," Ivy says.

Second, the research team developed tactics and policies to help food banks feed more people. For example, the researchers identified ways to distribute food by targeting resources--such as mobile food pantries--on bottleneck counties and giving food banks increased flexibility in meeting fair-share goals.

"If County A is unable to retrieve and distribute its fair share of the food, that food should not be wasted," Ivy says. "It makes sense to distribute that food in areas that have the capacity to make use of it. But then you need to help County A improve its capacity."

The research team demonstrated that food access for charitable agencies located in remote parts of the service area can be improved using satellite delivery locations. The researchers also identified transportation schedules that incorporate both collection and delivery of donated food and take into consideration the unique constraints faced by food banks: perishability, quality control, distribution equity, and capacity.

Lastly, the researchers developed a dynamic modeling technique that provides a more accurate picture of demand at the county level--which would help to make fair share calculations more precise.

"These findings are new, and we're in the process of determining how to implement them with our food bank partners," Ivy says. "But when we do, we think our work could be useful almost anywhere in the United States. That's because FBCENC is part of Feeding America, the largest network of food banks in the U.S. As a result, its processes are similar to the processes of food banks across the country."

-- Matt Shipman, NC State matt_shipman
Investigators
Julie Ivy
Reha Uzsoy
Lauren Davis
Steven Jiang
Related Institutions/Organizations
North Carolina State University
North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University

Thursday, February 13, 2014

DEFENSE CONTRACTOR WILL PAY $3,2 BILLION FOR FALSE LABOR CHARGES

FROM:  JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
MPRI Inc. Agrees to Pay $3.2 Million for False Labor Charges on Contract to Support Army in Afghanistan

MPRI Inc. has agreed to pay $3.2 million to resolve allegations that it submitted false labor charges on a contract to support the Army in Afghanistan, the Justice Department announced today.  MPRI is a Chantilly, Virginia-based company.

“We will not tolerate contractors that bill for work that is not performed,” said Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division Stuart F. Delery.  “The Department of Justice will pursue those who do not comply with the terms of their bargain with the government and restore to the taxpayers the full measure of funds falsely claimed.”

The government alleged that MPRI billed for employees who had not worked because they had been granted leave and were out of the country.  The alleged false billing occurred between March 2005 and October 2010.

Under its contract with the Army, MPRI was required to provide support to the Army in its efforts to re-design and build from scratch a new Afghan Defense Sector that would establish an Afghan national security system suitable for a modern Western military.  Among other things, MPRI was required to provide support for program and financial management, development and implementation of core systems for the Afghan Ministry of Defense and General Staff, intermediate Commands, and sustaining institutions, training in logistics, acquisitions, installation management and intelligence.

“Our job with our partner agencies is to ensure that the government gets what it pays for,” said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio Carter Stewart.  “Our office will make every effort to ensure that government contractors submit claims in strict compliance with contract terms and take no liberties in the submission of claims for payment.”

The allegations arose from a whistleblower lawsuit filed by Byron Scott Lankford under the False Claims Act, which permits private individuals to bring lawsuits on behalf of the government and to share in the proceeds of any settlement or judgment.  MPRI employed Lankford in Afghanistan between 2007 and 2009 as a finance officer and contract support official.  Lankford will receive $576,000 as his share of the settlement amount.

The settlement announced today was the result of a coordinated effort by the Justice Department’s Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio and an investigative team that included the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the Defense Contract Audit Agency.  The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

WHO IS GETTING DEFENSE CONTRACTS




FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
CONTRACTS
Defense Logistics Agency
Graybar Electric Company, Inc., St. Louis, Mo., was issued a modification on contract SPM500-04-D-BP14/P00026. The award is a firm fixed price, prime vendor, indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity contract with a maximum $160,244,324 for maintenance, repair and operations for the Alaska Region. There are no other locations of performance. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and federal civilian agencies. There were seven responses to the FedBizOps solicitation. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2012 and fiscal 2013 Defense Working Capital funds. The date of performance completion is August 17, 2013. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa.
 
Science Application International Corp., Fairfield, N.J., was issued a modification on contract SPM500-04-D-BP15/P00025. The award is a firm fixed price, prime vendor, indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity contract with a maximum $105,033,859 for maintenance, repair and operations for the Northwest Region. There are no other locations of performance. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and federal civilian agencies. There were five responses to the FedBizOps solicitation. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2012 and fiscal 2013 Defense Working Capital funds. The date of performance completion is August 17, 2013. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa.
 
Frank Gargiulo Produce*, Hillside, N.J., was issued a modification on contract SPM300-08-D-P027. The award is a fixed price with economic price adjustment, indefinite quantity contract with a maximum $18,909,453 for fresh fruit and vegetable support in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania zone. There are no other locations of performance. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and USDA school customers. There were six responses to the web solicitation. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2012-2014 Defense Working Capital funds. The date of performance completion is February 27, 2014. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa.
 
Air Force
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems of San Diego, Calif. (FA8620-10-G-3038 0013) is being awarded an $87,338,761 firm fixed price, cost plus fixed fee contract for MQ-9 Reaper FY10/11 retrofit kits and installations for up to 80 aircraft. The location of performance is San Diego, Calif. Work is to be completed by August 17, 2016. The contracting activity is AFLCMC/WIIK, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio.
 
Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Sensors, Liverpool, N.Y., (FA8707-12-C-0018) is being awarded a $35,980,000 firm fixed price contract for the continued technology development of the Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long-Range Radar system and Preliminary Design Review and Capability Demonstration of the radar prototype. The location of performance is Liverpool, N.Y. Work is to be completed by Nov. 20, 2013. The contracting activity is AFLCMC/HBDK, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass.
 
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Electronic Systems Division of Linthicum Heights, MD (FA8707-12-C-0019) is being awarded a $34,748,186 firm fixed price contract for the continued technology development of the Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long-Range Radar system and Preliminary Design Review and Capability Demonstration of the radar prototype. The location of performance is Linthicum Heights, MD. Work is to be completed by Nov. 20, 2013. The contracting activity is AFLCMC/HBDK, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass.
 
Raytheon Co., Integrated Defense Systems, Sudbury, Mass. (FA8707-12-C-0020) is being awarded a $35,195,000 firm fixed price contract for the continued technology development of the Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long-Range Radar system and Preliminary Design Review and Capability Demonstration of the radar prototype. The location of performance is Sudbury, Mass. Work is to be completed by Nov. 20, 2013. The contracting activity is AFLCMC/HBDK, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass.
 
Navy
Offshore Service Vessels, L.L.C., Galliano, La., is being awarded $47,420,000 to exercise an option under a previously awarded contract (N00033-05-C-3300) to purchase vessels and flexible piping equipment that comprise the Offshore Petroleum Distribution System (OPDS). The vessels include a U.S.-flagged self-sustaining vessel, MV VADM K.R. Wheeler and one tender vessel, MV Fast Tempo. The OPDS has been under long-term charter to Military Sealift Command since 2005, and has the capability to operate as an at-sea pumping station, quickly and efficiently delivering fuel to soldiers and Marines operating ashore where port facilities are inadequate or non-existent. The ship transfers to U.S. government ownership on Aug. 20, 2012, and will continue to operate worldwide. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the fiscal year. The U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00033-05-C-3300).
 
Acosta, Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., is being awarded a $7,850,597 indefinite-delivery requirements contract with fixed-price and economic price adjustment provisions to provide for various resale items in support of Navy Exchange Service Command (NEXCOM) Ship Store Program. The contract shall provide NEXCOM with a vehicle for placing orders for the various supplies required by the command, which will then be placed in the inventory of Ship's Store for the purpose of resale to the ship's crew. The contract contains four one-year option periods, which if exercised, will bring the contract value to $39,252,985. Work will be performed in the following pre-determined zones: Zone A - Alameda, Calif.; Concord, Calif.; Oakland, Calif.; San Francisco Bay Area, Calif., and Richmond, Calif., Zone B - Chino, Calif.; Long Beach, Calif.; Port Hueneme, Calif. and San Diego, Calif., Zone C - Portland, Ore.; Bremerton, Wash.; Everett, Wash, and Seattle, Wash., Zone G - Little Creek, Va.; Newport News, Va.; Norfolk, Va.; Portsmouth, Va. and Yorktown, Va. Work is expected to be completed Dec. 31, 2013. If all options are exercise, work will continue through Dec. 31, 2017. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the fiscal year. Funding will be at the delivery order level. The requirement was not available for competition as Acosta, Inc., is the wholesaler/distributor authorized by the various manufacturers it represents to serve as the sole distribution channel to NEXCOM, and the Ship's Store Program. The Fleet Logistics Center Norfolk, Va., is the contracting activity (N00189-12-D-0044).

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