About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

GAO-06-366R 1 (2006-03-08)

handle is hein.gao/gaocrptatas0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Sai Accountability * Integrity * Reliability United States Government Accountability Office Washington, DC 20548 March 08, 2006 The Honorable Donald H. Rumsfeld Secretary of Defense Subject: Defense Logistics: More Efficient Use of Active RFID Tags Could Potentially Avoid Millions in Unnecessary Purchases Dear Mr. Secretary: For many years, the Department of Defense (DOD) has been attempting to improve visibility over its inventory and equipment. The lack of visibility over inventory and equipment shipments increases vulnerability to undetected loss or theft and substantially heightens the risk that millions of dollars will be spent unnecessarily. Additionally, needed supplies may not reach the warfighter when needed, which may impair readiness. In order to improve visibility, DOD began using a technology to enable it to track shipments. This technology is known as radio frequency identification (RFID). RFID technology consists of active or passive electronic tags that are attached to equipment and supplies that are shipped from one location to another. This technology is part of a family of automatic information technologies used to enable hands-off identification of cargo and inventory. This report focuses on active RFID tags, which cost around $100 each and are reusable. DOD has been using active RFID technology since the early 1990s to help with in- transit visibility of shipments, and, as of January 2005, it officially began to implement the use of passive RFID. During the course of our work on the use and implementation of passive RFID technology in DOD,' we observed that active RFID tags were not being routinely returned for reuse. This report discusses DOD's efficiency in managing the reuse of active RFID tags, specifically the effectiveness of DOD's RFID policy and the extent of tag reuse and monitoring. DOD's final RFID policy was issued by the Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics), the defense logistics executive for RFID implementation, on July 30, 2004. For this report, we reviewed DOD's July 30, 2004, RFID implementation policy and its concept of operations guidance for DOD components, and interviewed knowledgeable officials from the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA); the Army Program Executive Office, Enterprise Information Systems, Product Manager Joint - ' GAO, Defense Logistics: Better Strategic Planning Can Help Ensure DOD's Successful Implementation of Passive Radio Frequency Identification, GAO-05-345 (Washington, D.C.: Sept. 12, 2005). GAO-06-366R Defense Logistics Page 1

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most