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MRP, Materials Requirement Planning, is a technique manufacturers use for reducing inventory and improving production planning while getting the "right materials to the right place at the right time," say Liam O'Neill, of Cornell University, and his coauthors Dave Gray, UI Laundry Service manager, Michael Murphy, UIHC Central Sterilizing Service manager, and Terri Stoner, UIHC Value Analysis facilitator, in a recent article in the Journal of Medical Systems.

In a unique collaboration, they adapted MRP principles to monitor surgical (green) linen at UIHC. "What this project actually did was to track the life cycle of a piece of surgical linen," says Gray. The seven-month project was conducted in two phases. First an MRP-type system was developed to forecast future demand. Then a barcode "tag and recapture" study, in which pillowcases were barcode labeled and the intervals between washes were recorded, was used to estimate the total number of green pillowcases in the system.

Surgical linen levels can fluctuate dramatically for various reasons. The operating room schedule is not available until the night before surgery, so amounts or types of linen can't be predetermined. Most surgical linen must be sterilized, which takes up to 12 hours, and has a shelf life of 14 days. While the surgical caseload peaks on Wednesday, Thursday is busiest for Central Sterilizing and Friday for the Laundry. Just-in-time service becomes the norm for everyone.

Could the team improve the established linen supply system? Using an MRP-type inventory model, the four assessed the value of 'chase demand' (wildly fluctuating) versus 'level production' (steady demand) strategy. Fabric life expectancy, defects, pilferage, and hoarding were factored into the equation. Barcoding, already in use at the Laundry, was used to gather data on the pillowcases. This revealed the significance of cycle time: the MRP model showed that by reducing a percentage of the cycle time, a corresponding percentage of the total inventory could also be reduced.

Using this data, Central Sterilizing reduced some classes of inventory 20 to 40 percent, which, in turn, reduces handling time and inventory costs. Another benefit from the project was increased communication and cooperation between the Laundry, Central Sterilizing, and Material Services. Possibly the biggest benefit, according to the article, was "by having more accurate forecasts of demand and inventory requirements, Central Sterilizing can now take a proactive role rather than simply reacting to the latest crisis."

The mystery of MRP is solved. It is not a logo or an amphibian. MRP is a highly desirable and effective tool. Use as needed to reduce costs, labor, and inventory.
Jo Anne Worley

To find out, the team members were asked the following:
1. Do you think Internal Team meetings have made an impact on work processes, plant wide?
2. What do you think is the Internal Team's biggest or most successful accomplishment?

The answers varied, but everyone notices a positive impact on the workplace. Two team members noted improved communications. "Employees know their opinions will be heard," says Holly Wellendorf. "People get along better because they can express their opinions to management and see the results," adds Mary Kerkove.

What did team members feel was their biggest accomplishment? All agree they measure success by adding up the changes. "This process takes time. We are taking small steps first. Right now we are learning how the budget works. (Open communication about budgets is a part of Open Book Management principles.) I think this will be valuable to the team," says Ron McKinney. One small but effective step was made in a high traffic area of the plant. Larry Larson notes, "Employees rearranged equipment in the finishing area to utilize the space we have in a better way. We eliminated a lot of congestion around the cart storage." These are current changes; Dave Kelley foresees a future where "employees will have a say about what features are needed when purchasing equipment."

Current or future, the Internal Team's attitude shows they value team meetings. Organized just six months ago, their 'small steps' are already adding up.
Jo Anne Worley

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According to Corporate Express account executive Brian Studier, the furniture falls into two general categories. One is basic office furniture, such as task chairs, file cabinets, and desks, and can be found in the company's catalog available through General Stores.

The other is a separate "commercial interiors" unit of the company that supports higher end furniture manufactured by Haworth, HON, Lay-Z-Boy, KI, Falcon, Office Specialty, Tuohy, and Nemschoff. Styles range from traditional to contemporary.

Of particular interest as budgets grow tighter is a long-standing pricing agreement between Haworth and the University of Iowa that substantially lowers the cost of its products for UI customers. The average discount off the list price is 58 to 65 percent, says Studier.

Send an e-mail to Materials Management manager Gary Anderson, gary-anderson@uiowa.edu, to order a 2001 Corporate Express catalog. Note your name, the number of copies you need, and your campus delivery address. Contact Brian Studier, 384-3919, brian.studier@cexp.com, for a catalog of furniture available from the Corporate Express commercial interiors division.

Corporate Express orders
Contact the company's account representative for the University, 384-3908, with questions about stock numbers, pricing, product availability, order status, back orders, returning items for credit, and custom stamps. Provide your order number, your department number, date of order, and the MFG number of the item in question. On-campus hours are 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday.

SIGS and MIGS
Call the ITS Help Desk, 335-6363, if either system is not working or if you are having password or other access problems. Call Gary Anderson, 384-3917, or Judy Rockafellow, 384-3906, if you have questions about procedures.

Gas cylinders, General Stores fax numbers
The fax number for the Materials Management gas cylinder operation is 335-6100. Use this number when ordering gas cylinders. The General Stores fax number is 384-3918. Use this number when ordering supplies from General Stores.

Today her work involves answering inquiries, shipping orders, and billing. She makes daily deposits and charge card orders, updates stock files, orders supplies and mailing labels, and reorders some publications. She works with the Business Office to set up accounts and make collections when necessary. Because her department is part of Materials Management, she also helps with customer service for General Stores.

Phyllis stocks books and journals from English (Philological Quarterly, Iowa Review, Walt Whitman Quarterly); Archaeology (Mid-Continent Journal of Archaeology); Political Science (Legislative Studies Quarterly); Dentistry; the Libraries; CICS; History; UIHC; and others. She stocked UI Press publications until three years ago, when the Press began using the University of Chicago distribution service.

Her customers are all over the world. "The thing I enjoy is that we serve a lot of people--colleges and universities--overseas: the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, France, England, Australia, Thailand, Slovenia, Portugal, Austria, Africa, Ukraine, Japan, Moldovia, Canada...." she says. Closer to home, she deals with major national retail and wholesale operations, and locally, her customers include Prairie Lights, Iowa Book, and the IMU Book Store.

Away from the office, Phyllis enjoys bridge, gardening, and yard work. She also says she and her husband, Bob, enjoy Hawkeye sports and traveling.

Recent trips were to Arizona; Colorado for skiing; and Tennessee and Texas to visit their children and grandchildren. They have been through much of Europe and to Japan and Tahiti. Bob traveled extensively in his work in the automotive business, and "I was fortunate to have been able to join him on several trips," says Phyllis.

She plans to retire this summer, but a slowdown doesn't appear to be on the horizon. There are places to go and people to see. She and Bob hope to spend more time with their grandchildren and--what else--traveling, starting with a trip to Alaska next year.

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The printer can read color swatches to create custom colors. Its 12 high-frequency printheads, each nearly one-inch wide, produce accurate, predictable, 1200-dpi color images from electronic files. The length of a given piece is limited only by your software or by the length of the paper roll--some are 100 feet long.

Check the Printing Department website, www.uiowa.edu/~printsvc/dmposters.html to see posters made for Hancher Auditorium.

The department purchases its in-stock paper and envelopes at reduced rates and passes the savings on to its customers. Special orders, on the other hand, often must be purchased from the paper mills, at premium prices and with minimum quantities that may leave the buyer with expensive extra paper, says Mary Moel, paper buyer for the Printing Department. Shipping costs add to the expense.

There are approximately 200 different papers and envelopes in stock at the Printing Department, says Moel. Contact your customer service representative to find out what's available.

Print a full-sized composite laser copy that shows the layout or formatting of your job. If you find that your job is too large to fit on one page, you can tile the pages. Chris Swart is available at 384-3718 to assist you with this process, if necessary.

A reduced-size, color-separated copy will allow you to make sure that there are no mistakes in color selection as well as provide Printing staff with a guide for what you want. If you are having a problem printing a color-separated copy, chances are Printing will have difficulty too. It is better to discover this early and correct any problems before sending files to Printing.

It is important that you print a page for each color you have used. Among other things, printing all the colors will allow you to detect any stray elements that may not have been picked up if you have changed ink colors.

Also, be sure to print the most recent version of the job and be sure it is the same as the copy on the disk. It is difficult for the Printing staff to know what you want if the copy and the disk do not match. Did you mean to include those penciled in changes or is the copy on the disk the correct one?

Something that can add to the cost of your job is sending it on several disks instead of just one. You pay a handling charge for each disk that is sent. Putting everything on one disk can help keep the cost down.

If you want your disk returned when your job is complete, print your name, department, room number, and building on the disk. A business card attached to the disk would be ideal.
Pamela Young

Young, a secretary in the Department of Psychology, is contributing to Into Print through an internship program administered by Staff Development.

The data showed that 99 percent of orders were delivered on time, 99 percent were of satisfactory quality, 100 percent of the time our staff was courteous and professional, and 98 percent of the time problems, if any, were resolved to the customer's satisfaction.

There were many positive remarks which our employees appreciated. Equally important, there were suggestions to consider and complaints that otherwise may not have been made. All complaints were forwarded to the appropriate management staff.

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