Bar codes: Prescription for precision, performance, and productivity

Historically, military installations are managing their maintenance and repair and minor equipment fleets using manual records. Because of too many errors and difficulties in managing inventories, the Department of Defense (DOD) is adapting bar coding to its special needs and achieving substantial benefits in the application of this technology in a broad array of worldwide functions and responsibilities. Fortunately for engineers in construction management, DOD has adopted Code 39, a standard symbology that is being used in construction and most construction-related industries. Within the Army, Directorates of Engineering and Housing are among the first to implement the use of bar codes at their installations, beginning with management of maintenance vehicles. Preliminary productivity tests and evaluations of these uses confirm surveys conducted by the construction management industry. Implementation of bar codes in a variety of manufacturing, distributing, and scheduling functions, as well as others that are typically associated with construction management and engineering maintenance, have been shown to result in significant improvements in accuracy, efficiency, and resultant cost savings.