Causative Research In inventory management, causative research is an in-depth investigation of selected inventory adjustments to find out how they occurred. The errors found as a result of the causative research effort must be corrected. Unprocessed or incorrectly processed inventory adjustments need to be corrected to accurately reflect audit trail history. A summary of the causative research must be submitted to direct management actions to prevent reoccurrence. TIME FRAME.— Causative research should be conducted after the physical inventory is completed and adjustments are processed to the stock records. The causative research must be completed within 45 days of the date that the adjustments are processed to the stock record. Causative research may be conducted before the completion of physical inventory if the time frame for processing inventories is met. ERROR CAUSES.— The error causes identified by the causative research are summarized and provided in the physical inventory section of the DOD Inventory Control Effectiveness Report. A local management briefing must be conducted quarterly to discuss the summarized causative research results. DLA-OWNED MATERIAL.— Stock points do not conduct causative research of DLA owned material unless directed by the appropriate DSC. The DSCs may request a causative research to be performed by stock points according to the MILSTRAP. Location Survey The procedures used for conducting location surveys depend upon the system being used by the activity. STATLOC ACTIVITIES.— Activities using the statistical location (STATLOC) survey system should perform a sample location survey quarterly. Samples used for a location survey are drawn from the total population of recorded locations. To ensure that the sample’s size is large enough, activities should serialize the STATLOC run. This allows each serial group to have its sample size determined independently. Activities are required to maintain at least a 98-percent location survey accuracy rate in all warehouses/warehouse areas. If the accuracy rate is below 98 percent, the following actions are performed within 90 days of the initial sample survey date: l Conduct a 100 percent location survey of the warehouse/warehouse area that failed the criteria. This method is recommended for low-dollar value items with high on-hand quantities. l Conduct a 100 percent physical inventory of the warehouse/warehouse area that failed the criteria. This method is recommended for areas with high-dollar value items and low on-hand quantities. All STATLOC activities will conduct a location survey for all locations at least once every 3 fiscal years. NON-STATLOC ACTIVITIES.— Activities without the STATLOC system may use a sampling approach to location survey if the method is approved by COMNAVSUPSYSCOM. In this case, the same procedures as for the STATLOC activities apply. Activities not using the sampling approach must perform one of the following actions: l Complete a location survey of all locations once each fiscal year. A 100-percent physical inventory of all items in a warehouse/warehouse area satisfies the annual location survey requirement for that area. l Complete physical inventory of all items in storage once each fiscal year. Location Survey Report Upon completion of location survey requirements, stock points must submit the Location Survey Section of the DOD Inventory Control Effectiveness Report. Refer to enclosure 7 of NAVSUPINST 4440.115 for procedures in preparing the report. Quality Control Checks Stock Points are required to perform quality control checks according to NAVSUPINST 4440.184. The purpose of the quality control check is to identify the systems, procedures, or human errors that adversely affect the accuracy of stock records. Management level uses the result of these checks to resolve any deficiencies. Performance Measurements and Goals The location survey, location reconciliation, and inventory performance must be monitored and compared with the goals described in the following paragraphs. For line item accuracy, the performance goals are 98 percent for class A-high dollar value (unit price 5-12