loading by carriers (transportation service). Afloat, an
area may be designated to assemble material that will
be off-loaded from the ship and subsequent transfer to
the first or final destination. (See NAVSUP Publication
573 for documentation information of hazardous
materials.)
INVENTORY
Maintaining accurate records of quantity,
condition, and ownership of material greatly helps in
achieving maximum economy in management and use
of supplies.
Verification of these records is
accomplished through physical inventory. Basically,
physical inventory is the actual count of an item in its
storage site. In the supply system, physical inventory
includes other functions as listed in the following text:
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verification of stock record balances,
conducting investigations,
analyzing inventory discrepancy,
adjustment of stock records, and
adjustment of financial records.
The inventory of items that are classified, sensitive,
and pilferable is called controlled item inventory.
Information concerning the physical inventory program
in the Navy is described in NAVSUPINST 4440.115.
Planning the Inventory
When planning the inventory, consider the
following factors:
number of items involved,
number of locations,
manpower required,
anticipated productivity,
scheduling to obtain maximum efficiency and
accuracy, and
preparation of material in storage to facilitate
counting.
You can use these factors to outline different steps
needed to accomplish the inventory.
Assignment of Inventory
Personnel
Each person participating in the inventory must be
given a specific assignment. To facilitate teamwork,
conduct necessary training for all personnel involved
before performing the inventory.
Preparation of Material for
Inventory
Proper storage practices can make performing an
inventory easy. Before starting the inventory process,
storage personnel must prepare the materials for
inventory. Storage personnel must ensure
materials are
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properly identified and clearly marked,
stored in a minimum number of locations,
uniformly stored by quantity per container,
package, or pallet,
marked “DO NOT INVENT0RY” if excluded in
inventory count.
SECURITY OF MATERIAL IN
STORAGE
As a general procedure, material in storage must be
kept under lock and key when practicable. The
requirements for maintaining security of material are
described in NAVSUP P-485 and NAVSUP Publicat.ion
1, Volume 2. Protecting material in storage and
preventing internal pilferage are two of the functions of
a storage operation. Preventing loss of material can
save dollars and time.
If not properly secured, material losses in such
proportions could jeopardize the mission of the
command. Loss of critical supplies for tactical use
could result in the unnecessary loss of life and danger
to national defense.
Control Measures
Specific measures for preventing pilferage may
vary in different activities. The most practical and
effective method used for controlling pilferage is the
establishment of physical security and psychological
deterrents. These can be accomplished in a number of
ways as described in the following:
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