Developing a Standard Update Process for the Army's Annual MOS Availability Factors (AMAFs)

Abstract

This documented briefing describes research conducted to develop a standard methodology for updating the U.S. Army's Annual Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) Availability Factors (AMAFs). An AMAF specifies the amount of direct and indirect productive time (over the course of a year) that a soldier has available to perform MOS duties. Traditionally, the Army has calculated AMAFs by measuring soldiers' non-available hours per day, treating the remainder of the 24 hours as available time, and annualizing that available time figure. Largely through field data collection, the Army identified specific "non-availability factors" -- that is, the non-MOS-related activities that constitute non-available time -- and measured how much time soldiers allocate to each of those activities. Because the process is costly and time-consuming, however, regular AMAF updates have not been feasible. Through a combination of literature reviews and interviews, the authors examined other military services' and commercial firms' approaches to manpower availability, as well as advantages and disadvantages of various data-collection approaches. This process helped them generate an alternative methodology that may allow more regular AMAF updates -- and ultimately yield more accurate calculations of manpower requirements. This document synthesizes the relevant information they gathered and presents the approach generated on the basis of that information. The proposed "three-gate" approach entails beginning with quick, low-cost, low-rigor data collection and moving sequentially to a moderate-speed/cost/rigor method -- and then perhaps to a slower, high-cost, high-rigor method -- if certain "triggers" indicate it is necessary to do so. This research was sponsored by the United States Army Force Management Support Agency (USAFMSA) and was conducted in RAND Arroyo Center's Military Logistics Program.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2007
Accession Number
ADA470933

Entities

People

  • Kristin J. Leuschner
  • Lisa Pelled Colabella
  • Margaret Blume-kohout
  • Matthew W. Lewis

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Army Personnel
  • Business Administration
  • Electronic Mail
  • Employment
  • Enlisted Personnel
  • Lessons Learned
  • Load Monitoring
  • Management Personnel
  • Military Science
  • Organizational Structure
  • Personnel Management
  • Standards
  • Statistical Analysis
  • Statistical Samples
  • United States
  • Warfare

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