Your Heizer/Render/Munson text inventory chapter (Ch. 12) discusses the use of safety stock. While companies use safety stock, so too does the U.S. maintain safety stock, termedstockpiles, for several different types of products. The most well-known stockpile is that of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) which was most recently used due to the damage caused by Hurricane Ian. FEMA stockpiles commodities such as food and water and equipment such as generators across eight distribution centers.

The Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) was created in 1999 for the storage of medical supplies. It has recently been in the news because at the end of 2022, the SNS released flu medication due to the high number of patients with flu across the country. In addition to medication, the SNS contains masks, gloves, gowns, respirators, face shields and other emergency supplies. These supplies are stored at secret locations. Your textbook discusses preventive maintenance in the Maintenance and Reliability chapter, and one other aspect of storing the ventilators is that they each must undergo annual preventive maintenance.

Since 1975, the U.S. has maintained a Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to be used in the event of a disruption in the flow of oil. The oil is stored in underground tanks in Texas and Louisiana. In November of 2021, oil was released due to the rising cost of gasoline and in March of 2022, oil was released due to the invasion of Ukraine. The reserve is currently at its lowest level since 1983. In addition to the SPR there is a separate stockpile of home heating oil maintained in Boston, New York and Groton, Connecticut for the Northeast section of the country because the Northeast has the majority of homes that use heating oil.

In 1925, the U.S. authorized the creation of the National Helium Reserve in Texas. Helium was used for blimps by the military and has other uses, including medical ones. In 1996, plans were created to move control to the private sector by 2023. In 1977, the government began to purchase the milk that dairy farmers could not sell. It converted the milk into cheese and other products and ultimately stockpiled over 500 million pounds located in 35 states.

Not surprisingly, the U.S. stockpiles weapons and ammo and rare earth materials used for weapons. Currently these stockpiles are low due to release of the stockpiles to the Ukraine.

Classroom discussion questions: 1.. What are other costs to stockpiling equipment in addition to having to maintain the equipment?