MIL-STD-129 Requirement Norms As Per The Dod Mil Specs

To standardize the military products, the US Department of Defence (DoD) has introduced certain DoD MIL Specs. The purpose of these DoD MIL Specs is to ensure that all defence related products are manufactured as per a common requirement standard and similar defence-related objective. They should also have proper compatibility with logistics systems.

MIL-STD-129 is one of the major standards of DoD MIL Specs meant for uniform military marking for shipment and storage. Ammunition and other military equipments that are supplied through shipments are clearly specified in the MIL-STD-129 standard. Contractors who want to supply their products are mandated to follow the instructions as per the standard for the application of numbers, labels, symbols, tags, and colors to expedite handling during shipment and storage.

As per the DoD MIL Specs, the MIL-STD-129 standard has made shipment container labelling exercise a bit more rigorous. While one set of labels is required for unit and intermediate containers, and another set is mandated for exterior containers.

The MIL-STD-129 requirements for unit, intermediate and exterior containers are discussed as follows.

For Unit Containers:

Serial Number Barcodes are assigned by the manufacturer or the Government for identification or control and only then can be listed. The serial numbers for each item in the container should be in clear barcode format.

Every minute detail about the barcodes such as National Stock Number (NSN) Barcode, quantity, part number, contract number, item description, unit of issue, date of preservation, and method of preservation code should be listed in plain text format.

As per the MIL-STD-129 standard, Shelf life markings are a must for deteriorative items. The Shelf Life Markings indicate the date an item needs to be tested or disposed of.

For Exterior Containers:

Here the basic label format is similar to that of unit containers, however as per the DoD MIL Specs, there are a few exceptions. Like the Contract Number, NSN, and CAGE Code must be in barcode format. Also item description which was there in unit containers marking is not necessary here. Besides these, certain additional labels are also required which are summarized below.

Military Shipment Label (MSL): both the DoD and contractors are mandated to address this special markings using a bar coded MSL. This label includes barcodes for the transportation control number (TCN), Piece Number and to and from Mark-For address information necessary to route shipments to defense users. A 2D-barcode that encodes all of the data on the label for automatic process is also included in this MSL.

Direct-Vendor Delivery (DVD) Label: According to the MIL-STD-129 requirement standard, vendors are required to follow this DVD shipments standard address marking with bar codes format. This DVD label includes the NSN and composite barcode, requisition TCN, Unit of Issue, Condition Code, made up of Quantity, Routing ID Code, Unit Price, and finally the Distribution Code.

Serial Number Barcode(s): As per the DoD MIL Specs, "SERIAL NUMBER LIST INSIDE" should be clearly marked on the identification-marked side of the exterior container. If more than five bar codes are there, two serial number lists shall be provided instead of a single one. The first serial number must be placed inside the container while the second one should be in the packing list.

The intermediate containers follow the same rules as that of both the unit and exterior containers.

Submission Process to IUID Registry – An Overview

The Item Unique Identification (IUID) Registry is considered as the central repository for IUID information. It helps the Department of Defense (DoD) identify the types of the item, and track the value of the item during its acquisition. The IUID information also helps track the acquisition time, and rightful custody (whether it belongs to the government or contractor).

The IUID is the key which assists DoD to locate, control and value its assets over time. Through its IUID policy, the Department of Defense has mandated that all the qualifying items must be marked with two-dimensional Data Matrix which should be encoded with a Unique Item Identifier (UID). The IUID acts as a universal method of parts identification. Unique Identification is a system devised and planned by the Department of Defense to easily distinguish one object from another throughout their life cycle process. The IUID has become an indispensable part of DoD. The IUID has been beneficial to the DoD to capture the value of items it buys, control these items during their use, and track the counterfeiting of parts over periods of time.

As the DoD’s information systems have become more web-savvy, the IUID helps with maintenance, financial integration, accountability systems and life cycle visibility of the items that are stored within it. Aside from adding to the quality of information available for management configuration, it will help in other important matters such as operational planning, logistics support and systems engineering. Simply put, the IUID Registry facilitates joint, paperless management of DoD property.

Procedure of Submitting Data in the IUID Registry

All the government manufacturing activities and commercial manufacturers must be registered with the (Central Contractor Registration (CRR) system before registration with the IUID Registry. If you are interested in doing business with Government Furnished Property, you have to submit data to the IUID Registry. The users must register themselves to acquire their login credentials and access rights before using the Controlled Access portion of the IUID Registry. In addition, you have to be a government employee or an U.S. Government Contractor with approval from the DoD Program Manager to receive login access to the IUID Registry.

What Data Must be Submitted to The UID Registry?

Some critical data that must be submitted to UID Registry includes:

Configuration:

Item Description

Part Number Changes

Embedded Items

Valuation:

Major Modifications

Initial Acquisitions

Accountability:

Custodial Contract Data

Contractor Custody Information

Acceptance Data

Pedigree:

Shipment and Delivery Information

Acquisition Contract Information

Serial Number

Original Part, Lot, or Batch Number

Methods of UID Registration:

The ideal data submission method is executed through the Wide Area Work Flow (WAWF), a Paperless Contracting environment. The WAWF helps contractors to transmit shipping notices electronically and DoD to perform both receipt and acceptance electronically. Novice users can reach WAWF on the Internet at https://wawf.eb.mil/ and follow the link called "Self Register to use WAWF (New Users)" to obtain access. When IUID data is transmitted as part of the WAWF submission, the IUID Registry will be automatically updated and no other contractor action is required.

What is the Submission Process to IUID Registry?

What is IUID?

Unique Identification is a system devised and put in place by the Department of Defense (DoD) to distinguish one object from another throughout their life cycle process. The Item Unique Identification (IUID) helps the DoD capture the value of items it buys, control these items during their use, and track counterfeiting of parts over periods of time. IUID is an indispensable part of the DoD and acts as a universal method of parts identification.

Though its IUID policy, the Department of Defense has mandated that all the qualifying items must be marked with two-dimensional Data Matrix which should be encoded with a Unique Item Identifier (UID). Additionally, the Unique Item Identifier (UII) is regarded as the universally unique and permanent for the item during its entire cycle. IUID is the key which assists DoD to locate, control and value its assets again and again. Usually, UIIs are stored in the UID Registry with pedigree data associated with the item.

What is IUID Registry?

The IUID Registry is treated as the central repository for IUID information. It helps the DoD identify the type of the item, acquisition time, preliminary value during its acquisition, existing custody (whether it belongs to the government or contractor), and the marking process and other similar concerns.

As the DoD’s information systems have become progressively more web-savvy, the IUID will help with maintenance, integrating financial, accountability systems and life cycle visibility of the items that are stored within it. Aside from augmenting the quality of information available to configuration management, it will help in other important matters such as operational planning, logistics support and systems engineering. In addition, IUID Registry facilitates joint, paperless management of DoD property.

Process of Submitting Data To The IUID Registry

You must submit data to the IUID Registry if you are a contractor with Government Furnished Property, or if your contracts require IUID Registry. You must register yourself to acquire login credentials and access rights before using the Controlled Access portion of the IUID Registry. As well, you have to be a government employee or an U.S. Government Contractor with approval from the DoD Program Manager to receive login access to the IUID Registry. This means that all the government manufacturing activities and commercial manufacturers must be registered with the Central Contractor Registration (CRR) system before registration with the IUID Registry. It’s a very secure system and access is only granted to specific entities.