An extension of the classical A B C inventory control system

The conventional method of controlling inventories of relatively fast moving items in a store is based on an A B C classification of the stock items. An analysis is presented for the extension of this method to determine the number of categories that should be employed and the way in which the different items should be allocated to these categories. A case study is briefly described to illustrate the application of this methodology.     

Full-time workers reach out to the villages

The Philippine Commission on Population (Popcom) has fielded 2721 fulltime outreach workers (FTOWs). The FTOWs are the outcome of a shift from a clinic-based, motivation-oriented family planning effort to the Rural Outreach Program which is part of the new Total Integrated Development Approach (TIDA). Organizationally, the workers are under local government supervision and their purpose is to make the family planning program more responsive to community needs. This article profiles the average FTOW, describes recruitment and training procedures and discusses problems of the program -- funding, transportation, inadequate training, lack of educational materials, shortage of contraceptive supplies -- and possible solutions.