[SJAAboard] Some considerations on the current operation of the loaner program

[Rob Hawley (SJAA)]

Those wanting to reduce the size of the program aggressively need to be clear on
what problem they are solving.  If it is to make the program easier to
administer than consider the following:

	- The current distributed model costs the club nothing.  

	- The complexity of administering the program does NOT correlate to the
number of scopes in the inventory.

	- The complexity DOES correlate to the frequency and complexity of the
transactions.  By complexity I mean how many people are involved.  A transaction
involving a previous loanee, a new loanee, and an SJAA representative is the
most complex.  A transaction where I just receive or deliver a scope is easier.

	- Currently the SJAA provided storage requirements are minimal.
Occasionally I have to provide backup storage, but in practice we require very
little.  Under the current model the amount of Gary's offer now represents a
significant contribution.

	- Members are not complaining about storing scopes, but occasionally we
get returns. To the contrary most feel they are making a contribution to the
club.



As an example of complexity on May 7 I scheduled 4 simultaneous full exchanges.
At one point there were 4 scopes on the sidewalk.  3 of the transactions were
completed. In one case the new loanee did not show.  There have been several
other nights where we exchanged many scopes.  

Reducing the size of the inventory, by itself, will not make the program any
easier to administer nor will it have a significant effect in SJAA's risk of
running the program. My own motivation for reducing the inventory is to
eliminate obsolete or redundant equipment.


Rob Hawley