CTMA Project #: 140878
Problem: The Department of Defense (DoD) is currently challenged by the inability to detect and isolate faults in aircraft wiring bundles and Weapon Replaceable Assembly (WRA)/Line Replaceable Units (LRUs). These faults include opens and shorts, degraded and intermittent signals, and insulation degradation. The magnitude of the challenge is daunting, with the DoD spending approximately $2 billion annually just removing and replacing WRAs/LRUs that, when tested, are determined to be “no-fault-found (NFF).”
This is an unpredictable situation for a technician trying to diagnose an electrical intermittency problem in a complex system of continuity paths, with the intermittent event possibly occurring on one or more of thousands of potential circuits, and occurring by chance in time, or possibly not failing at all while the technician is actively looking for it. Current visual inspection processes lack effectiveness and can identify only approximately 25% of total weapon system wiring problems.
Benefit: The implementation of this IFDIS study equates to more streamlined and productive supply-chain management of electronic systems. As companies flow down the cost savings from the efficiencies and improvements derived from IFDIS efforts to the consumers, the general public will benefit by having expedient access to higher quality products at lower costs.
Solution/Approach: The purpose of this study is to build upon the experiences of Fleet Readiness Center South West and Hill Air Force Base in utilizing the IFDIS to assess the best strategy to implement this game-changing electronics maintenance capability across the DoD and at all levels of maintenance. One of the goals for the DoD is to deliver integrated joint logistics capabilities.
Impact on Warfighter:
- Reduced costs
- Streamlined and productive supply chain management
- Increased safety
- Warfighter readiness
DOD Participation:
- U.S. Navy, NAVAIR (Lakehurst)
- U.S. Air Force, Hill Air Force Base (AFB)
- U.S. Air Force, AFSC/ENRB OL (Warner Robins)
- U.S. Navy, COM FRC
- U.S. Navy, FRC Southwest
Industry Participation:
- Universal Synaptics
- LMI
- Eagle Systems, Inc.
- Copernicus
- NCMS
Benefit Area(s):
- Cost savings
- Repair turn-around time
- Maintenance avoidance and reliability
- Maintenance management improvement
- Improved readiness
Focus Area:
- Business processes/partnerships
