CTMA Project #: 141063
Problem: System sustainment and support operations are critical for executing programs and maintaining adequate system readiness levels, both for private industry and public organizations. The backbone of any organization’s readiness level is its sustainment and support infrastructure (for commercial activities, such as FedEx, this refers to their maintenance and repair facilities; for the U.S. Army, this is its network of Depots). As complex, highly interdependent and integrated solutions become the norm, the need for higher-than-ever availability for critical system elements will require a much lower maintenance footprint than existing systems and processes.
Achieving these aggressive transformation goals of support will require changes not only in logistics structures and processes but also in the nature and amount of demands placed upon the logistics system by the industrial and DOD machine. This cannot be achieved in the traditional “stovepiped” methodologies; it requires the supportability of systems that results from the requirements development, concept development, engineering design, engineering development, system integration and testing processes. Thus, the requirements and acquisition processes must play key roles in this ever-important transformation.
Benefit: The methodology (in the form of a CONOPS) and tools associated with the completion of this effort are extensible and transferable to any size commercial program planning and execution effort across the civil sector. The CONOPS will apply directly to commercial activities for sustainment and fielding of equipment across extended lifecycles.
Solution/Approach: The project will apply structured processes and use cases aimed at developing a rapid response capability for executing the engineering, logistics, procurement, and manufacturing operations needed to improve and sustain a large portfolio of products. This structured approach will also drive discipline and consistency in the internal processes executed on projects. The U.S. Army will be used as a testbed in a phased approach by assessing how sustainment and support operations for mobility and weapons systems are performed at Red River Army Depot (RRAD), one of the Army’s Centers of Industrial and Technical Expertise (CITE) and compare that with industry best practices.
Impact on Warfighter:
- Reduce maintenance and sustainment footprints
- Decrease costs
- Increase warfighter readiness
DOD Participation:
- U.S. Army, Red River Army Depot
- U.S. Air Force (observer)
- U.S. Marine Corps (observer)
- U.S. Navy (observer)
- ARNG (observer)
- FMS Systems (observer)
- USAR (observer)
Industry Participation:
- Ricardo Defense, Inc.
- NCMS
Benefit Area(s):
- Cost savings
- Maintenance avoidance and reliability
- Obsolescence management and continued maintenance capability
- Maintenance management improvement
- Improved readiness
- Reliability improvement
Focus Area:
- Reliability improvement
