ORCHESTRATING SUSTAINMENT
SUSTAINMENT ENGINEERING PM TAS prides itself on its hands-on approach to engineering and sustain- ment, working directly with the U.S. Army
Armament Research, Develop-
ment and Engineering Center (ARDEC) and the original equipment manufactur- ers to develop and support the systems we manage. While ARDEC’s Benét Laboratories at Watervliet Arsenal, New York, is well known for its expertise on cannon systems, not as many people are familiar with the organic expertise found at ARDEC for the digital fire control systems (DFCS) on the M777A2 and M119A3.
While the original M777A2 DFCS was developed by
industry, the soft-
ware required to operate the system was developed in-house by ARDEC’s software lab, level 5 certified under the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) process improvement program. Te knowledge gained in developing the system-level software, and having full intellectual property rights, has allowed the PM to use a different approach while addressing obsolescence and refresh of the systems’ aging electronic line replace- able units (LRUs). LRUs include items like computers, displays and power supplies. PM TAS is using a “breakout strategy,” breaking out each individual LRU and developing specifications and competitively procuring each of
them
using the Army Contracting Command – New Jersey’s (ACC-NJ) expertise to ensure best value, which is critical in an environment of declining budgets.
Tese strategies not only lower costs through competition, but further reduce them by eliminating the additional layer of costs from a prime system contractor. Tere is no free lunch, as this approach does increase the need for internal staff. However, developing organic,
in-house 14
PBLCS STRATEGY
The performance-based life- cycle sustainment (PBLCS) strategy leverages the strengths of the following organizations:
• U.S. Army TACOM Life Cycle Manage- ment Command.
• Defense Logistics Agency. • USMC Logistics Command.
• U.S. Army Research, Development and Engi- neering Command.
• USMC Systems Command. • BAE Systems.
• PM TAS, PEO Ammo; PEO Land Systems (USMC).
and compete the individual LRUs that constitute the system. Tis will not only save initial procurement costs, but pay long-term dividends in sustainment.
SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT Another key to operational availability is delivering the right parts at the right time to the warfighter. Te M119A3 program uses a traditional organic sys- tem with TACOM providing all spare parts to support demand from the field and the Anniston Army Depot (ANAD), Alabama. PM TAS works with TACOM to identify high-demand items and has several active redesign efforts to improve system reliability, which will operational
availability while
increase reducing
expertise that can be used on multiple platforms pays long-term benefits as elec- tronics obsolescence and refresh of aging components are two of the largest cost drivers in sustainment. With systems expected to last up to 50 years, the elec- tronics may undergo four or five refresh cycles during a system’s life cycle.
PM TAS and the Fires Center of Excel- lence (Fort Sill, Oklahoma) are now using the lessons learned from these efforts in the development of strategies for the next generation of survey equipment. Te existing, legacy system uses proprietary, contactor-developed software. One of the strategies under consideration is govern- ment-owned software that would enable the PM to develop a systems architecture
the demand for spare parts. One such effort is a major redesign of the recoil system, whose main function is to absorb and control the rearward movement of the cannon and return it to its original firing position. Te recoil system, and the spare components required to maintain it, were identified as a significant cost driver in sustaining the M119A3. Working with PM TAS, engineers at ARDEC simplified many of the system's components while reducing the total part count, resulting in a more reliable, easier and less costly system to maintain. (See “Adapting Artil- lery,” Page 32, Army AL&T magazine, October – December 2014.)
Te M777A2 PBLCS strategy uses a competitively awarded firm fixed-price contract with BAE Systems to provide unique spares as well as various engineer- ing and logistics support activities. Tese activities include tracking part
tions and collecting reliability data from the field to identify opportunities
to
reduce operational costs. A life-cycle cost model was developed and is used to give the
government return-on-investment
data so the PM can make data-driven decisions. Sometimes the analysis results
requisi-
Army AL&T Magazine April-June 2016
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180 |
Page 181 |
Page 182 |
Page 183 |
Page 184 |
Page 185 |
Page 186 |
Page 187 |
Page 188 |
Page 189 |
Page 190 |
Page 191 |
Page 192 |
Page 193 |
Page 194 |
Page 195 |
Page 196 |
Page 197 |
Page 198 |
Page 199 |
Page 200 |
Page 201 |
Page 202 |
Page 203
