EFFICIENCY BUYS FLEXIBILITY
PLATFORM INTEGRATION CONCEPT OF OPERATIONS Te first step in designing a Next-Gen radio installation kit is to get boots on the ground who can perform hands-on engineering work by evaluating space constraints, cable routing paths, avail- able power sources and any potential impediments to successful integration. Depending on the scope of the work, the team may also decide to build and install a prototype kit based on the initial engineering findings to work out any remaining kinks in the design.
Te designs vary by mission, as sometimes our kit designs include ancillary equipment for the special needs of the warfighters. For instance, Soldiers in a medical unit may need to take their tent-based chem-bio shelter off their vehicle and deploy it in a hazardous environment; once inside the protective shelter, however, they have typically been unable to access their radio controls. To solve this, the integration team added a keypad display unit to the shelter, connected by a very long cable to the radio in the cab of the truck. Tis kit design enhancement, added during a recent engineering trip to Pine Bluff Arsenal, Arkansas, will allow Soldiers to operate their Next-Gen radio inside their shelter while the hazard persists.
Once the kit configuration and integration details are laid out, technical data packages (TDPs) can be built. Currently, the HMS Platform Integration team maintains about 100 different TDPs covering vehicle installation kits for two manpack (rucksack) radio and two leader radio (handheld) variants. When maxi- mum communication capabilities are needed, roof space may be required for five or more antennas, with cables from each antenna running back to the radios, while additional pieces of hardware are needed to make the system fully functional. Furthermore, cable routing on any platform can be challenging, as antennas must be far enough apart to preclude electromagnetic interfer- ence and safety hazards, and most platforms were not designed to accommodate future cabling requirements.
Given all this equipment complexity, the TDPs themselves can be quite challenging, requiring numerous part drawings, many of which are used across multiple TDPs.
SWITCHING OUT THE TOOLBOXES To simplify the process, the integration team kicked off a digi- tal transformation initiative, which includes the current effort to update all legacy TDPs, using a new toolbox. Te old tool- box was inefficient and error-prone. Tat’s because it consisted of 2D computer-aided design (CAD) software, PDF software to
40 Army AL&T Magazine Winter 2025
save drawings and data sheets, email to share files and conduct engineering change control and the use of spreadsheets for configuration management—which, taken together, meant that revisions to a single drawing necessitated manually replacing the relevant pages in the TDP PDF package, sometimes across dozens of kit designs.
For example, reliance on the 2D software required the team to first identify which structural members of an equipment rack shouldn’t be painted and then take the time to mask those areas before painting. What’s more, an incorrect reading of the draw- ing could lead to improper paint application, which would result in rework and schedule delays. Using 3D models will make part details, such as the areas to be masked, much more visible.
By incorporating these digital transformation efforts, the new toolbox will feature the latest 3D CAD model format and an enterprise Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) library to digitally build TDPs with built-in revision controls—all hosted on the Army’s enterprise Product Data Management (ePDM) framework.
Industry has long been using ePDM to protect designs and improve efficiency, and now the Army will reap similar benefits. For example, by using the PLM software on the new platform, the team can complete two legacy TDP updates in just three weeks, compared to the three or four months it took with the old. What’s more, it tracks the latest revisions of all drawings and incorporates them into each new legacy TDP update. Te PLM’s engineer- ing change request function also enables the team to efficiently initiate, manage, review, approve and release engineering change proposals entirely through the software. And most importantly, it allows for more than one person to make changes and update the component, which ensures that the component cannot move to the next revision level without going through this process.
Now that the team is using ePDM for the radio kits with 3D modeling software, they are seeing increased efficiency and reduced downtime, while maintaining the highest quality for our products and TDPs.
CONCLUSION Digital transformation is a key component to the Army’s modern- ization strategy, and it is now playing a vital role in ensuring that HMS Next-Gen radios continue to deploy across the entire Army vehicle portfolio, including a large number that are being integrated onto Army rolling stock. Te added efficiencies and enhanced engineering change and configuration management
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
