SBIR-STTR Award

System Program Offices (SPOs) and System Managers at Air Logistics Centers (ALCs) have a need to evaluate design alternatives and quantify life cycle costs. Most development opportunities seek to increase operational capability, correct a known problem and/or increase reliability. Each design alternative carries with it life cycle cost implications which include the cost of logistics and maintenance. A tool is needed which will provide these program offices with ways to evaluate these alternatives before monies are spent on acquisition. KLSS proposes to develop a design prediction model that can support SPO logisticians in evaluating various design decision alternatives for new weapon systems and for upgrading existing weapon system components. The tool will utilize the latest technology and, when applicable, COTS and existing tools, and be built with enough flexibility to evaluate alternatives at any level of fidelity needed. The tool will allow for the evaluation of the impact of design alternatives on logistics and maintenance requirements, as well as the impact of logistics resource availability on the design requirements. KLSS proposes to use our existing simulation model, SIMFORCE, in Phase I to provide initial information on the impact of design alternatives on operational and maintenance needs.

Benefits:
Development of the proposed simulation model will give SPO logistics decision makers a way to evaluate different design characteristics of a weapon system, specifically related to logistics/maintenance support and life cycle sustainment requirements and costs for effectiveness, affordability, and performance. Including these total logistics life cycle cost considerations in the quantification of the design impact will result in lower lifetime costs, more efficient use of resources, and ultimately, more mission capability for the dollar.

Keywords:
Simulation, Supportability, Design Cost, Analysis, Maintenance, Sortie Generation, Life Cycle Cost, Return on Investment, Logistics, Support

This proposal is recommending the investigation and evaluation of technologies and process changes to enhance the training of Air Force aircraft maintenance technicians and improve their job skills. As current weapon systems average life increases, system discrepancies become more and more prevalent and the types of problems go beyond the normal fault code - remove and replace scenario. The current generation of maintenance technicians were generally trained in an environment in which a fault code equates to a predetermined remove and replace. Improving the troubleshooting and repair of Air Force weapons systems is a broad goal that touches on many disciplines. The KLSS Team is aware of many past and present projects that have focused on aspects of the goal and achieved notable successes. We plan on leveraging these projects and focusing on current technologies to enhance the human effectiveness of our mechanics. We plan to investigate the latest types of media presentation and use human factors engineering to find the best applications of media and media devices to improve OJT and classroom training and troubleshooting.

Keywords:
Logistics, Training, Human Effectiveness, Aircraft