Engineering Support

Engineering Support includes all considerations necessary to ensure design integrity throughout the life cycle of the materiel system.

Sep 012016
 

Integrated Logistics Support Services

The ten ILS elements

The ten ILS elements

 

The ten areas of ILS:

Why is ILS Important to Defence ?
For Defence, it’s ensuring that:

  •  we provide the optimum Mission System to the user
  •  it’s provided to:
    •  the right person
    •  at the right place
    •  at the right time
  •  deliver it in best possible condition with the ability to fulfil its designed mission role under the stated operational conditions as per it’s mission profile.

Why is ILS Important to the Contractor / Service Provider ?
Knowing and understanding the ILS requirements permits the contractor to deliver what Defence needs to:

  •  accurately acquire and sustain the Materiel System through life at the greatest Operational Availability (Ao) for the best Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) to Defence and the Tax payer.

To do this in a cost effective manner, the contractor must be able to deliver equipment and supporting documentation:

  •  without duplication of effort or continuous rework
  •  delivering best ILS practice and product to Defence thereby enabling them to be viewed by Defence as a preferred tenderer for future work (Scorecard), and
  •  be internationally competitive in the Defence arena

The most attractive part for the contractors:

  •  Sustainment activities or Through Life Support (TLS) contracts for Defence materiel are often more lucrative than the supply of the original equipment
  •  TLS of the Mission System and many of the Support Systems are now being managed and maintained by the OEM.
  •  Generally, 20% to 30% of funds are spent in Acquisition and 70% to 80% spent in Sustainment.

How do you do ILS ?
You don’t “DO” ILS; you perform Logistic Support Analysis (LSA) tasks that allows you to achieve the ILS outcomes.
Those LSA Disciplines include:

  •  Reliability, Availability and Maintainability (RAM)
  •  Failure Modes, Effects & Criticality Analysis (FMECA) (done during design)
  •  Failure Modes & Effects Analysis (FMEA) (done after design to determine maintenance tasks)
  •  Reliability Centred Maintenance (RCM)
  •  Level Of Repair Analysis (LORA)
  •  Verification and Validation (V&V)
  •  Life Cycle Costing Analysis (LCCA)

So what is Logistics Support Analysis (LSA)?

LSA is a selected group of analytical techniques.
It is conducted continually throughout the Materiel Life Cycle (MLC).
It provides the data to support improvements to the efficiency of the Materiel System.
All data from the analysis is stored in the Logistic Support Analysis Record (LSAR).

Sep 012016
 

Engineering Support
Engineering Support includes all considerations necessary to ensure design integrity throughout the life cycle of the materiel system.
In Service Engineering Support includes;

  •  Design integrity and management
  •  Base lining (Configuration Management CM Tasks)
  •  Engineering Change control (ECP/ECO), Modifications
  •  Continuous Improvement
  •  Upgrade / Mid life review
  •  Parts reviews and Tech Substitutions

Australian Engineering Support

Luminact

Sep 012016
 

Systems Engineering

Systems Engineering is a design approach to achieve an integrated system that is designed from the start to accommodate the logistic support requirements.

Videos related to Systems Engineering

Logistics Engineering YouTube play

A System is a collection of elements or equipment that when combined produce an outcome not obtainable by the elements alone.
A Systems Integrator or Systems Engineer is tasked with integrating the elements, which may themselves be completely self-contained items or sub systems, so that they can be connected together or communicate with each other and work as a single functioning entity.
The elements (or sub systems) can include hardware, software, facilities, personnel, procedures, and documentation; ie. all things required to produce system-level outcome.
The outcomes typically include system-level functions and performance but may also extend to system qualities, system properties, system characteristics and system behaviours.
The total value of the system, beyond the sum of the independent parts, is usually created by the interconnections between the parts; eg automating the data transfer from a data reader, directly into the collating software that is able to make use of the data and provide a real time (graphical) display of the data just read, such as a bar scanner on a supermarket checkout.
System Engineering is a way of looking at the “big picture” when making design or operating decisions.
It is a way of achieving the operational functional and performance requirements in the intended environment over the planned life of the system.
Another way to put it would be; Systems Engineering is a way of thinking logically.
Often the system will have opposing constraints, which generally means something is compromised. Systems engineering attempts to look at the system holistically to determine the priorities of the functions and operabilities and thus minimise critical compromises while at the same time maximising functionality or performance.
The art of optimising the overall design without favouring one system/subsystem at the expense of another is an iterative process and may have inputs from many disciplines: electrical and electronics engineers, mechanical engineers, human factors engineers etc.
The ultimate result sought is a safe and balanced design that optimises the opposing interests and multiple, sometimes conflicting constraints.

Sep 012016
 

Maintenance Engineering Analysis (MEA).

FMEA, RCM, and MTA are also referred to as Maintenance Engineering Analysis (MEA).

  • FMEA  Failure Modes Effects Analysis – How can the equipment fail and what is the effect of failure.
  • RCM    Reliability Centred Maintenance – Maintenance focused on preventive replacements in order to maximise the operational period.
  • MTA    Maintenance Task Analysis – What specific tasks need to be performed to maintain the equipment