Readiness

Capabilities

LMI helps civilian and military agencies measure, monitor, and influence the materiel readiness of weapon systems, equipment fleets, and other equipment and parts:

• Weapon system and materiel condition assessment, analysis, and reporting
• Systems and materiel reliability management and growth
• Resource planning, tracking, and measurement
• Materiel readiness management information systems assessment and development.

clients and solutions

DoD—Cannibalization Increases Mission-Capable Rates

Sometimes criticized as a poor use of logistics resources, cannibalization—the selective removal of serviceable parts from inoperable weapon systems to make others operable—can be a cost-effective and mission-enhancing practice. An LMI study revealed that cannibalization activity, which consumes less than 1 percent of available maintenance labor hours, can increase weapon system mission-capable rates more than 17 percent and cost less than 1 percent of the alternative, buying additional spares. As a result, the Department of Defense modified its maintenance and supply policies to improve its management of cannibalization actions.

U.S. Army—CLOE Enhances Future Sustainment Operations 

The next generation of sustainment technologies includes such leading-edge concepts as embedded platform health management, true prognostic capability, and integrated enterprise information systems. The Army’s Common Logistics Operating Environment (CLOE) initiative aims to synchronize logistics concepts, organizations, and processes, as well as the latest generation of technologies, into a single operational and technical architecture for the force structure of the future. CLOE’s vision is an integrated logistics architecture that fuses information, logistics processes, and platform-embedded, sensor-based technologies to support tactical, operational, and strategic sustainment. In support of the Army Logistics Transformation Agency’s implementation of CLOE, LMI provides strategic planning, program management, architecture development, and planning for proof-of-enabler tests on Army weapon systems.

U.S. Navy—Reducing Aircraft in Depot Pipeline Increases Availability

The Navy does not always have sufficient aircraft on the flight line to adequately support planned operations and training requirements. Reducing the number of aircraft in the depot maintenance pipeline can help alleviate this problem. LMI’s Naval Aviation Maintenance Panel report recommended acceleration of a number of Navy “work smart” initiatives (through a targeted investment of $45–$60 million) to reduce the Navy’s overall depot maintenance pipeline by 100 aircraft (to 150 aircraft) within the next 5 years.

DLA—Weapon System Sustainment Improves Readiness and Reliability

LMI manages and executes the Defense Logistics Agency’s Weapon System Sustainment Program, which conducts research and development to improve readiness and reliability and reduce the cost of aging weapon systems. The focus of R&D efforts is on the consumable parts provided by DLA to the military services. For one project, we are characterizing the material and design of O-rings to help DoD engineers make sound part substitution and item reduction decisions. In another project, we are evaluating the engineering change process to accommodate design and process improvements across classes of items. In contrast to the current process, which involves item-by-item reviews, the new process will speed the incorporation of new materials and manufacturing concepts into defense hardware.