LOGISTICS TECHNOLOGY

Capabilities

LMI uses all the cutting edge ways to improve performance. We know new and emerging technologies that enable leaps in logistics capability and practices and, more important, understand changes in policy, regulatory guidance, processes, and systems for exploiting the technology. Areas in which we excel include the following:

• Advanced logistics and maintenance technologies
• Technology assessments and business case analysis
• Planning and implementation support
• Prototype demonstrations
• Asset tracking and visibility
• E-Logistics.

clients and solutions

DoD—Using AIT to Streamline Processes

LMI has supported numerous Department of Defense (DoD) automatic identification technology (AIT) projects for many years, providing objective, proactive analysis and timely recommendations. Clients that continue to benefit from LMI’s AIT efforts include the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Joint Staff, U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) and its component commands, U.S. Central Command, U.S. Southern Command, Army, Marine Corps, Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), and Army Logistics Innovation Agency (LIA). For the past decade, we have been involved in developing concepts of operations (CONOPSs), implementation and integration plans, and prototypes. We have also assisted in integrating AIT into port operations and developed a CONOPS for using AIT to support ammunition shipments.

U.S. Army—Tracking Assets and Monitoring Condition

LMI’s support of the U.S. Army includes projects that demonstrate the benefits of using microelectricomechanical systems (MEMS) in combination with active radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. This technology can give logisticians the capability to plan and provide focused logistics to the warfighter. In addition to automatically tracking assets, these devices sense and record critical environmental factors that may influence the service life and health of important assets.

Current demonstrations include the storage and transportation of medical and chemical protective suit assets, which are sensitive to harsh environmental conditions. Once demonstrated, LMI will provide technical and program assistance for transitioning this technology into full implementation and changing Army policy and practices to include the expansion to other vital commodities. In addition, LMI is providing technical and managerial support to the Army for validation and verification of cutting-edge automatic identification technology (AIT) on the battlefield and elsewhere. Accurate, real-time asset visibility can be dramatically enhanced using mesh technologies, satellite communications, and integration with existing military wireless local area networks.

SDDC—Supporting Deployable and Mobile Port Operations Centers

For more than 5 years, LMI has provided continuous technical and managerial assistance in developing and fielding of the Surface Deployment and Distribution Command’s (SDDC's) deployable and mobile port operations centers—DPOCs and MPOCs—in support of the command’s single port manager mission. Support has included development of DPOC and MPOC functional requirements and technical procedures, an approach to streamline the management of the centers, a 5-year life-cycle cost model estimate, DPOC and MPOC field operations manuals, a communications configuration management program, and analysis of follow-on requirements for the next generation of port operations centers. We also evaluate ongoing DPOC and MPOC construction on-site, perform operational testing, and provide communications standardization.

USTRANSCOM—Creating Transportation Data Standards

Since 1985, LMI has been assessing and detailing the data standards requirements for the defense transportation community. Moving from the military standards (MILS) to commercial electronic data interchange (EDI), our work has formed the foundation upon which DoD has established all data interfaces with the commercial sector. Today, we are moving USTRANSCOM and defense distribution process owners into the net-centric standard of the eXtensible Markup Language (XML).

LIA—Applying Robotics to Logistics

LMI assisted LIA in researching mature robotics technologies that could be used in the near term to improve Army logistics tasks. We identified several logistics tasks that might benefit from the application of robotics technology, detailed potential robotics technologies, and examined how they might be applied to relevant logistics tasks. We developed demonstration scenarios incorporating potential robotics logistics applications and assisted LIA in assessing and ranking these scenarios for possible demonstration during 2008.