Keynote speaker, LTG Charles Hamilton, set the scene by discussing the broader concept of “Predictive Logistics” that encompasses not only maintenance but supply, manufacturing, and transportation. All these functions need to be data-driven and predictive to enable mission readiness in the future.

The members of our distinguished panel agreed and elaborated on many of LTG Hamilton’s themes. Ms. Leigh Method, DASD Logistics, argued that leaders and key stakeholders in government need to collaborate on solving the most pressing problems using the right data and must avoid pursuing ill-defined initiatives. Many workshop participants resonated with Ms. Method’s contention that one way to help drive this discipline is by connecting sustainment initiatives with the right acquisition approaches and supporting policies.

But our two industry panelists, Logan Jones from AI company SparkCognition and Andrew Givens from Amazon Web Services (AWS), gave cause for optimism, discussing how rapid advances in data acquisition and analytic technologies offer unique opportunities to deliver distributed and secure predictive analytics at the edge.

During breakout sessions, participants discussed how implementation for predictive fleet maintenance faces similar challenges, no matter their mission. Most organizations face challenges with access to quality data, balancing relationships with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), maneuverability within policies and procedures that do not change at the pace of need, and cultural change management. Our participants explored these topics in-depth and shared potential solutions and lessons learned from their own experiences.