Integrated Logistics Support

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As important as any particular element or aspect of the Customer Support & Services which I have been writing about, the definition and creation of the best solutions to Customer Support & Services are born and raised together with the product, at early stages. This is certainly the best shot you have to set the path to excellence. 

We will see here that several aspects of the customer journey are influenced by decision made very, very early in the program. Every decision will have impacts down the road with the customer (and in your pocket). Catching up the right moment, for the more effective decisions is the best approach. 

This is called Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) as part of Integrated Program Development (IPD).

Let’s go thru some basics to enlighten the importance of ILS in a program development process. If you want more details I recommend you read some of the references at the end of this article.

CONCEPT

Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) is a management concept providing controls to help ensure that a system will meet its performance requirements and receive effective and economical support throughout its life cycle. A major ILS objective is to ensure the integration within the design process of the various support elements.

ILS philosophy ensures that support considerations are an integral part of the system’s design requirements, that the system can be cost effectively supported through its life-cycle, and that the infrastructure elements necessary to the initial fielding and operational support of the system are identified, developed, produced and acquired. 

ILS must be linked with the basic system design and development process right from the beginning. ILS philosophy should be deeply embedded within the design process. 

Projects must be managed on a life cycle but with integrated design and planning from start to finish. 

Decisions made during the early phases of a project have a greater leverage on its schedule, cost and success. Thus effort and money spent in the design phases are well worth it. 

The rigorous application of this methodology can go a long way in ensuring project and system success and in ensuring that the system designed meets all mission objectives.

The majority of a system’s life-cycle costs can be attributed directly to operations and support costs once the system is fielded. Because these costs are largely determined early in the system development period, it is vitally important that system developers evaluate the potential operation and support costs of alternate designs and factor these into early design decisions. 

ILS activities are most effective when they are integral to system engineering technical and management processes. When this is the case, system designers, support personnel and program managers are best able to identify, consider, and trade-off support considerations with other system cost, schedule and performance elements to arrive at an optimum balance of system requirements that meet the user’s operational and readiness requirements. 

The development process should address the life cycle of a system. Its cyclic nature is best understood by looking at the succession of systems which have been used over time to provide a similar capability. 

Experience developed during a retiring system’s operational life provides important insight for the initial definition of support requirements for its replacement. This information, and the current operational needs, form the basis for establishing supportability requirements and constraints for a new development. And the operational history of that new development will form the basis for its successor when it is no longer serviceable. 

Ideal policy is to develop systems/products which meet operational needs at the most affordable life cycle cost. The options are many. But the goal is always to get the best balance between total system design opportunities, operational needs, and program constraints. To achieve this goal, each aspect of a total system/product must be considered, the alternatives identified and evaluated, and the tradeoff decisions made and implemented. 

SUPPORTABILITY

Supportability is the degree to which system design characteristics and planned logistics resources meet system requirements. Supportability is the capability of a total system design to support operations and readiness needs throughout the system’s service life at an affordable cost. It provides a means of assessing the suitability of a total system design for a set of operational needs within the intended operations and support environment (including cost constraints). 


Cost constraints are an inescapable economic reality. Obtaining high quality, capable, and affordable systems which meet user needs is the goal. Evaluating the affordability of a product requires consideration of support investment and operations and support costs, as well as other acquisition costs. Life cycle cost estimates compare the investment and recurring ownership costs for different system alternatives. 

The cost analysis methodology used should consider the support resources necessary to achieve specified levels of readiness for a range of assumptions regarding system reliability and maintainability characteristics, usage rates, and operating scenarios. 

Supportability is a design characteristic. The early focus of supportability analyses should result in the establishment of support related parameters or specification requirements. These parameters should be expressed both quantitatively and qualitatively in operational terms and specifically relate to systems readiness objectives and the support costs of the system. Achieving and sustaining affordable system supportability is a life cycle management activity and is the result of robust systems engineering. 

Supportability factors are integral elements of program performance specifications. However, support requirements are not to be stated as distinct logistics elements, but instead as performance requirements that relate to a system's operational effectiveness, operational suitability, and life-cycle cost reduction.

The beginning point for each supportability requirement should be found in an operational requirement. 

Supportability requirements must be expressed in performance terms. Requirements must express what the desired outcome is, but must not direct how to achieve that outcome.

SERVICES BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

Linked to supportability aspects are the services needed to be developed around a product which will attend and comply with the logistics requirements.

Understanding and exploring all services needed and how to implement and offer later on to the customers/market will maximize the results of the company. In several cases is an integral part of the business plan of the product and to take the best benefit from this opportunity (new product) the service model definition must also start at early stages walking side by side with each decision made guaranteeing max results.

ILS ELEMENTS 

Integrated Logistics Support requires the evaluation, analysis and management of several supportability aspects such as: 

· Maintainability

· Reliability (pre and post delivery management) 

· Maintenance Planning

· Support and Test Equipment


· Supply Support (Spare & Repair)

· Transportation and Handling

· Technical Data (Operating & Maintenance Procedures)

· Facilities

· Personnel and Training

· Support & Services processes definition

· Funding

· Management Data

· Services business model definition

Benefits include the reduction of maintenance, repair and overhaul costs, unplanned expenditure, increased availability, reducing downtime for customer throughout the life of the capability, thereby generating greater value for money and reducing whole of life costs. 

Some outcomes to the ILS approach:

· Increased MTBF – mean time between failures

· Decreased MTTR – mean time to repair

· Reduced burden on Equipment Managers and support staff

· Reduced administrative logistic down-time

· Total cost of ownership support models and fixed-price ILS packages reduce unplanned expenditure and ease support solution budgetary planning

· Optimized levels of Operational Availability

· Integrated Supply Chain Management

· Training Needs Analysis & Training Support

· Maintenance Support – Covering all MRO requirements for both non-operation and operational support

· Packaging, Handling, Storage and Transportation

· Support & Services requirements embedded in Supply Chain processes and Supply Agreements

· Suppliers integration from early stages on Support & Services efforts with agreed/common management processes and targets

· Manpower & Personnel – Human Factors and Man-Machine Interface

· Technical Data & Publications & Media

· Support & Test Equipment

· Obsolescence Management

· Facilities – Certifies Testing & Calibration

· Well thought Services Business Model to support Program results (certain products/business the aftersales results are bigger than the product sales result)

TEAMWORK / COLLABORATION 

Unfortunately, supportability objectives often conflict with other design objectives like speed, range, size, etc. How is this inevitable conflict resolved? Early in the process, the issue of tradeoffs must be raised during the analysis of proposed concepts. Careful use of tradeoff studies will guide the engineers and support personnel in finding the optimal design—one which balances design objectives with supportability requirements. Tradeoffs are an essential part of the design process. 

The result of this early collaboration between engineering and support personnel is a specification that prescribes performance requirements to be achieved. 

The challenge is to ensure that supportability is integrated into the program from the beginning phases. The early design phases of a project, when things change rapidly has far reaching logistics impact. During this phase support personnel can use the leverage of early program involvement to identify approaches that will significantly lower life cycle costs. They may be able to catch an exorbitantly expensive material or time-consuming maintenance process before it has become integrated into the system. 

The value of teamwork from the earliest stages of a project is that each group has the other’s concerns in mind. Cooperation and mutual understanding save time and money. 

INTEGRATED PRODUCT AND PROCESS DEVELOPMENT (IPPD)

IPPD integrates all activities from product concept through production/field support. It uses a multi-functional team to optimize the product and its manufacturing and sustainment processes simultaneously to meet cost and performance objectives. IPPD evolved from concurrent engineering and the philosophies of quality management. It is a system engineering process integrated with sound business practices and common sense decision making. 

The basic principles of IPPD are: 

· Customer focus 


· Concurrent development of products and processes 


· Early and continuous life cycle planning 


· Maximum flexibility to optimize contractor approaches 


· Robust design and improved process capability 


· Event-driven scheduling 


· Multi-disciplinary teamwork 


· Empowerment 


INTEGRATED PRODUCT TEAMS (IPT)

IPTs are the means through which IPPD is implemented. They are its fundamental building blocks. These cross- functional teams are formed for the specific purpose of delivering a product for an external or internal customer. 


IPT members should have complementary skills. They are committed to a common purpose, common performance objectives, and a common 
approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable and have the same importance. Members of an integrated product team represent the technical, manufacturing, business, and support organizations that are critical to developing, procuring, and supporting the product. Each individual should offer his or her expertise to the team and, equally important, understand and respect the expertise of the other members of the team. Team members work together to achieve the team’s objectives. 

Critical to the formation of a successful IPT are the following principles: 

· All functional disciplines that will influence the product throughout its lifetime should be represented on the team. 


· The business unit manager, the program manager and functional managers and the integrated process team members must clearly understand the team’s goals, responsibilities, and authority. 

· Program’s goals must be very clear to everyone and have to be well determined.

· Resource requirements like staffing, funding, and facilities must be identified. 


· Actively participate. 

· Communicate point of view 

· Challenge requirements. 

· Pay attention to detail. 

CONCLUSION

The more integrated is your development phase, having support & services requirements embedded not only on the list of program requirements but also in the same level of importance of any product/program requirements, from the beginning, and led by people who will seek for the total long term result of the program, the more chances you have to develop a winning program/product which will bring customer loyalty and increased company results.

Don’t start thinking about support & services after your product/program is all defined. You will be throwing out of the window the best chances you had to guarantee its successful life.

August/19

references: 

· MIL-HDBK-502

· DEF STAN 00-60 (PART 0) 

· S3000L-B6865-03000-00 

· http://www.integrated-logistic-support-ils.webnetnz.com/maintenance/engineering/