Looking Forward: CTMA’s Tradition of Value and Excellence Continues

NCMS and the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Maintenance Policy and Programs (ODASD-MPP) have a long-standing partnership to support
the Commercial Technologies for Maintenance Activities (CTMA) Program. The CTMA Program is a venue for for the government to demonstrate, evaluate,
and validate commercially available technologies and best practices to support weapon system and component sustainment, maintenance, obsolescence management, and other relevant technologies which ultimately support the Warfighter and weapon system performance for the Department of Defense (DoD). For nearly 20 years, the CTMA Program has been a conduit to commercialize best practices and focuses on increasing efficiencies, technological advancements, and cost savings. The program began in 1998; the most current and relevant Cooperative Agreement was adapted in 2015 and will continue until 2020.

CTMA encourages and fosters a shared manufacturing and research environment for the concerted enhance- ment of technologies from incubation to deployment. The collaboration between military and industry adds robustness, efficiency, and escalation of program efforts. NCMS develops and manages collaborative project teams (from private industry, research organizations, academia, and the government) for the purposes of improving and informing processes and development of technologies useful to the DoD as well as adaptable for commercial applications for the good of the public.

The National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) has managed over 300 multi-participant projects for the DoD and continues to build new partnerships including Wright Patterson Air Force Base, SPAWAR, Letterkenny Army Depot, ODASN-Energy, USAF Office of Energy Assurance, and Defense Logistics Agency. CTMA has a streamlined process to execute initiatives pertaining to demonstrations, evaluations, and validations of innova- tive commercial technologies which are useful to the DoD. CTMA can launch projects within 30 to 45 days of receiving the project’s approval, through military inter- departmental purchase request (MIPR), and continues to work with Washington Headquarter Services and government sponsors to streamline this process.

Last year’s annual CTMA Partners Meeting was held at the Lockheed Martin Innovation Center in Suffolk, Virgina, where over 150 attendees including government, industry, and academia attended. Other milestone events included the Composite Maintainers Technology Interchange Meeting at the Naval
Amphibious Base in Little Creek, Virginia, the Condition-Based Maintenance Panel Sessions conducted at the Prognostics and Health Management Society Conference in Denver, Colorado, and Technology Showcases at Tobyhanna Army Depot and Letterkenny Army Depot, bringing industry technology to the maintainers who have the need.

Each year NCMS showcases six highly successful CTMA initiatives and game-changing technologies with its industry and government partners via a centrally-located booth at the DoD Maintenance Symposium. NCMS participates on the core organization team for the DoD Maintenance Innovation Challenge and strives to increase the number of technology submittals from industries each year.

We have a busy year ahead of us now that there is a greater emphasis in maintaining legacy systems in lieu of acquiring new. We are excited to continue our work fulfilling DoD technology gaps and reducing maintenance and sustainment costs through the CTMA Program. We look forward to continuing to work with our trusted partners and building new relationships with the maintenance and sustainment community at large. Now is the time to join us and be a part of the solution.