Telematics and CBM for Logistics Maintenance and Sustainment

NCMS Project #: 140986

Problem: Fleet telematics systems support the exchange of information between a fleet and their centralized authority. Predictive Maintenance, sometimes referred to as condition-based maintenance (CBM), is an emerging alternative to corrective or preventive maintenance, employing predictive analytics over real-time data collected from parts of the machine/vehicle to a centralized processor that detects variations in the functional parameters and detects anomalies that can potentially lead to breakdowns. The U.S. Army does not currently employ a telematics system on their ground vehicles that can synchronize vehicle information with the CBM system.

Benefit: When a company employs all available data to enhance the condition of their critical assets such as fleets, and can make educated decisions, costs, labor, and supply chain can be controlled. Once all of those systems are aligned, that organization will stand out from their competitors helping them gain a competitive advantage within the global marketplace.

Solution/Approach: Using U.S. Army sites as a test bed to develop and capture critical maintenance and sustainment metrics will provide a controlled environment that demonstrates the benefits of telematics implementation, and helps manufacturers fully understand the relevant data needed. This initiative will focus on evaluating the utility, feasibility, and maintainability of utilizing vehicle telematics devices in the Army’s fleet of Caterpillar T5 Dozers and JCB High Mobility Engineer Excavator Type I (HMEE-I) in the following Contiguous United States (CCONUS) locations:  Fort Carson, Colorado and Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington.

Impact on Warfighter:

  • Reduce costs
  • Improve maintainer productivity
  • Supports real-time monitoring and control
  • Increases safety

DOD Participation:

  • U.S. Army PEO CS&CSS
  • U.S. Army Project Manager (PM) Force Projection
  • U.S. Army TACOM Integrated Logistics Support Center (ILSC)
  • U.S. Army Combat Capability Development Command (CCDEVCOM) Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC) (formerly TARDEC)

Industry Participation:

  • Caterpillar Defense
  • JCB Government & Defense
  • NCMS

Benefit Area(s):

  • Cost savings
  • Maintenance avoidance and reliability
  • Obsolescence management and continued maintenance capability
  • Positive environmental impact
  • Safety
  • Maintenance management improvement
  • Improved readiness

Focus Area:

  • CBM+

Final Report