Project Announcement: Reversible Adhesives – Phase 2
09-14-2017 A major goal of this project is to enable the continued development of reversible adhesive systems. Partners should possess the ability to develop, characterize, and/or model thermoplastic adhesive systems. These adhesive systems will need to be able to readily incorporate proprietary additives that enable the reversible adhesive system to function correctly. Adhesive systems will be characterized for important performance criteria, and the use of sensors to gauge performance will beRead More
Project Announcement: Expanded Use of Autonomous Logistics Platforms
08-31-2017 Intermodal shipping containers have had a huge impact change on commercial and military wholesale distribution operations. Commercial and government container operators have improved container shipping operations through the addition of sophisticated tracking technologies such as RFI and new operational concepts such as “inventory in motion”. The recent introduction of air and land based autonomous systems may alter the pace and scope of logistics operations. The concept of “autonomousRead More
Project Announcement: Long Term Tire Storage Phase 2
08-31-2017 A major goal of this project is to enable the accelerated testing and durability evaluation of tire storage coatings. Partners should possess the ability to consistently apply uniform barrier coatings to the inside and outside of military-size truck and trailer tires. Tires will be aged according to the appropriate industry standard, and then evaluated for physical properties. Another goal of this project is to apply the tire storage coating to tires for road wheel durability testing.Read More
Project Announcement: Integrated Corrosion Phase 2
08-31-2017 A major goal of this project is to enable the development of an accelerated corrosion test system that simulates real-world conditions better than current accelerated corrosion tests. The US Army and NASA are designing a new prototype accelerated corrosion test system. This project will support that development through test sample production of various coating systems. Partners should be able to apply a wide range of military and industrial coating systems. Partners should also possess a wideRead More
Project Announcement: Combat Vehicle Lightweight Efforts
08-31-2017 A major goal of this project is to enable the evaluation of lightweight components for very heavy vehicles. This project will support efforts to improve SWaP-C by determining if replacing components with lightweight equivalent parts is possible. Components will be large, and multi-material solutions are envisioned. More than one component will be investigated. Government furnished data may be Distribution D. Partners should possess the ability to produce computer aided design drawings ofRead More
Project Announcement: The Refurbishment, Re-Engineering, and Testing of the Demilitarized MK 122 MOD 0 Warhead Section for Sustainable Re-Introduction into an Advanced Lightweight Torpedo Capability
08-15-2017 The U.S. Navy is pursuing an advanced lightweight torpedo capable of prosecuting and defeating challenging adversary submarine targets. To successfully meet this need, a warhead capable of addressing this challenge is required. The objective of this initiative is to engineer sound technical solutions for maintaining and sustaining the MK 122 Mod 0 warheads that have been relegated to storage after removal from service for the purposes of extending their life and utilizing these warheads inRead More
Project Announcement: Manufacturing Demonstration Toolset for Maintenance & Sustainment Support for FRC Southeast and FRC Southwest
08-15-2017 One of the most significant issues for both industry and the DoD is the management of aircraft engineering data. This data consists of 3D CAD data, 2D drawings, and poor image quality of tech data drawing packages received from the OEM. The data is received piece-meal and the current processes used were developed to support the management of drawings and are not capable of managing this variety and quantity of data. Because of this, significant time is spent manually mining data by a dedicatedRead More
Project Announcement: Intermittent Fault Detection Technology Pilot Implementation for U.S. Air Force/Air Force Materiel Command
08-15-2017 The Department of Defense/U.S. Air Force is currently challenged by the inability to detect and isolate faults in aircraft wiring bundles and Weapon Replaceable Assembly (WRA)/Line Replaceable Units (LRUs). These faults include opens and shorts, degraded and intermittent signals, and insulation degradation. The magnitude of the challenge is daunting, with the DoD spending approximately billion annually just removing and replacing WRAs/LRUs that, when tested, are determined to beRead More
Project Announcement: Maintenance Quality Analysis
08-15-2017 The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) mission is to provide full lifecycle support for naval aviation aircraft, weapons, and systems operated by Sailors and Marines. Determining the quality of the integrated maintenance capability is difficult using current analysis methods, systems, and tools. The data to support this analysis exists in many disparate data sources and exceeds the current size limitations of the tools available to NAVAIR. The data systems used to collect the maintenanceRead More
Project Announcement: Gantry Hull Welding System Demonstration at a Naval Shipyard
08-15-2017 Metal frames that are critical for the structural support of fleet equipment such as ships, airplanes, trucks, and buses need to be scrupulously maintained. Repairs and upgrades to these frameworks are primarily done by welders who are trained in all specifications and safety requirements. The current standard for hull cut welding at Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) is to use the stick welding process, which requires constant starting and stopping as well as meticulous cleaning in order to beRead More
Project Announcement: Reducing Maintenance Costs Through Predictive Analytics Phase II
08-15-2017 Controlling maintenance costs is critical to commercial industry in order to secure and retain market share/competitive advantage. Reducing maintenance cost is also a critical mission for the Defense Department in today’s budget-constrained environment. One of the most promising avenues for delivering enhanced maintenance performance is in the area of data analytics, specifically in using data collected by sensors on military assets to predict and avoid costly failures. Commercial industryRead More
Project Announcement: Using Predictive Analytics to Improve Main Reduction Gear (MRG) Readiness
08-15-2017 In recent years, the cruise line industry as suffered some embarrassing break downs due to power train failures and they’re not alone. The maritime industry, in general, has been dealing with power train issues since the first engine and driveshaft was placed on board seagoing vessels. These mechanical break downs are costly, and very dangerous when under restricted maneuvering and/or during inclement sea-state/weather conditions. The US Navy's surface fleet has also endured power trainRead More
Project Announcement: Automated Hydro-lance Conceptual Design for Heat Exchangers
08-15-2017 Hydro-lancing is presently accomplished manually and requires mechanics to push a water lance through each tube of a heat exchanger to remove fouling/growth. Heat exchangers on the industrial scale can contain thousands of tubes requiring hours of repetitive pushing and pulling of a lance. The shipboard environment offers a unique challenge due to the restricted workspace allowed for servicing the heat exchangers. This further aggravates the difficulty of this task requiring unnatural posturesRead More
Project Announcement: Predictive Vehicle Maintenance Through Data Acquisition
08-01-2017 The challenges of U.S. Army vehicle maintenance and repair continue to present new obstacles to the United States of America. As more vehicles are introduced, the methods for maintaining those new vehicles as well as the existing vehicles currently in operation continue to become more and more obsolete and cumbersome. As this phase of the vehicle development nears the end and the vehicle is deployed, the way maintenance has always been accomplished is easily used simply due to the readilyRead More
Project Announcement: Lithium Ion Deep-cycle Battery Cold Environment Versatility
08-01-2017 Lithium-ion batteries are both lighter and carry longer charge lives than their lead counterparts. However, benefits to industry don’t stop there. Technological improvements in rechargeable solid-state batteries are being driven by an ever-increasing demand for all electronic devices. Lithium-ion batteries are the systems of choice, offering high energy density, flexible and lightweight design, and longer lifespan than comparable battery technologies. These batteries are being used to benefitRead More
Project Announcement: Intermittent Fault Detection Technology Implementation and Training for Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Crane Division
08-01-2017 Electronic maintenance poses an ever-increasing challenge for the artisan today because of the limitations of current No Found Fault (NFF) equipment and training to the public. The reduced size of electronic chips, coupled with increases in their interactions and complexities of equipment, have led to difficulties in diagnosing system faults when these faults occur at the component level and are intermittent in nature. The purpose of this collaboration is to build upon the experiences ofRead More
Project Announcement: Removal of Magnetically Attached Devices (ReMAD) Effectiveness and Sustainability Assessment – Phase II
08-01-2017 Quick and easy removal of unwanted or no longer needed magnetically attached devices (MADs) has been and continues to be an issue in the commercial world as well as in DoD. A workable solution currently does not exist. ReMAD Phase II – The work of Phase I demonstrated a Proof of Concept solution through experimentation using MAD-emulating devices, which become detached using appropriately applied magnetic fields. It provides the basis for continuation of the project’s technicalRead More
Project Announcement: Assessment and Concept Development of zeroGs and zeroG-Mag-Mount Systems for Hull Applications at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (PSNSY)
08-01-2017 At Naval Shipyards and commercial businesses much of the work is accomplished by “touch labor” artisans performing physically demanding and fatiguing operations: lifting, manipulating, and using heavy hand tools in awkward positions, with repetitive motions for lengthy durations. This physically demanding work, while essential, challenges the ability to meet current and future readiness and strategic objectives because the physically demanding work has seriously detrimental effects to employeeRead More
Project Announcement: Analysis of Maintenance Expenditures to Optimize Innovation Prioritization and Resourcing for Naval Shipyards
08-01-2017 Analysis of Maintenance Expenditures to Optimize Innovation Prioritization and Resourcing for Naval Shipyards The shipyards perform the most complex maintenance that the Navy requires, including most depot-level and some intermediate-level lifecycle maintenance and modernization of nuclear-powered submarines and carriers. The shipyards are also home to regional repair centers which provide planning yard functions, intermediate-level maintenance on equipment, maintenance of key nationalRead More
Project Announcement: Enhanced Environmental Performance for Safety Glass
08-01-2017 The goal of this project is to better understand causes of delamination, and alternative coatings and constructs, producing a more robust safety glass for this product that is widely used across many consumer situations such automotive windshields and bulletproof glass. There are three major aspects to the project: Efforts will be made to correlate the cause of delamination to the appearance of the failure. The impact of storage conditions will also be studied. A second focus will beRead More
Project Announcement: Modern Information Technology (IT) Portfolio Management Improvement Initiative – Phase III
08-01-2017 Debates exist on the best way to manage IT portfolios and to measure the value of IT investment. Companies invest billions of dollars on IT and yet the headlines of misspent money are not uncommon. IT portfolio managers are constantly challenged to properly, efficiently, and cost effectively manage their portfolios while dealing with criticisms of poor data quality, a lack of performance data, and misaligned IT governance and policy. When it comes to IT PFM, industries within the maintenanceRead More
Project Announcement: Mission Analysis Readiness Resource Synchronization
07-31-2017 The goal of this project is to progress development of a resource synchronization ERP system. The project will develop a cross-functional software system that holistically synchronizes, manages, and collaborates with existing and disparate capabilities. This system provides the data necessary to source and support validated mission and training requirements. The intent of this project is to develop a software system solution that: Presents readiness information in a strategicRead More
Project Announcement: Membrane Water Filtration System Development
07-31-2017 A major goal of this project, as the global need for potable water increases, is to develop a low-pressure thermoplastic filtration membrane module specially designed to treat fresh water sources for safe and reliable potable use, without the need for high-pressure reverse osmosis. The intent of this project is to optimize an end-to-end filtration system to: Reduce complexity Increase ease of use Provide robust automated operation Those interested in participating in thisRead More
Project Announcement: Maintenance and Safety Improvement for T700 Engine Compressor Airfoils
07-31-2017 The overall objective of this initiative is to prove out the benefits of using the erosion/corrosion resistant BlackGold® coating on the T700 jet engine compressor airfoils. Specifically, the initiative is intended to show improvement in functionality, reliability, maintainability, and procurement as follows: Functionality – an erosion and corrosion protective coating that retains compressor airfoil surface finish, retains airfoil profile, and eliminates corrosion pitting duringRead More
RFP: EPA Compliance Assistance Centers
07-27-2017 The National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) currently operates a number of environmental assistance websites and related information resources with funding from the US Environmental Protection Agency. EPA has strongly recommended that awardees periodically subject all significant contracts funded under EPA programs to open competition. Accordingly, NCMS is releasing a Request for Proposals (RFP) relating to the development and operation of its Compliance Assistance Center WebsitesRead More
Project Announcement: Adapting Blockchain Technology for Additive Manufacturing
06-22-2017 A major goal of this project is to enable the public to reduce the barriers with digital information and to connect people and data with tools to support Additive Manufacturing (AM) innovation to design new products and to compete with larger counterparts. This in turn, will increase competition and reduce the cost of goods for the general public. Without the most relevant product development data and efficient processes, consumers are spending more for warehousing, transportation, and generalRead More
Project Announcement: Advanced Mobile Universal Electrical Tooling (AMUET) for Maintenance and Sustainment -- Phase III
05-25-2017 The issue of how to develop a reliable, cost-effective solution for trouble-shooting electrical systems continues to plague the aircraft industry. A good portion of aircraft maintenance costs are attributed to finding anomalies associated with complex electrical systems. Human error also enters into the equation, particularly if and when traditional hand-held meters are used to isolate an electrical system issue. It could take hours to find and isolate a defective component, wire, or wireRead More
Project Announcement: MRAP RESET Cable Reverse Engineering
05-01-2017 Deteriorating and aging cables that need replacing are a growing concern, but simply amassing and storing varieties of cables – which might not even fulfill the specific requirements – does not solve the problem. Instead, reverse engineering specific cables provides a faster, better solution to building just what is needed for a specific project. The MRAP Product Manager (PM) is conducting a RESET and standardization of their vehicle fleet. Many items provided to the Army during initialRead More
Strategy and Innovation; Enterprise Innovation Management Phase II
04-20-2017 Today, everyone is continually seeking out methods on how to minimize risk and improve benefits by adopting newer and ever evolving technology. Public industries within production, maintenance, and sustainment realms know that innovation is a force multiplier critical for product development and business success, as many of the products and services you and I purchase are positively or negatively influenced by social and other electronic media. Small and large businesses alike know it will notRead More
Project Announcement: Superior Energy Infrastructure Maintenance and Sustainment
04-20-2017 The objective of this project is to develop superior energy infrastructure sustainment and maintenance practices in support of the Air Force (AF) mission. As installation infrastructure continues to degrade, installations become more vulnerable to system failures and service disruptions. Furthermore, concurrent advances in technology make interdiction of the infrastructure more feasible by non-DoD actors. Additionally, advances in commercially available energy infrastructure technology areRead More
Project Announcement: Process Development for Air Force Energy Infrastructure
04-20-2017 The objective of this project is to develop a framework and process set to inform Air Force policy recommendations on energy infrastructure maintenance and sustainment practices to optimize mission support. As installation infrastructure continues to age and deteriorate, Air Force facilities become more vulnerable to system failures and service disruptions. Furthermore, concurrent advances in technology make interdiction of the infrastructure more feasible by non-DoD actors. Additionally,Read More
Project Announcement: Technical Studies, Analyses for Intermittent Fault Detection Isolation System (IFDIS) Implementation Across DoD
04-20-2017 A potentially faulty electronic system in the field can compromise reliability and safety for the public. Electronic maintenance poses an ever-increasing challenge for the artisan today because of the limitations of current No Found Fault (NFF) equipment and training to the public. The reduced size of electronic chips, coupled with increases in their interactions and complexities of equipment, have led to difficulties in diagnosing system faults when these faults occur at the component levelRead More
Project Announcement: Supply Item Logistics Capability Initiative
04-20-2017 Possessing the ability to quickly and accurately assess quality and quantities for parts and components from more than one supplier, while meeting specific maintenance or sustainment requirements is an issue that industry has yet to fully overcome. They also require an enterprise management solution that will continue to support daily business processes while offering an advantage at some level over their foreign competitors. Fulfilling customer expectations is the first rule of businessRead More
Project Announcement: Item Master Logistic Capability Initiative Phase II
04-20-2017 As businesses across the country consistently seek out mitigation and look for solutions to their IT shortfalls, design for standardization, cataloging and effectively identifying parts for distribution while being able to quickly isolate defective parts is an issue that has plagued industry for decades and continues today. Fulfilling general public expectations is normally the first rule of business today, but companies that fail to adequately recognize substandard practices and systems thatRead More
Project Announcement: Supply Item Logistics Capability Initiative
04-20-2017 Possessing the ability to quickly and accurately assess quality and quantities for parts and components from more than one supplier, while meeting specific maintenance or sustainment requirements is an issue that industry has yet to fully overcome. They also require an enterprise management solution that will continue to support daily business processes while offering an advantage at some level over their foreign competitors. Fulfilling customer expectations is the first rule of businessRead More
Project Announcement: Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) for Integrating Maintenance and Sustainment Program Requirements Through an Asset’s Lifecycle – Phase II
04-20-2017 Like many commercial companies, the Air Force (AF) logistics and engineering communities lack a standardized and integrated method of accessing Product Lifecycle Information (PLI), managing configuration control of said PLI, synchronizing changes among PLI, and sharing the PLI with downstream consumers (e.g., maintenance, planning). This results in unplanned, manual intervention of limited manpower resources on activities to create, maintain, and update product information before use. TheRead More
Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) for Integrating Maintenance and Sustainment Program Requirements through an Asset’s Lifecycle – Phase II
03-31-2017 Like many commercial companies, the Air Force (AF) logistics and engineering communities lack a standardized and integrated method of accessing product lifecycle information (PLI), managing configuration control of said PLI, synchronizing changes among PLI, and sharing the PLI with downstream consumers (e.g., maintenance, planning). This results in unplanned, manual intervention of limited manpower resources on activities to create, maintain, and update product information before use. TheRead More
T700 1st Stage Turbine Nozzle Sand/Salt Phobic Treatment Concept Demonstration – Phase II
02-27-2017 One specific deterioration mode that occurs within the engine hot section is partially/molten debris accumulation on high pressure turbine airfoils. The accumulation causes not only performance degradation, but also has the potential to increase engine op line, thereby reducing overall engine stall margin and safety factors. In order to mitigate the effects of debris accumulation, airfoil treatments and coatings are conceptually an option for operational use. The Phase II initiative willRead More
NAVAIR Expeditionary Fluid Analysis Capability Evaluation
02-27-2017 Condition-based maintenance (CBM) is a maintenance strategy that monitors the actual condition of the asset to decide what maintenance needs to be done. CBM dictates that maintenance should only be performed when certain indicators show signs of decreasing performance or upcoming failure. Improving overall lifecycle costs and reducing waste stream benefits the environment. A portable fluid analysis device bridges the gap between future online analysis systems and current laboratory-basedRead More
Development of Computer-Based Training for Maintenance and Sustainment
02-27-2017 Most often training curriculum is written to train too much functionality at one time and to large segments of job roles at fixed times. The traditional model of instructor-led training in a classroom setting is both cost prohibitive due to travel expense and time away from the job. This problem is compounded by teaching to much material to the wrong employees or worse no training at all because it is too expensive. GCSS-MC is about to go through a major upgrade, called R12 that will requireRead More
Business Improvement Process for Maintenance & Sustainment
02-27-2017 The Air Force leaders have recognized the need for comprehensive, transparent, accurate, and timely financial information in support of program budget and resource allocation decisions. One of the main concerns is the need to improve strategic management of Air Force programs, compliance reporting, and performance assessments of budgetary processes. Based on detailed market research, including an Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) and Preferred Solution Analysis (PSA), the Air Force has narrowedRead More
Manufacturing Management System for Aircraft Maintenance, Sustainment and Support
02-27-2017 Most companies have plenty of data in their internal databases, but extracting the right information and translating it into actionable intelligence, is another matter altogether. The adoption of configuration management with a strong PLM backbone can increase collaboration throughout American industry and their suppliers, resulting in more streamlined processes across a product’s lifecycle. The Manufacturing Execution System (MES), SIMATIC IT solution, is a sophisticated, highly scalable MESRead More
Integration of Operational Energy into Training and Education
02-27-2017 Energy efficient technologies have the potential to significantly reduce the public energy consumption while maintaining or enhancing sustainability and mission effectiveness. The Services have made significant investments in alternative energy and energy efficient technologies to reduce their demand for fossil fuels. American industry is partnering with the Services to better understand their needs and develop innovative technologies to address these energy challenges and the similaritiesRead More
Development of Laser Additive Manufacturing Repair (LAM-R) Transition Procedures Supporting Maintenance & Sustainment
02-27-2017 LAM-R is a fusion-based AM process, or laser powder fed AM process, (differentiating from the laser powder bed process) was developed making it possible to repair parts that were previously unrepairable. It impacts acquisition cost and production lead time issues for various aerospace, automotive, marine, and energy industrial high dollar components. While the possibilities for AM intrigue both the materials engineer and the design engineer, they present a great challenge for those responsibleRead More
Rapid & Agile 3D Scanner with Micron Accuracy for Non-Destructive Inspection (NDI)
02-27-2017 Rapid precision measurement through NDI coupled with “big data,” predictive diagnostics, is one of the most promising avenues to deliver the next generation a foundation for faster, lower cost. What is limiting maintenance organizations from adopting this new paradigm for condition based monitoring has been the sensor technology (precision data acquisition) with its ability to be agile, reliable and portable for practical field use. The intent of this initiative is to develop a NDI One-CellRead More
Intelligent Management Analysis System (IMAS)
02-27-2017 Increasing aviation safety is a primary design and operational goal for aircraft flying within the industrialized nations. Decreasing the failure probability requires a platform sustainment methodology that continually improves the ability to detect and mitigate functional degradation before failure occurs. Prognostics find precursors prior to failures; diagnostics helps find root causes to recurring problems. Resolving prognostics and diagnostics quickly saves time and money via costRead More
Complex Cable Harness Reverse Engineering and Production Process Development and Validation – Phase II
01-24-2017 Cables can be found just about anywhere, and the integrity of a cable has a profound effect on its ability to do its job and to public wellbeing and safety. Deteriorating and aging cables that need replacing are a growing concern, but simply amassing and storing varieties of cables – which might not even fulfill the specific requirements – does not solve the problem. Instead, reverse engineering specific cables provides a faster, better solution to building just what is needed for a specificRead More
Development of Operational Transition Procedures & Sustainment Analysis for Global Logistics Integration System (GLIS) Supply & Maintenance Functions – Phase IV
01-24-2017 The Marine Corps (USMC) ERP logistics system (GCSS-MC), which is critical to the maintenance and sustainment of their assets worldwide, is being used as a testbed for this ERP improvement initiative. ERP systems are beneficial to not only the bottom line of manufacturers, distributers, and sustainers, but also to their customers who expect timely service. The GLIS project is currently in Phase III. GLIS Phase IV will continue to build on the substantial work accomplished in Phases I – III, butRead More
Streamline Use of ENABLE – Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs)
01-24-2017 The Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, Environment, & Energy (SAF IE) is committed to increasing the energy assurance of Air Force (AF) installations. Energy assurance technologies are growing in complexity with evolutionary vulnerabilities, such as cyber-attacks, and unknown sustainment and maintenance requirements. Installations must submit proposed ESPC projects to the Air Force Civil Engineering Center (AFCEC), through its respective Major Command (MAJCOM) and theRead More