Cost-wise readiness enabled through data driven fleet management (DDFM): Measuring PHM system benefits through post implementation assessment

Progressively declining budgets compel the U. S. Army to utilize Data Driven Fleet Management (DDFM) technology to cut the cost of readiness and sustainment. DDFM is the application and integration of appropriate processes, technologies, and knowledge based capabilities to improve the reliability and maintenance effectiveness of Army Aircraft Systems and components. Uses a systems engineering approach to collect data, enable analysis, and support the decision-making processes system acquisition, sustainment, and operations. As part of an effort to mitigate rising costs, the Department of Defense has invested in the development of Digital Source Collectors as an onboard aircraft data recording system used to collect data. As a result, Army Aviation has installed thousands of DSCs. As part of its DDFM initiative, DSCs support actionable information and has enabled Army Aviation's airworthiness authority to remediate certain time-based maintenance practices. This enables substantial cost avoidance, eases the Warfighter's maintenance burden, and thereby promotes greater fleetwide emphasis on the performance of higher overall quality maintenance. Army Aviation does this to support mission readiness. Algorithms provide vibration based diagnostics capability, enabling rotor track and balance, or rotor smoothing, to reduce rotor vibrations. Rotor smoothing minimizes loads on life-limited dynamic components in the rotor system. It improves aircrew human factors, reduces vibration in non-rotor system components, and supports the reduction of vibration induced failures. The algorithms automate condition monitoring, reducing time-based visual inspection requirements and component replacements that can result from human error within austere environments under the extreme pressures of combat. Data analysis shows that the technology supports fleetwide mitigation of cost and maintenance burden; where sustainment constitutes up to 70% of ownership costs. Time extensions enabled through proper DSC utilization result in significant cost avoidance benefits. This increases time on and wing, thereby reducing the frequency and magnitude of costly component replacement. The Army Aviation and Missile Command Logistics Center produced the Post Implementation Assessment methodology featured in this paper as a repeatable procedure to measure, capture, and communicate how DDFM supports efficiency.