Supportability

Overview

Supportability refers to the inherent characteristics of the system and the enabling system elements that allow effective and efficient sustainment (including maintenance and other support functions) throughout the system???s life cycle. By addressing supportability as part of the system design, the Program Manager (PM), through the Systems Engineer and Product Support Manager, ensures the system reaches Initial Operational Capability (IOC) with the required enabling system elements in place. The benefits to the program are:

Supportability analysis is an iterative activity conducted during the system???s development, and is used by the PM and Product Support Manager to develop and define the system???s support strategy. It includes sustainment-related should-cost management and risk and opportunity management efforts across the life cycle. Supportability analysis begins in stakeholder requirements definition, as part of the Analysis of Alternatives (AoA), and continues through the design, test and evaluation, production and deployment activities/phases of the system. The supportability analysis and the resultant product support package mature in parallel with the evolution of the design, and should be documented in an integrated data/decision environment, preferably a digital ecosystem.

Early consideration of supportability needs during Requirements Analysis, Architecture Design and Implementation processes are critical to ensure the delivered capability is operationally suitable, effective, sustainable and affordable. The system baseline should incorporate inherent supportability characteristics and should include the design of the enabling support infrastructure. Details can be found in DoDI 5000.91 (Product Support Management) and Product Support Manager (PSM) Guidebook, DoDI 5000.95 (Human Systems Integration), and Human Systems Integration Guidebook, but typical product support considerations are listed in Table 5-7.

Table 5-7. Product Support Considerations

Element Typical Considerations
Manpower and Personnel Specifically support personnel for installation, checkout sustaining support and maintenance
Training and Training Support For the system operators and maintenance personnel
Supply Support Including repairable and non-repairable spares, consumables and special supplies
Support Equipment Including tools, condition and state monitoring, diagnostic and checkout special test, and calibration equipment
Computer Resources Operating systems and software supporting logistics functions and associated infrastructure
Packaging, Handling, Storage, and Transportation (PHS&T) Special provisions, containers and transportation needs
Facilities and Infrastructure Including facilities to support logistics and sustainment actions at all levels
Technical Data Including system installation and checkout procedures; operating and maintenance instructions and records; alteration and modification instructions, parts list, bill of materials, digital artifacts, etc.
Usage and Maintenance Data Including data acquisition, movement, storage and analytic capability to support life cycle support decisions

Role of the PM and SE

The PM is responsible for approving life cycle trades throughout the acquisition process. To ensure the design incorporates life cycle supportability, the program should involve logisticians and end users early in the Stakeholder Requirements Definition process to develop a performance-based product support strategy (including maintenance, servicing and calibration requirements). Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) analysis and Conditioned Based Maintenance Plus (CBM+) (see DoD 4151.22-M and DoDI 4151.22) are important initiatives that enable the performance of maintenance based on evidence of need as provided by RCM analysis and other enabling processes and technologies.

RCM, as defined in DoD 4151.22-M, is a systematic approach for analyzing the system/system element functions and potential failures to identify and define preventive or scheduled maintenance tasks for an equipment end item. Tasks may be preventive, predictive or proactive in nature. RCM results provide operational availability with an acceptable level of risk in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

Additionally, the Product Support Manager and Systems Engineer should ensure that supportability analysis activities are documented in the Systems Engineering Plan (SEP) and the Life Cycle Sustainment Plan (LCSP), and that the supportability design requirements are documented in the functional baseline. The results of the supportability analysis activities including the servicing, calibration, corrective and preventive maintenance requirements are also summarized in the LCSP. (The LCSP outline calls out specific supportability related phase and milestone expectations.)

The Systems Engineer, working with the Product Support Manager and PM, identifies and mitigates the supportability life cycle cost drivers to ensure the system is affordable across the life cycle. This includes identifying factors that drive the program???s life cycle costs and Sustainment Key Performance Parameter/Key System Attributes (KPP/KSA) to establish affordable and achievable goals and caps (see SE Guidebook, Section 5.2 Affordability ??? Systems Engineering Trade-Off Analyses, and PM Guidebooks).

Once the goals are established the focus turns to the specific metrics driving the Operation and Support (O&S) cost and Sustainment KPP/KSAs that can be directly influenced by the design. These drivers are then decomposed into functional and allocated requirements that can be directly traced to the cost targets and the Operational Availability (AO) and Materiel Availability (AM) (see Sustainment Guidebook (forthcoming)). The cost-benefit analysis, jointly conducted by the Systems Engineer and Product Support Manager within the supportability analysis process, provides insight into supportability drivers and includes the impact of resources on readiness. Engineering analyses (i.e., Failure Mode, Effects and Criticality Analysis (FMECA); supportability analysis predictions; and diagnostics architecture) provide critical data to impact the design for supportability and to influence the product support package.

Products and Tasks

Product Tasks
10-22-1: Update detailed product specification to reflect supportability design trade decisions
  1. During requirements analysis and architecture design, analyze the system from the integrated logistics support elements to identify appropriate trade space in these areas.
  2. Utilizing the reliability centered maintenance (RCM) analysis and the overall product support strategy, document supportability activities into the system engineering plan (SEP).
  3. Document the supportability design requirements in the program???s functional baseline.
  4. Determine supportability design alternatives and their associated costs.
  5. Establish the operational availability (AO) and materiel availability (AM) drivers.
  6. Analyze the design alternatives and select path forward.
  7. Implement appropriate design trades to control system costs.

Source: AWQI eWorkbook

Resources

Key terms

Source: DAU ACQuipedia

Policy and Guidance

DAU Training Courses

DAU Media

On this page

  1. Overview
  2. Product Support Considerations Table
  3. Role of the PM and SE
  4. Resources
Back to top