In the Army After Next, the logistics footprint must be greatly reduced compared to current operations. Smart Simple Design could be an important initiative in achieving this goal. It has the potential to greatly enhance warfighter capabilities, readiness, and force modernization by improving reliability and reducing costs in the procurement and life-cycle support of equipment. These results can be achieved by reducing and standardizing the number of parts used in equipment, which in turn will reduce the amount of stocks that must be acquired and the number of people who are needed (at the tactical, operational, and strategic levels) to perform the supply, transportation, and maintenance functions.
The Smart Simple Design initiative encompasses two processes. The first step is using Design for Manufacture, Design for Assembly, and Design for Service (DFMAS) software in the early stages of the design process to achieve significant benefits from reducing costs and logistics support requirements. The second step of the Smart Simple Design initiative is assembling a design oversight and comparison process team to reduce the number of needed parts and standardize parts across different product lines.
Through Smart Simple Design, demand for logistics support can be reduced by designing equipment with fewer, standardized parts; at reduced cost; with higher quality and better serviceability; and with faster manufacture or assembly cycle times. Smart Simple Design could contribute to achieving these Army After Next initiatives—
· Modern design and manufacturing technology.
· Lighter, more lethal force.
· Ultrareliability.
· Technology infusion on existing platforms.
· Next-generation product development.
Smart Simple Design also can contribute to Focused Logistics initiatives and would be consistent with the Army's integrated logistics support policies.
Design for Manufacture and Assembly
Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DFMA™) software allows designers to analyze a product's total structure—how everything functions and fits together—to come up with a cost-efficient design. The underlying principle is: Simplify the structure. Reduce the number of parts, either by eliminating or combining them, and thus simplify the assembly process. Then determine the best design for each part to keep material, manufacturing, and total costs at a minimum. [DFMA is a trademark of Boothroyd Dewhurst.]
Over 400 corporations worldwide are using DFMA software. However, thousands of Army and Department of Defense (DOD) contractors and suppliers (manufacturers) do not use DFMA software.
Here are some examples of the types of savings and benefits that have been achieved in the private sector through the DFMA methodology. Ford Motor Company has trained thousands of engineers to use DFMA and estimates savings of $1 billion over 3 to 4 years. NCR used DFMA to redesign a sophisticated electronic cash register so that its 15 parts (down from 75) can be assembled by an unskilled, blindfolded worker in less than 2 minutes. IBM redesigned its Proprinter so that it has 79-percent fewer parts and no fasteners in the final assembly. Assembly time was reduced from 90 minutes to 3. Since labor costs associated with the assembly process were dramatically reduced, IBM has brought its Proprinter manufacturing operation back to the United States.
Texas Instruments redesigned the M1 tank electronic box and realized total cost savings of 50 percent, a reduction in assembly operations of 49 percent, and reductions in parts costs of 58 percent. In redesigning the reticle assembly for a ground-based armored vehicle, the following reductions were achieved: parts count, 75 percent; assembly operations, 78 percent; assembly time, 85 percent; manufacturing cycle time, 71 percent; and equipment weight, 46 percent.
The use of the DFMA methodology has resulted in an average 68-percent improvement in quality and reliability (based on all available case studies). Quality in design and manufacture is the first step in developing ultrareliable systems and attaining a Six-Sigma standard of excellence. Six-Sigma is a commercial manufacturing best practice that basically means a firm or enterprise commits three errors per million operations. Ultrareliable systems are needed on the 21st century battlefield and Smart Simple Design can help the Army get there.
Designing for Parts Standardization
Although using the DFMA methodology can reduce costs, manufacturing and assembly cycle times, and parts requirements, significant benefits also can be achieved by leveraging the valuable experience the Army has gained in dealing with many different product lines. While a single manufacturer can design its own product with fewer parts and simpler processes, the Army will gain when it is able to standardize parts across many weapon systems and civilian-use equipment. A design oversight and comparison process team can accomplish this task.
The elements of a standardization initiative are found in Logistics Support Analysis task 202, which is contained in AMC Pamphlet 700-28. This task states that there is a requirement for hardware, software, and support system standardization. To achieve such standardization, existing resources (hardware, software, and support system) are identified that will provide benefits if used to support the proposed system. The major reason for requiring this task is to ensure that development of new design components and integration efforts include standardization of parts. The examples given in this task include the standardization of engines, ammunition, fuel, radios, software, and gun tubes.
However, the opportunity exists to look not just at engines and ammunition but also at fasteners and subassemblies. If an existing engine does not meet the requirements of a new weapon system, then perhaps the same fasteners, or the same transmission or fuel injection system, from that engine can be used while still meeting the specifications of the new system.
Another opportunity that the design oversight and comparison team should include in their processes is examining opportunities for parts standardization among Army systems, systems in the other Services, and civilian-use equipment. If Army and DOD inventories become depleted during times of crisis, commonality between military and civilian-use equipment will allow civilian inventories to be used to help meet the Nation's needs.
Another issue in standardization between military and commercial equipment is end-item design and transportability. At times, the U.S. military must rely on commercial transportation assets to meet support requirements. When this need arises, our tailored support packages and weapon systems must be able to fit through the cargo doors of commercial aircraft and other commercial transportation equipment. This requirement can be met through the design process of Army systems or through influence on the commercial development of transportation assets. In any event, whether it is one of the most advanced weapon systems on the planet or a tailored support package, support will reach the American soldier.
Opportunities for Army Logistics
The benefits found in the above DFMA case studies and the potential benefits of parts standardization can be summarized as follows—
· Total cost reductions throughout the manufacturing and assembly processes represent a major dollar-savings opportunity in procurement.
· Reductions in parts counts, parts costs, and manufacturing and assembly cycle times have major impacts on funds tied up in inventory. A 1-percent reduction in inventory would mean an inventory investment savings of over $700 million, based on DOD's Materiel and Distribution Management Fact Book for Fiscal Year 1994.
· Standardization of parts and end items across military and civilian-use equipment enhances surge capabilities and transportability in times of crisis. Low inventories become more tolerable if the Army is able to draw on civilian stores for common parts.
· Parts count reduction, simplification, and standardization and reduction in the number of fasteners would have positive impacts on Army maintenance. Increasing the ease with which equipment can be serviced means damaged equipment spends less time in the shop and is returned to combat faster, which means increased readiness. This also would mean that fewer tools and less test equipment (and more importantly, possibly no new ones) and manpower are required for maintenance. Reductions in repair requirements, both in volume of repair actions and in difficulty of repairs, also would translate into a reduction in training requirements for the Army's maintenance personnel.
· Reductions in parts counts and assembly operations mean fewer opportunities for mistakes. This in turn means higher quality and reliability, which leads to increased warfighter readiness. Ultrareliable equipment is an essential part of the Revolution in Military Logistics.
· Weight reductions in equipment offer several interesting benefits, including increased speed and maneuverability and reduced transportation costs.
The Executive Logistics Seminar of September 1996 listed modern design and manufacturing technology as a key enabler for the Army After Next. Smart Simple Design represents modern design and manufacturing technology that is ready to be leveraged now. It is an initiative that does not require significant Army or DOD funding while offering the potential for significant paybacks. To quote Lieutenant General John J. Cusick, the Director of Logistics (J4) on the Joint Staff, in the briefing, Focused Logistics—Joint Vision 2010, "Our equipment is first rate, and it is sustainable in all operations." Maintainable equipment that shares repair parts and tooling commonality will reduce significantly the volume and complexity of the resupply system. To achieve first-rate quality and sustainability, including reduced costs, reduced manpower, and improved readiness, the Army and DOD should implement the Smart Simple Design initiative. This implementation should be a joint service effort.
| Smart Simple Design Benefits to the Army · Total cost/part cost reduction · Part count reduction · Parts standardization · Manufacturing and assembly cycle time reduction · Inventory reduction and added protection · Improved quality and reliability · Tool and test equipment reductions · Weight reductions · Logistics demand reduction |
The specific DFMA software and methodology (or other commercial solutions) are cost- and time-saving design practices that are being used by corporations worldwide with significant results. This technology is ready for the Army to adopt right now. Using a DFMAS-type capability presents cost and service benefits to Army logistics that are tremendous and potential long-term dollar savings that are in the billions. This is especially true when we consider the thousands of contractors and suppliers the Army and DOD use to develop, build, field, and sustain their weapon systems and equipment.
While DFMA software has an excellent track record for achieving parts reductions within components, incorporating Army multiproduct experience in the design process could achieve parts reductions over entire systems and many different product groups. Standardization of parts and components between military and civilian-use equipment can provide added protection from inventory shortfalls. Parts standardization represents a major opportunity to reduce inventories, maintenance equipment, and maintenance training and increase the ease of serviceability across different product lines.
These results point to potentially significant cost savings in supply, maintenance, and procurement and the potential for redirecting funds into modernization and training, while improving service to the warfighter and overall readiness. Resources made available by reducing logistics demand could serve to increase the lethality and firepower of the Army as we move into the 21st century and drive toward the Army After Next. Smart Simple Design has a real place in the Revolution in Military Logistics. With projected fiscal constraints on Army logistics, the "iron mountain" will be a thing of the past.
The reduction and commonality of parts and tooling throughout the logistics system would reduce the number of logistics support personnel required on the future battlefield. The increase in quality and reliability of equipment that doesn't break as often, lasts longer, and is repaired faster translates into improved readiness and logistics demand reduction. ALOG
Colonel Sam Chappell is the Deputy Director for Strategic Plans and Concepts at the Army Logistics Integration Agency, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, Department of the Army.
Douglas Korba is a lead logistics analyst with the Logistics Future Research Group of Innovative Logistics Techniques, Incorporated (INNOLOG), in McLean, Virginia.