ASDWire distribution date: Tue, 4 Mch 2008 09:48:00 GMT +0100

Data Warehouse for Conditioned Based Maintenance to Operate at Army's Logistics Support Activity

REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala., Mar. 4, 2008 --[ASDWire]-- The Data Warehouse for Conditioned Based Maintenance has reached a new milestone within the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM). To better serve the needs of the AMCOM, the Aviation Missile, Research and Development Engineering Center (AMRDEC) and the Program Executive Office Aviation, the Data Warehouse is now operational within the Logistics Support Activity (LOGSA), the Army’s authoritative source for logistics data and logistics intelligence.

AMCOM’s Conditioned Based Maintenance-Data Warehouse (CBM-DW), whose implementation is being led by defense contractor Westar Aerospace & Defense Group, Inc., is the information management side of Army Aviation’s transition from its current reactive, fault-based maintenance program to a predictive and reliability-centered approach to maintenance.

The CBM-DW fuses multiple data sources containing detailed information about each aircraft by loading the disparate data and organizing it for analysis. AMRDEC and Program Management Office engineers then use the CBM-DW to correlate actual usage data with maintenance and component failure data. Acquiring vibration data and regime information (i.e., how the aircraft was flown) from on-board sensors provides insight into the condition of installed components.
Eventually, engineers will use the information in the CBM-DW to develop prognostics that predict when a component will fail based upon the conditions under which it has been flown. The CBM-DW is a key enabler to linking all the data sources necessary for the implementation of CBM.

“The end goal is to eliminate unnecessary time-based inspections, decrease unscheduled, reactive maintenance, and increase unit readiness by enabling the soldier to order parts and schedule maintenance prior to component failure,” said Mary Catherine Akamatsu, Director of Westar’s Enterprise Life Cycle Solutions Division.

“The combination of establishing a world-class scalable data warehouse within LOGSA and deploying the first increment of the system delivery is a major step in the CBM-DW implementation strategy,” Akamatsu added. “LOGSA provides enterprise level hardware for the system’s operation, expands our user base, and allows the data to be more widely available to the benefit of the Army Aviation community.”

About Westar:
Westar Aerospace & Defense Group, Inc. is a leading systems engineering contractor with more than 1300 professionals around the world delivering high-value engineering, software solutions, logistics information management, flight training, and IT technical support services to the U.S. Department of Defense, allied governments and select commercial customers. Westar is a subsidiary of QinetiQ North America.

About QinetiQ North America:
With more than 5,500 engineers, scientists and professionals working in partnership with customers, QinetiQ North America develops innovative technology solutions to meet the challenges of national defense, homeland security and information access. QinetiQ North America is part of QinetiQ Group plc, (QQ. LSE) one of the world’s leading defense and security technology companies.

For more information on Westar, visit: www.westar.com

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