Description
Organization: MARCORSYSCOM, DRPM (EFV)
Team Name: Expeditionary FightingVehicle (EFV) Team
Related Acquisition Topic(s): Commercial Practices, Commercial and Non Developmental Items (CANDI), Cost As an Independent Variable (CAIV), Cycle Time Reduction (CTR), Integrated Digital Environment (IDE), Integrated Product Teams (IPT), Integrated Product and Process Development (IPPD), Paperless Program Office, Partnering, Simulation Based Acquisition
Description:
The Advanced Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAAV) government/contractor team of Marines, government civilians, and contractor personnel are co-located in the EFV Technology Center in Woodbridge, Virginia. This team is revolutionizing acquisition processes to reduce total program cost, condense acquisition cycle time, and leverage commercial best practices to design, test, field, and support the most capable, cost effective combat vehicle in the world.
In 1998, the EFV program continued to set the pace by driving the team approach into every aspect of program efforts. Leadership focused its efforts to develop, support, and capitalize on the products developed through government/prime contractor teams, OSD IPTs, multiple inter-service teams, and commercial/military teams.
The EFV Program Office has applied the principles of Cost As An Independent Variable (CAIV) throughout the program, extending to its subcontractors. With 60% of system costs in subcontracts, the EFV team initiated detailed cost assessments of all major subcontractors. These assessments created a common approach and methodology in establishing unit cost estimates and goals. Specialized teams of engineers and cost and procurement analysts from both the government and prime contractor conducted cost and engineering assessments at nine major subcontractor sites throughout the United States and Germany during a five-month period. These unprecedented Critical Production Cost Reviews during the Product Design Risk Reduction (PDRR) phase of an acquisition have produced total program cost avoidance of $224.9M (FY95) to date. The Program Office and Prime Contractor jointly developed a highly effective incentive program that encourages and rewards the integrated product teams to challenge requirements and the current system design in order to achieve further reductions in cost. During the six-month incentive period, each team evaluated designs within and across IPT areas of responsibility in order to reduce cost. Their efforts resulted in $104.9M (FY95$) in total program cost avoidance.
The EFV Program also initiated a process known as "Virtual Integration and Assembly (VI&A)," for use during the fabrication of three full scale vehicle prototypes in PDRR phase. VI&A creates computer based assembly drawings and instructions from Computer Aided Design (CAD) models of the EFV which are used by assembly mechanics on the shop floor. The program bypasses the antiquated, costly process of generating and maintaining blueprint-style paper drawings. VI&A also contains a Problem Reporting System which permits real-time capture of assembly problems as they are discovered. VI&A has also permitted prototyping processes that are not traditionally initiated until the Engineering, Manufacturing, and Development (EMD) phase, reducing acquisition cycle time and processes required during EMD. It further permits collection of significant data applicable to production line analysis before the end of PDRR, thereby condensing acquisition lead-time. VI&A also promises substantial cost avoidance potential by producing graphics and procedures directly from VI&A for assembly, disassembly, and maintenance to be used for embedded training and Interactive Electronic Technical Manuals (IETMs). Future expansion of VI&A will permit problem reporting during field tests, allowing field technicians to access the full CAD database, mark up drawings, and e-mail changes directly to design engineers. The end result will deliver the EFV to the operating forces with higher quality and lower total program cost.
Marine user involvement in the EFV development is crucial to the ultimate success of the EFV. The program office coordinated with the Fleet Marine Force to obtain nine Assault Amphibious Vehicle crewmen and mechanics dedicated to the EFV Program Office for the duration of PDRR. The role of this Marine Design Evaluation Team (MARDET) is to further strengthen the link between the end user of EFV and the program office, and to increase the effectiveness and suitability of the initial prototype design. This team has been involved with the IPTs in evaluating component and subsystem design and will assist in the assembly of the three PDRR prototypes. During combined developmental testing, the MARDET will team with General Dynamics personnel to crew the prototypes. These Marines will provide valuable insight to the program on the effectiveness of the design and supportability of EFV and will validate the initial training and technical manuals that will be provided to other Marines conducting the Early Operational Assessment (EOA).
The EFV's weapon station with its MK46 30mm cannon, epitomizes the value in capitalizing on industrial capabilities, engineering ingenuity, leveraging commercial best practices, and inter-service cooperation. The weapon station illustrates how application of CAIV principles can produce exceptional system performance at reduced costs. Standardized interfaces, exploitation of Non-Developmental Item (NDI) technology, and extensive sub-component cost-performance trade-offs combined for an optimized, fully modular, and easily maintained weapon station. The MK46 was expressly designed for future growth through its flexible open system architecture and its modular construction. The EFV Program Office has initiated two Joint Service Integrated Product Teams to capitalize on the five years of extensive commercial trade studies, lethality analysis, development and testing that the Marines Corps has invested in the EFV weapon station. One result of the multi-service teaming effort is the likely adoption by the Navy of a shipboard version of the EFV weapon station for its San Antonio class ships. Further adoption of the weapon station by other ship classes may well emerge from that decision. The Navy, recognizing the EFV weapon station's impressive performance capabilities and a tremendous opportunity to achieve substantial TOC savings, will leverage the Marine Corps' investment in the MK 46 to field a common system that will be affordable and supportable well into the next century. The USAF is teaming with DRPM-EFV in developing, testing, and qualifying a family of enhanced lethality 30mm ammunition to meet the needs of the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. As the Air Force's 30mm ammunition procurement is one of DoD's largest, both the Air Force and the Naval Services will enjoy significant life cycle cost savings through their fielding of common 30mm ammunition.
The EFV Program Office has successfully forged a partnership with industry to guide, develop, and manage the application of this technology to support Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force requirements for land, sea, and air platforms. The EFV team has successfully facilitated the adaptation of commercial products and production techniques for application to EFV design, and likewise commercial industry is benefiting from EFV investments. The EFV ammunition feed system design is one example - the EFV team leveraged heavily off commercial bottle producer's designs for moving "projectiles". The EFV adaptation to accommodate different size ammunition rounds, with the same feed system, is being incorporated into the commercial bottling industry production lines. The EFV engine development effort has also demonstrated significant commercial/military synergy, with application of EFV engine design enhancements by the developer to its commercial engines.
The EFV team has created an exceptionally effective Integrated Product and Process Development environment and has leveraged off the basic acquisition reform initiatives such as co-location with the prime contractor, IPT structure, and an advanced, integrated information management system.
