Description
Organization: NAVAIR
Team Name: NAVAIR Commercial Operating and Support Savings Initiative (COSSI) Team
Related Acquisition Topic(s): Commercial Practices, Financial Management
Description:
The DoD sponsored Commercial Operating and Support Savings Initiative (COSSI) was established to promote the insertion of commercially available hardware and information systems into military systems, with the objective of reducing Operating and Support Costs.
NAVAIR COSSI achieves this objective for Naval Aviation by:
Promoting the formation of commercial military partnerships,
Providing for cost sharing between commercial and military partners,
Streamlining the acquisition process via use of OTA-845 agreements,
Utilizing the Other Transactions Authority Agreements – 845 to negotiate and achieve best value for the government,
Utilizing COSSI to accelerate the insertion of commercial technology and reduction of O&S costs,
Strengthening the joint commercial and defense industrial base
Integrating commercially available technology into military systems
Maintaining technological superiority
Combining best practices of world class customers and suppliers
Partnering within DoD and with industry
The NAVAIR SYSTEMS COMMAND and Program Executive Officers have enthusiastically embraced this concept, and during FY-99, initiated development of several NAVAIR COSSI program proposals; and developed several other COSSI proposals that were selected during FY99 to receive funding during FY-00. Total COSSI funding for NAVAIR COSSI programs is projected to be more than $29 million COSSI funds plus more than $7 million of commercial partnership funds. This amount represents more than 90% of Navy COSSI funds applied during this time frame.
NAVAIR COSSI programs starting during FY99 and included in this award nomination are:
T-45 Display Processor, PMA-273,
T-45 F405 Compressor Drum, PMA-273
Integrated Mechanical Diagnostics- Health Usage and Monitoring Upgrade for H-1 Upgrade Aircraft, PMA-276, which is a follow on to the successful FY-97 H-53 / H-60 COSSI IMD-HUMS, NAVAIR COSSI teams submitted in this award nomination, which were developed during FY-99, and are scheduled to receive funding and start during FY-00
P-3 Electronic Propeller Control, PMA-290
P-3 Maintainers Electronic Performance Support, PMA-290
PMA endorsement letters summarizing the planned achievements of these programs provide more specific descriptions of these NAVAIR COSSI programs and related cost savings for this award.
NAVAIR has been able to achieve this high degree of success for applying COSSI principles by forming teams between the NAVAIR COSSI experts in the logistics maintenance competency in AIR-3.6, and PMAs who had identified commercial technologies that could be applied to their weapon systems to reduce O&S costs.
The AIR-3.6 COSSI experts responsibilities are:
Working with the N43 and DoD COSSI managers, identify key processes, criteria, and implementing actions required to successfully develop and implement COSSI programs and achieve the savings.
Develop and provide training programs for NAVAIR PMAs participating in COSSI,
Provide proposal development assistance, including process steps, and team formation- prior to receiving COSSI funding.
Provide representatives for N43 led COSSI proposal evaluations
Provide recommendations to the Navy COSSI managers on how to improve COSSI program, based on feedback from NAVAIR PMAs, and lessons learned via the COSSI evaluation.
Identify and provide experts to assist NAVAIR contracting officers on how to best implement OTA- 845 transactions to achieve best value for the government. The NAVAIR PMAs / Integrated Product Teams for COSSI projects, performed the following actions:
Prior to release of COSSI solicitation, identified high TOC problems within their platforms, and initiated identification of commercial technology that could be applied to reduce O&S costs,
Selected the potential commercial partner with the commercial product with highest ROI and commercial commitment,
Formed commercial / NAVAIR teams to develop proposals, including detailed analysis of cost benefits and team responsibilities,
Established plans to integrate successful COSSI projects into fleet units by integrating N88 resource officers participation in COSSI program. N88 responsibilities were to identify and program resources to install successful COSSI projects into fleet operations,
Performed independent analysis of the commercial vendors proposal to validate performance and cost objectives met COSSI criteria.
The NAVAIR multi-PMA COSSI team has been overwhelming successful in developing high O&S savings COSSI proposals through the formation and implementation of these virtual teams. The full intent of the COSSI program, as well as the criteria for the Packard EXCELLENCE IN ACQUISITION AWARD focused on commercial / government partnerships and O&S cost savings has resulted in formation of seven PMA / commercial contractor Integrated Program teams. These teams are implementing commercial / NAVAIR partnerships exceeding $36 million in Commercial and COSSI investments, and which have an approximate Net Present Value of $304 million.
