SBIR-STTR Award

NAVAIR is undertaking digital transformation initiatives to improve weapon system readiness. One of these initiatives is Condition Based Maintenance Plus (CBM+). CBM+ turns rich data into information about component, weapon system, and fleet conditions to forecast maintenance requirements, improve readiness, and cost efficiencies. NAVAIR is on a path to operationalize CBM+ within its existing mainstream processes, leveraging aircraft data to perform maintenance based on evidence of need and fix components before they fail. This new maintenance practice requires advancing current software technologies and test techniques to integrate Automatic Test Systems (ATS) into the CBM+ paradigm. This effort will focus on the design, development, and application of an integrated solution to support the characterization of smart avionics systems' health-ready capabilities, transformation of smart avionics systems data (health, environment, performance) into a standard format, and operationalizing the application of the standard data sets in existing test program sets-using condition-based or predictive maintenance (CBM/PdM) practices. Using open system standards, this solution will enhance ATS with the capability to support weapon system CBM/PdM practices, enable avionics systems test/repair efficiencies, and facilitate capture and exchange of ATS data/information to support NAVAIR CBM+ enterprise efforts. The solution will support both legacy and new naval aviation weapon systems and ATS.

Benefit:
The technology developed under this effort can be applied to other domains such as commercial aviation, sea, space, and ground vehicle platforms, to advance the implementation of CBM and Predictive Maintenance practices. In addition, there is a potential for commercialization in other industries. For example, the technology resulting from this effort could be applied in industries such as power utilities, automotive, consumer appliances, medical equipment, and any commercial plants where condition monitoring of high-value assets is employed to improve production operations and equipment maintenance.

Keywords:
CBM+, CBM+, Smart, Digital Transformation, Data, Solution, Enterprise, Predictive, ATS

The objective for Global Strategic Solutions (GSS) is to design, develop, and evaluate a system solution to support the characterization of smart avionics systems health-ready capabilities, transform smart avionics systems data into a standard format, and operationalize condition-based maintenance practices in automatic test systems (ATS). Using open system standards, this solution will enhance ATS with the capability to support weapon system condition-based maintenance (CBM) and prognostics health management (PHM) practices, enable avionics systems test/repair efficiencies, and facilitate capture and exchange of ATS data/information to support NAVAIR CBM+ enterprise efforts. GSS will accomplish this objective by gathering input and expert advice from interested stakeholders across multiple program offices to develop a product that integrates a Health-Based Test Rule Editor Application and Health-Based Test Advisory Application. This product will provide users with a consolidated list of health-based advisories and guidance based on input from the ATS shop and unit under test (UUT) report files ingested from maintenance domain data sources. The data that flows through the system is analyzed according to predetermined rules and is displayed within the Health-Based Test Advisory Application when the UUT meets a certain rule requirement. Users will interact with the advisory application to receive all UUT health tracking and suggested guidance. The product developed will focus on operating in a standards-based environment for ingesting, storing, and processing UUT data. Multiple standards organizations to include the IEEE, SAE, and ASME are actively engaged in developing standards to support ATS, CBM and PHM. Developing a standard structure for the UUT data and report files will ensure proper integration and accessibility for all organizations within the maintenance environment. With the data from interested stakeholders, GSS will standardize the data structure to be read by the developed applications to understand the end-to-end repair. The intent is for the solution to integrate into the current maintenance processes and LOG IT systems as efficiently as possible using real data and provide benefits immediately.

Benefit:
Program offices across the entirety of the DoD comprise the market for this technology. The underlying technology that drives this solution is both broadly applicable and relevant. While the focus of this specific project is applying CBM/PdM in the context of ATS; the standards, best practices, approaches, and technologies that will be used throughout this project can easily be appropriated to work with other platforms and bridge the gaps in CBM/PdM practices across the DoD. The DoD continues to make strides in improving their CBM/PdM practices but is realizing the extensive effort required to transform the culture, maintenance polices, supply chain, LOG IT systems, and test and repair processes. The proposed Phase II effort will play a key role in helping move toward operationalizing CBM/PdM practices by providing a tool to standardize enterprise and program office operations to properly organize and execute CBM+ policies effectively. This project will help programs align SMART BIT data with ATS furthering the advancement of CBM/PdM within avionics system maintenance Additionally, the commercial sector understands the operational efficiency CBM/PdM practices provides opening the possibilities to improve their systems as well.

Keywords:
software, standard, system, ATE, Fleet Level, Digital Transformation, Data, CBM