UNDERWAY REPLENISHMENT SUPPORT: READINESS AT THE LOWEST COST

摘要

The Underway Replenishment (Unrep) Department at Port Hueneme has technically supported the "main battery" of Pacific Fleet Combat Logistics Force (CLF) ships for many years. This paper describes the background of our systems approach to Unrep maintenance. Our organization evolved as a natural combination of in-service engineering, and fleet technical support. Our maintenance process is keyed around Unrep teams composed of experienced and knowledgeable engineers and technicians working together on ships and back in the office. They analyze problems, discuss corrective actions, compare observations and determine if failures are one-of-a-kind or indicative of design shortcomings. When changes are required the teams develop the concept and carry it to shipboard implementation. The process has been successful in reducing Pacific Fleet CLF ships' Unrep maintenance by one half without degrading readiness. This approach to underway replenishment. maintenance can be applied to other systems.