Analysis of the Support Equipment Review and Approval Process.

摘要

There is a direct link between the increasing technological sophistication of our present-day weapon systems and the complexity of the support equipment required to maintain them. With this complexity has also come increased numbers of equipment at increased cost and lead times. In 1988, aircraft and missile support equipment alone totaled over 82,800 line items valued at over 10.5 billion dollars. The support equipment requirements and acquisition process that has evolved over the years is extremely complex and it requires the coordination of many people. As such, it is often characterized as being nonresponsive to the Air Force needs. Since 1983, there have been numerous Air Force studies to address the support equipment issues. Over 200 recommendations have been made in an attempt to improve the support equipment acquisition process, yet support equipment shortfalls are still a major problem today. A literature review was developed to identify those studies, their conclusions and recommendations. The purpose of this thesis was to determine if the current SERD (Support Equipment Recommunication Data) processing is being accomplished within the 75 days required by regulation and to identify where the current process could be improved. The research was accomplished by selecting a representative sample of SERDs and by interviewing support equipment experts, (kr)