CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT

SES Defence Division supplies a configuration management module database for the inclusion of the material required for the formation of a Master Record Database. The data acquisition will be controlled from and stored in this relational database, facilitating the integration with the Maintenance Management System and cross referencing during the database build phase to ensure that changes affecting more than one list are correctly accrued.

Change control procedures will be enforced for any changes.

The Master Record Database will include the following:

Drawing Index.
Test Form Index.
Ship's System and Equipment list.
Equipment Provisioning and Requirement Sheet.
Maintenance Management System index.
Index of Removal Route and Procedures.
Index of Handbooks and other documents.
List of Equipment, Machineries and Test Equipment.
Design Changes And Concessions.
Ships Fit Information.

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MAINTENANCE PLANNING

The basic Upkeep Policy is to ensure that the vessel meets the operational targets set. The maintenance activities can be divided into three main areas follows:

Level I - On Board Organic: Work to be undertaken by the target ships crews while away from base. Typically this will be day to day checks, setting up and simple maintenance such as essential safety tasks and basic hygiene measures.
Level II - Base Intermediate: Work undertaken by the maintenance team at the Ship's base, either on board or ashore.
Level III - General Overhaul: This will be more extensive repair and overhaul undertaken either at the Target Ships refit dock or at an independent support facility such as a commercial dockyard. Typically this would involve external hull maintenance, underwater work, equipment alterations and additions, upgrades and major repairs.

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DEVELOPMENT OF MAINTENANCE SCHEDULES

The maintenance schedule defines the tasks to be undertaken at each level of maintenance, their periodicity, skill requirements and any necessary tools or test equipment. They will be developed to meet the maintenance regime identified above to satisfy the Target Ships availability requirements with minimum cost, also taking into account the warranty requirements of the equipment's supplier.

The process of developing the maintenance schedules will be based on the Manufacturers recommendations amended by the operational experience that SES ILS engineers have with systems of the type fitted on vessels of this size and type, utilizing SES ILS and Logistics System. This approach identifies both the maintenance activity necessary to resolve each failure mode and the possibility of avoiding the failure by preventative maintenance actions. It provides a structured, auditable methodology for identifying the need for each maintenance action, at each level of maintenance, in terms of safety and cost. It also provides the output in a compatible IT format for direct transfer to SES ILS and Logistics System.

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SUPPLY SUPPORT (INVENTORY CONTROL, STOCK REQUIREMENTS)

Spares ranging and scaling will be closely aligned with the proposed maintenance regime. The actual ranging will be undertaken as part of the maintenance analysis and will identify those tasks that need to be undertaken at each level of maintenance.

The scaling of spares will be initially based on manufacturers recommendations thus preventing warranty problems. Where necessary the spares will be modeled using agreed stock-out levels to identify the necessary spares stock. The impact of spares holdings on availability will be identified using appropriate modeling techniques. The figures used in the modeling will be provided so that an availability of material of 90% of the required level for preventive maintenance for "I" and "II" level and 75% for corrective and Depot Maintenance to be obtained. Maximum stock level will be used.

Spares Provisioning Following the spares analysis SES Defense Division specialists will recommend the spares to be procured.

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SUPPORT & TEST EQUIPMENT

Many items of support equipment may exist. Each additional item imposes a requirement for extra stocking, training and support for that item. A specific review will be undertaken to ensure that any Machinery, Equipment, Tools or Test equipment is not duplicating an item already on the Maintenance inventory.

The following items will be reviewed:

LEVEL I ON BOARD ORGANIC

The Machineries/Equipment, Tools, Test Equipment and Lifting Equipment, necessary to support the corrective and preventative maintenance tasks, on board each target ship.

LEVEL II BASE INTERMEDIATE

Machineries/Equipment, Tools, Test Equipment and Lifting Equipment, necessary to support the Target Ships corrective and preventative maintenance tasks, on board and at the shore bases, will be provided. These will be sufficient for the ship's staff and the Shore Maintenance Group staff to undertake all maintenance actions identified in the level II Maintenance schedules.

LEVEL III GENERAL OVERHAUL

Machineries/Equipment, Tools, Test Equipment and Lifting Equipment, necessary to undertake maintenance beyond the scope of any Client staff will be identified only (Down to unique manufacturers identities or manufacturing drawings).

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MATERIAL HANDLING AND STORAGE EQUIPMENT

To allow the sustainability of an item to be addressed sufficient support data will be required from the manufacturers of the equipment fitted. A typical list of areas that will be addressed is shown below, not all of these may be applicable to each item. This information will be required so that the correct level of handling and storage of equipment will be addressed by the Support Team.

What is the recommended equipment Support/Upkeep Policy?
What is the Maintenance concept?
Provide a list of repairable items.
Provide a list of recommended spares and associated levels of repair.
Provide any reliability history, preferably actual operating data in the form of Mean Time Between Failures, if not claimed performance from trials or reliability predictions.
Provide a list (and copy) of available documentation (manuals, training materials, drawings, parts list, etc.).
Identify tasks required to operate, maintain, and repair the item if not detailed in existing documentation. This will include operational, preventive and corrective maintenance, and overhaul tasks.
Identify the type of skill and quantity of personnel required to operate, maintain and repair the item.
Identify any training aids/devices, which may be required or available.
Provide a list of recommended support and test equipment, special tools and calibration requirements.
Identify proprietary items and data rights.
Recommend procurement process to acquire repair parts, test equipment, special tools etc.
Describe proposed warranty procedures.
Identify methodology for ensuing validated and proven software.
Identify shelf life limitations in relation to planned service life of equipment.

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FACILITIES

The prime purpose of Logistic Support Analysis (LSA) is to influence the design process so that the support of the ships is achieved with minimum Life Cycle Costs.

The Facilities Strategy is to make maximum use of existing and planned operational and support facilities to minimise through life costs. The intention is to avoid duplication and not to create any new facility without good justification and to ensure that the support specified is achievable preferably with existing facilities.

An initial study of 'Field visits' will be necessary to identify the existing facilities and any that are planned. The LSA process and tasks will then be used to identify the facilities required for the Target Ships and to judge how well the Target Ships' needs are met with the existing or planned facilities. Any areas where they do not match the requirement will constitute a shortfall. It will be particularly important to identify the provision of 'long lead' items in this area.

For the field visits of existing Facilities, maximum provision of information by the Client before the visits will greatly assist. Normally a Use Study would be written by the user to give the bidder a summary of the expected use profile of the vessels.

Furthermore, future support infrastructure/facilities, that are already planned, will need to be identified with the co-operation of the Client. It will be necessary for them to identify:

The facilities and infrastructure that are already planned for in the future by the Client and to establish their capability and capacity.
Utilisation of these same existing and planned facilities/infrastructure by the remainder of the Client Fleet. Aims of this investigation should include any savings that can be made by standardisation and commonality with these units and to identify any capacity problems overall.

The identification of Operational and Support facilities for the Target Ships will look at the following areas:

Operational facilities.
Maintenance facilities (both afloat and ashore), to include facilities for each level of maintenance, and testing areas.
Training facilities, for both systems operators and Maintenance personnel.
Supply and Storage systems, including total store house volume, an area for the inspection and receipt of materials and transportation means. Trials and Calibration facilities.

The facility requirements will be identified to ensure that adequate provision is made for the support of the Target Ships, both on-board and ashore. The analysis will address the following areas:

Operational maintenance requirements.
Definition of the type of facilities, location, space requirements, environmental factors and use of existing facilities, both on-board and ashore.
The identification, costing and development of new plant and the costing of its storage and maintenance.

The level that the identification of support facilities will be conducted, will be commensurate with the level of support strategies and that will allow costing with reasonable accuracy.

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DOCUMENTATION

The Documentation provided will consist of three main types of information:

Configuration and Ship Fit Definition

Handbooks (largely supplied by manufacturers of equipments)

Maintenance Documentation

Handbooks

The Technical Publications will conform to the following breakdown:

Index of Handbooks.
Machinery/Equipment Operating Handbooks.
Machinery/Equipment Technical Handbooks.

It is expected that Manufacturers manuals will contain the following information:

Technical description.
Operating instructions.
Maintenance procedures.
Special tool identification list.
Spares breakdown.
Appropriate safety warnings.

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INTEGRATION, LOGISTIC SUPPORT ANALYSIS, COST VS EFFECTIVENESS

LSA consists of fifteen tasks as follows:

Development of an Early LSA Strategy.
LSA Plan.
Programme and Design Reviews.
Use Study.
Mission Hardware, Software, Firmware and Support System Standardisation.
Comparative Analysis.
Technological Opportunities.
Supportability and Supportability Related Design Factors.
Functional Requirements Identification.
Support system Alternatives.
Trade-Off Analysis.
Task Analysis.
Early Fielding Analysis.
Post Production Support Analysis.
Supportability Assessment.

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MAINTENANCE PLAN OPTIMIZATION / LONG TERM INDUSTRIAL SUPPORT (LTIS)

OVERVIEW

SES would be able to provide on-going Long Term Industrial support for the duration of the Target Ships' expected life (about 20 years).

Support activities, which could be covered as follows:

POST DESIGN SERVICES

Subject to agreement with the Client, SES would be willing to provide Post Design Services in support of the Target Ships. SES would ensure that an adequately trained, skilled engineering team is made available for this purpose. The engineering and project functions would be fully supported by the SES drawing, configuration control and quality services.

The following design services would be provided:

DEFECT INVESTIGATIONS

As part of the maintenance, repair and overhaul activities, the design and support authorities would investigate all defect reports, defects and component replacement activities to identify design defects/weaknesses and trends.

In accordance with SES procedures, the design and support authorities would also provide a formal defect report covering each and every defect and nonconformance.The report would identify the cause of the defect or nonconformance, any previous occurrences, any corrective action required and identify the severity and impact of the defect. From the above, any liabilities will be established.

DESIGN INVESTIGATIONS

The design and support authorities would carry out design investigations if a design defect, common problem or trend were identified. The investigation shall identify any failure mechanisms and their causes. Corrective action would only be formally proposed once a thorough investigation had been completed to establish that it was effective and had no consequential affects. In most cases a trial modification would be embodied for assessment and test purposes.

MODIFICATION ACTION AND DRAWING CONTROLS

Modification and drawing control procedures are available if necessary. Where, appropriate modification kits and leaflets would be issued to the support facilities for embodiment.

HAZARD AND SAFETY RECORD MAINTENANCE

In addition to factory test, defect, concession, production permit and modification records, SES would maintain records for a hazard log, safety case report in accordance with company procedures.

MODIFICATION DESIGN REVIEWS, TESTS AND TRIALS

Proposed design changes would be subject to a design review. Client's representatives would be invited to attend the reviews. If considered necessary, design changes would be subject to trial.

DOCUMENTATION AND PUBLICATIONS

As part of the post design services SES would maintain and upkeep technical publications and training documents taking into consideration any design changes, revisions to the scope of use and any non-conformance reports from the users and support groups.

Drawings, specifications and plans would be maintained in accordance with a quality and configuration plan.

EQUIPMENT IMPROVEMENTS

As part of the post design services SES would monitor the availability and performance aspects of the Target Ships. The Client would be advised of any developments, which might, affect the Target Ships and any developments, which may provide performance improvements and enhancements. The Client would especially be advised of any improvements, which are needed to satisfy future changes to regulations and instruments affecting health and safety.

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