Performance-based Logistics (PBL)

Performance-based Logistics (PBL) provides an asset support strategy that relates the logistics management solutions directly to the requirement of achieving a high level of readiness/performance at a minimum cost. Throughout a systems life cycle, a comprehensive and living evaluation technique must be applied to assess the risks that may cause unacceptable performance metrics at some point in the system life cycle.   

SPAR-based technologies and solutions provide a mechanism of relating total life cycle metrics to system performance and output. Operations, maintenance, supply and transportation related performance metrics, obtained from living SPAR-based models, provide the total life cycle input necessary to formulate a PBL position, or system/asset availability. Predictive solutions in support of PBL are referred to as Performance-based Forecasting capabilities.

	Objective of Performance-based Forecasting:    Identify deficiencies in future system performance before they occur.  Benefit of Performance-based Forecasting:  Support the identification and evaluation of enhanced operations and support strategies that will remedy the identified life cycle deficiencies while producing maximum system performance at lowest system cost.

Defense Industry Challenge: Maintaining performance with budget constraints

Maintaining performance for the technology-intensive battlefield of tomorrow, and managing ongoing low-level conflict burdens - military organizations are today struggling to balance shrinking budgets with growing demands. Military assets are complex and expensive, and maintenance outlays over time continue to far exceed up-front purchase price.

To manage these conflicting demands and to maximize both organic and contractor support, military organizations worldwide have introduced and increasingly utilized PBL. With the goals of compressing the supply chain, eliminating non-value added steps, reducing Total Cost of Ownership, and improving readiness for weapons systems and commodities, PBL contracts hold the provider to customer-defined performance requirements, such as reliability improvement, availability improvement, and reduced delivery times.

Model. Simulate. Understand.

To optimize the PBL relationship, an in-depth understanding of change impact to multi-layered logistics processes is crucial. Clockwork Solutions is highly-experienced in helping military organizations to understand and simulate expected peacetime, drill, and combat system performance, to maximize asset value through more cost-effective asset management.

SPAR-based PBL tools provide performance-based forecasting for PBL by applying modeling and simulation technologies across dynamic operations, maintenance and logistics domains. They are especially suited to the complex nature of weapons system asset planning and simulation and enable naval, aviation or ground defense systems managers to reduce life cycle sustainment costs, without adversely impacting fleet readiness and availability.

The application of SPAR technology provides enhanced life-cycle risk identification capabilities and risk mitigation strategy development, useful both before and after a system enters operation. Clockwork Solutions’ software is used to simulate planned asset operations within the context of pre-established maintenance and supply strategies, in order to assess expected performance and cost. Values for several life-cycle performance metrics are generated throughout the simulation, taking into account very complex interdependencies, rules and time-dependent events and consequences.

Answering Key Questions

Defense organizations worldwide use SPAR-based PBL solutions to analyze and answer life cycle costing questions such as:

• Budget constraint impacts:
• How to best apply a limited budget across supply and maintenance functions to maximize fleet availability?

• Life-limits and service life check impacts:
• What if life limits change on certain components?
• If fatigue-testing results in modified life limits on certain parts, how will that change effect maintenance and supply volume?
• What happens if “remaining life inspection thresholds” are modified?

• New or revised operation hours (flying hour) program impacts:
• Will the fleet, or assets at some operating location, achieve required flying hour programs?
• If bases X, Y, and Z modify their flying programs to compensate for deployment or revised training scenarios, what is the supply system impact?

• Spares and part availability impacts:
• What will be my Just-In-Time parts requirements?
• What volume of part condemnations will occur and where?
• If a new supplier is more costly, but part order lead-time is reduced, what is the overall life-cycle impact (return on investment)?
• If a new spares acquisition schedule is introduced, what is the life-cycle impact to readiness? Will my buy plan be suitable to maintain expected and/or target availability?
• What performance gain (fleet availability, time on wing, repair turn around time) is obtained through selection of an alternate part type, with respect to part and vendor attributes such as order lead-time, ship time, purchase cost, and reliability?

• Recapitalization program impacts:
• If Recapitalization is imposed, forcing condemnations, what is the life-cycle fleet impact with regard to parts requirements and repair turn around time?
• When Recapped components are mixed with aged components, what will be the bottom-up LRU failure rate, and how will this new rate impact operations and maintenance?

• Maintenance decision impacts:
• How do improvements in repair capacity impact repair turn around time and time on wing?
• Where will my repair and supply bottlenecks be?
• What can I expect to have in the repair pipeline due to removals for cause and life-limited parts?
• Will a repair location be able to keep up with the demands anticipated?
• What percent of time is repair held up due to awaiting parts or awaiting maintenance conditions?

For more information:

ATLAST – Advanced Total Life-Cycle Assessment Software Tool

Also download the following selected documents from our Information Center:

Total Life Cycle Management Assessment Tool (TLCM-AT)
Performance Based Forecasting
Simulation-Based Performance Benefits Analysis of Recapitalization Programs
The Value of Proper Modeling in Performance and Resources Assessment