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What’s more, IFS gives you a system that is based on open software standards, making it fully interoperable with other systems. So no matter where you are—in a depot, shop, or distant theater—you can make IFS Applications an integral part of your information network to access and distribute information in real time, any time. And since foresight is always made sharper by hindsight, IFS provides an array of integrated business-intelligence tools such as scorecards and OLAP cubes. They help analyze past performance and identify areas for future improvement—be it for asset availability, parts replenishment, or maintenance turn times. Also included are tools to measure how well your industry partners are performing. After all, some areas of your operations—such as logistics support or repair & overhaul—may be managed by private-sector companies or as part of public-private partnerships. IFS Applications helps you enforce your performance-based logistics (PBL) standards by giving you powerful performance-monitoring and analysis tools. In this way, you only pay for what you get and, ultimately, achieve the readiness levels you need. Fleet Management
Managing any type of fleet takes comprehensive and reliable information so you can monitor vehicle status and plan ahead—from overhauling complex systems such as fighter aircraft to repairing small components that are part of an aircraft. With IFS Applications, you can stay on top of things because you have total visibility from the ground up. The system provides a powerful configuration-management system that, based on master configurations, lets you easily create individual (serialized) vehicle configurations and maintenance plans. For each individual asset, you can log usage data along user-defined parameters and keep track of life-limited parts. Given this functional breadth, maintenance planners can make fact-based decisions when pulling assets out of service. Likewise, the IFS solution helps optimize maintenance scheduling, as it allows planners to bundle associated activities into the same work orders—whether for routine maintenance tasks or more involved engineering changes. In this way, the system ensures efficient and cost-effective maintenance execution. And that keeps asset downtime to a minimum—all the more so since the IFS system automatically updates the configuration record throughout the process.
Supply Chain Management
Whether as a stand-alone or as part of the MRO solution, IFS’ supply-chain management solution provides a responsive logistics system that gets parts when and where you need them while helping you compress the supply chain. Doing more with less—that’s the idea. Less means, above all, reducing logistics demand and improving the logistics infrastructure to reduce the overall costs of logistics (inventory and operations). To do so, you need to significantly increase your logistics capabilities based on concise information and smart decision-support tools. IFS can take you there—for example by networking your depots and supply centers into an enterprise-wide system. That way you get full visibility into on-hand stock and demand by location. You can also analyze historical usage patterns. The result: improved distribution processes and leaner inventories. In addition, IFS’ portal technology lets you work much closer with your many suppliers—to get better, real-time insight into part availability, track order delivery and, ultimately, get better prices. At the same time, IFS ensures proper sustainment of expeditionary forces by giving warfighters easy access to support. As an integrated system that supports mobile devices, IFS Applications lets you plug into the joint battlefield IT system to order parts or check a technical manual, wherever you are—a key element in increasing troop mobility.
Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul
IFS Applications offers solutions for various types of MRO—from the relatively straightforward repair & overhaul of vehicle structures and components to MRO for more complex systems such as aircraft engines. In all cases, IFS Applications expedites maintenance execution from the get-go. Based on the overall task list, the system helps you schedule individual tasks and create work packages by aligning everything you need—personnel with the right qualifications, spare parts, and other resources such as tools and facilities. Combining efficiency with ease, the system also gives shop-floor personnel instant online access to technical documents such as manuals and drawings. Better yet, any non-routine discrepancies found during inspections can be immediately submitted for approval using IFS’ proven collaboration web portals—a process that can easily shave a week off the conventional paper-based approval process. And new work orders are easily created once approval is received. Finally, IFS Applications gives you exceptional mobility by accommodating a great variety of handheld devices—to log operational data, check for parts availability, or create a non-routine right where you found it. With IFS, efficiency and cost-effectiveness go hand in hand.
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