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In fact, more and more operations in these areas are actually managed by industry. That is because the armed forces are no longer interested in just buying hardware. They want weapons systems that come with complete support programs to optimize system availability, minimize operational cost and the logistics footprint, and thus sustain the system in the most cost-effective manner over its entire lifecycle. For OEMs or independent service providers, this new approach towards combat readiness represents an enormous business opportunity. IFS Applications provides the solutions to make the most of it—either as point solutions or as part of IFS’ application suite. You can also tie in various other applications such as handheld devices. Included in IFS Applications are performance-monitoring and analysis tools that help you measure how well you are doing. After all, most defense service contracts strictly enforce the terms of performance-based logistics (PBL), and minor slip-ups can have substantial financial consequences. Using FS Applications, you can ensure you meet agreed-upon performance and system readiness levels, and make the numbers you have targeted.
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. 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. Supply Chain Management
Whether as a stand-alone solution or as part of the MRO package, 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.
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