LOGISTIC SUPPORT DATA MANAGEMENT DURING THE IN-SERVICE PHASE OF NAVAL SHIPS FOR OPTIMIZATION OF THE LIFE CYCLE COST

Abstract

Naval ships are relatively high-value assets housing a large number of equipment and complex systems. The equipment onboard a typical modern-day naval ship would range from the conventional electro-mechanical machinery, piping, and instrumentations, to the most advanced communication, navigation, and weapon systems using state-of-the-art technologies. The volume of logistics support data associated with these assets is immense and the effective management of this data plays a major role in determining the Life Cycle Cost (LCC) of the naval ships. Efficacious asset logistics support functions and data management will not only lead to cost savings but also ensure increased asset availability, and improved operational efficiency, thereby positively impacting the Return on Investment (RoI) and the Life Cycle Cost of the asset. The availability of accurate and comprehensive logistics support data enables efficient maintenance planning, identifying optimum maintenance strategies such as Reliability Cantered Maintenance (RCM), predictive maintenance and Condition Based Maintenance (CBM), facilitates performance monitoring, ensures compliance with regulations, and aids in asset disposition decisions. Non-availability of relevant logistics support data of the assets is one of the major constraints limiting the capability of the navies to conduct in-depth analysis for identifying the measures to optimize the Life Cycle Cost of the ships. This paper focuses on identifying the key functional areas of assets logistics support and data management, and the methods of managing it effectively during the in-service phase of the vessel for optimizing the Life Cycle Cost of the naval ships.