Lead-the Fleet: Transitioning the Army maintenance program from a flight time based system to an operational usage based system

摘要

Army helicopter system and component scheduled maintenance, overhaul, and retirement actions typically are based on calendar times and flight hours. These times are based on a composite worst-case (CWC) presumption of helicopter regime usage. CWC usage is derived for each U.S. Army helicopter model to capture the most severe usage that helicopter models can ever be expected to experience. Knowledge of actual operational usage can be used to identify unsafe usage, refine scheduled maintenance actions, and predict unscheduled maintenance requirements. The purpose of the Lead the Fleet (LTF) program is to gain better insight into the accumulated damage that each U.S. Army helicopter could experience during actual operational usage and to use that knowledge to evaluate overhaul and retirement times, increase safety and operational readiness, and reduce costs. This talk will focus on West Points' Operational Research Center of Excellence (ORCEN) analysis of the LTF program.