MSID Highlights 12_04_09

MEL, in co-sponsorship with the Army Research Laboratory, hosted a DoD Model Based Enterprise Summit at NIST December 15-17. The summit provided an opportunity for government and industry participants to learn about current perspectives on model based development and about model based enterprise projects currently being executed within DoD.  Implementing a model based approach allows engineers and technicians to access computer-aided design (CAD) models and other engineering data critical for maintenance and repair of complex weapons systems. The same models can be used directly to manufacture replacement parts faster and with fewer errors than with drawings. The use of CAD and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) models instead of drawings can increase quality and substantially reduce the lead-time for spare parts procurement because suppliers do not have to manually re-enter design data into their manufacturing software applications.  Dr. Howard Harary, MEL Director, opened the Summit, welcoming over 100 DoD and industry representatives in attendance.  Ms. Adele Ratcliff, DoD ManTech Program Director under the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (OSD) (Advanced Systems & Concepts), Office of Technology Transition (ODUSD(AS&C)OTT) spoke on the OSD Direction for Mantech's model based enterprise.  OSD ManTech has been a contributing sponsor to NIST's participation in this effort.

The Summit included presentations on current efforts to develop a new DoD standard for 3D Technical Data Packages, certification of model data, new tools to help DoD procurement officials specify delivery of weapons systems data, Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) pilot projects on provisioning using MBE data, MBE success stories, and MBE supply chain pilots. A follow-on workshop to develop technical data package requirements was held on the third day of the Summit.

POC: Sudarsan Rachuri, 301-975-4264
Program: Sustainable Lifecycle Information-based Manufacturing (SLIM)
Category: Interaction