Improved TPS for Analog and Mixed-Signal Bad-Actor SRUs

ABSTRACT: The proposed program addresses the cost effectiveness of maintenance operations for mission-critical electronic warfare circuit card assemblies (CCAs), by reducing no fault found (NFF) codes and accelerating accurate diagnosis of root causes in support of repairs of analog, digital, radio frequency (RF) and mixed-signal CCAs. Benefits of the proposed work include a projected 50% reduction in mean time to repair (MTTR) rates, commensurate cost savings, and seamless integration with the Versatile Depot Automatic Test Station (VDATS) platform. Beginning with identification of"bad actor"CCAs with high potential return on investment, the effort is driven by expert analog and digital circuit analysis and informed by actual historical parts usage and repair data from the Lean Depot Management System (LDMS). The results of this data-enhanced analysis are codified in automated troubleshooting procedures implemented in software as augmented VDATS Test Program Sets (TPSs). BENEFIT: The primary benefits to the Air Force are reduced NFF, reduced MTTR, and reduced maintenance costs. Significantly, this is achieved with minimal training required, because the enhanced TPS software integrates with the existing VDATS workflow.