Decision Support System Based On Collaborative-orientated System Engineering Cpabilities

The objective of this project is to promote and realize improvements in readiness, sustainability and availability for US Air Force weapons systems and platforms. The centerpiece of Phase II is the primary set of process workflows which provide for the accomplishment of Supply Chain Management (SCM) mission objectives. This will be achieved through the use of normalization techniques; a common methodology in data integration and fusion. It will also employ strict semantic rules and symbology standards which will alleviate ambiguity and enforce consistency across processes and organizations. The framework will be scalable through the employment of "process modules" which can be combined to address large-scale or complex processes. The framework will also employ extensibility mechanisms, based on commercial and web-based protocols. This will ensure compliance, if necessary, with Net-Centric guidance and Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) requirements. All efforts under Phase II will be focused on Reverse Engineering, and the prototype Engineering Decision Support System (EDSS) will include support for reverse engineering of mechanical parts. This exemplary workflow was selected due to its high degree of complexity and its high level of criticality to parts supply deficiencies. Development of a solution framework for a complex, critical process will demonstrate its extensibility to simpler processes. BENEFIT: Phase II begins with the engineering analysis to determine system requirements and culminates with the demonstration of a standalone prototype Engineering Decision Support System to support the Reverse Engineering of Mechanical Parts. No similar capability exist in todays marketplace. This will allow the systems engineer to execute engineering processes seamlessly and without delay. The commercialization potential of this product is oustanding when one considers the enormous number of engineering organizations within the US and Canada. The target market is both the federal government and private sector markets. The marketing initiative will take advantage of the Phase III contracting provisions of the SBIR Program and begin with the federal aerospace management and depot activities of the Air Force, Army and Navy.