IRONPIPE: Interoperable Resilient Operations Network for Proficient IoT Performance and Efficiency

The Department of the Navy (DON) sustainment community provides the key services and capabilities to maintain and repair a myriad of assets, returning them to operation as quickly as possible. Although advanced technologies have greatly enhanced performance and capabilities of nearly every piece of equipment the sustainment community supports, Naval and Marine maintenance depots are outdated and lack the efficiencies afforded by modern technologies in commercial sustainment operations. ADAPT Focus Area 8, (FA 8) Master Command and Control for Multiple Activity Visibility, requires an ability to instrument facilities, equipment, and personnel in order to effectively track and optimize activities to minimize delays in the maintenance lifecycle. Digital technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), represent one class of solutions that would greatly improve coordination, productivity, standardization, and compliance across the sustainment enterprise. Unfortunately, commercial IoT applications currently lack critical cybersecurity components that have hindered government adoption. Additionally, because migrating to a digital, IoT-driven maintenance depot is a challenging, costly, and time-consuming venture, it is essential to build an open, standards-based, and reusable IoT architecture that is “one-time approved, many times used.” This would lower the entry barrier for introducing new IoT technologies into the Naval and Marine depot environments, while building a cybersecure foundation for a common operating picture that increases situational awareness and organizational efficiencies. In response to this need, Aptima and its partners, NextFlex and Tetrad Digital Integrity, propose to develop the Interoperable Resilient Operations Network for Proficient IoT Performance and Efficiency (IRONPIPE). IRONPIPE is a reusable, standards-based, hardware-software platform that will position Naval and Marine maintenance depots to launch numerous new variations of IoT technologies, while ensuring efficient implementation and compliance with key cybersecurity standards across IoT applications. The IRONPIPE framework consists of three layers:  1) IoT Device Layer, 2) Mobile Gateway Layer, and 3) Remote Services Layer. IRONPIPE will provide a comprehensive solution for command and control for any sustainment activity or process, while supporting additional ADAPT Focus Areas. A secondary focus area for this project will be ADAPT FA 7: Facility Health Monitoring and Prioritization, which will provide an initial use case for the IRONPIPE application. IRONPIPE will support the transition of the DON sustainment community to be more aligned with the technically advanced fleet it supports by providing a robust data architecture and common operating picture, while providing safe, secure, and reliable data to multiple ADAPT Focus Areas. IRONPIPE will support enhancements across the DON by improving the efficiencies of the critical maintenance activities it performs.