Development of a Model-Based Systems Engineering Application for the Ground Vehicle Robotics Sustainment Industrial Base

Abstract

Abstract : This proposal is submitted in partial fulfillment of the degree requirements of Doctor of Engineering in Manufacturing Systems (DEMS). The U.S. industrial base is revered by the Department of Defense as a vital asset that needs to be managed, so it can remain intact to support equipment, and even flourish, over an acquisition system's entire life cycle. The U.S. Army obligates billions of dollars of resources towards the production and sustainment of equipment linked to an industrial base that lacks in analysis research, virtual experimentation, and sustainment risk analysis. A plethora of supply chains subject to varying support philosophies, supply and demand instability, and intellectual property bias give rise to a socio-economic system that is difficult to understand, monitor, protect, and augment, using only two-dimensional spreadsheets. Logistics Engineering and Model-Based Systems Engineering are imminent disciplines that have a synergy potential to integrate sustainment modeling and simulation into all phases of an acquisition system's life cycle. Facilitating this synergy will help give equal consideration to logistics and industrial base ramifications of equipment systems design decisions, ensuring that fielded systems are maintainable and ready for operations. This research offers an enhanced situational awareness of the Tank Automotive Research Development and Engineering Center Ground Vehicle Robotics industrial base. Opportunities exist to investigate industrial base attributes proactively and expose multi-dimensional patterns, using proven computer aided design, problem solving, and visual analytics methodologies, popular in the automotive and app development industries. Secondly, this research proposes to conduct risk assessments, using discrete-event simulation tools, to leverage prioritized taxonomies and relationships inherent to the Ground Vehicle Robotics sustainment industrial base.