Date of Award

3-2003

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Department of Operational Sciences

First Advisor

Stephen P. Chambal, PhD

Abstract

The U. S. Coast Guard, much like the rest of the Armed Services, is facing a dramatic transformation of its forces to meet current and future service requirements. The Coast Guard has responded to this transformation by initiating the Deepwater System, a complete review of the offshore mission requirements and the modernization of its infrastructure. In particular, Deepwater will review and modernize the Coast Guard's aviation assets, improving aircraft systems, airborne sensors, and communications and information management systems. However, these capability advancements will take time and money to implement, and will require careful management of the current resources to ensure a smooth transition. One of the oldest and most versatile Coast Guard aircraft is the C-130, which the Coast Guard uses for Long Range Surveillance missions (LRS), as well as for logistics transport. Service life decisions regarding the C-130 are complicated by aging aircraft issues, and the forced introduction of a new generation C-130. It will be difficult for Coast Guard decision makers to select how program funding should be executed within the C-130 fleet. This study examines how long the current airframes can safely remain in service, how much the remaining service life will cost, and what level of availability can be realized for the rest of the service life. Once these questions can be reasonably answered, it will then be possible to perform an insightful and justifiable analysis of alternatives for modernizing, sustaining, and if necessary retiring the C-130s.46 Leaders at the United States Coast Guard's Aircraft Repair and Service Center (ARSC) in Elizabeth City, North Carolina recently formalized their planning and analysis functions by adding a dedicated branch to their command structure. The Planning and Analysis Branch intends to apply computer modeling and simulation to study the impact of process changes to the various Programmed Depot Maintenance (PDM) lines. This research considers the applicability of this type of modeling and simulation, using ARENA to study the current HH-6OJ PDM process. The contribution of this research is a methodology specific to ARSC needs, an analysis of methodology based on a discrete event simulation model of PDM lines, and a specific case study demonstrating the methodologies. The response variable of interest is average PDM process time as a function of either in-sourcing or out-sourcing labor for a major process step. The research includes development and evaluation of a macro-level process model using ARENA 5.0.

AFIT Designator

AFIT-GAQ-ENS-03-02

DTIC Accession Number

ADA413132

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