Enterprise Analysis of Strategic Airlift to Obtain Competitive Advantage through Fuel Efficiency

The rising cost of fuel has led to increasing emphasis on fuel efficiency in the aviation industry. As fuel costs become a larger proportion of total costs, those entities with a dynamic capability to increase their fuel efficiency will obtain competitive advantage. Assessing cargo throughput and fuel efficiency requires the creation of all routes of potential value for a given set of requirements that need to be airlifted from source to destination airfield. The time required for route computation can be significantly reduced through the use of nodal reduction. Use of the proposed model can assist evaluation of enterprise wide efficiency and effectiveness

Transportation Service Level Impact on Aircraft Availability

Purpose — Aircraft fail to meet mission capable rate goals due to a lack of supply of aircraft parts in inventory where the aircraft breaks. This triggers an order at the repair location. To maximize mission capable rate, the time from order to delivery needs to be minimized. The purpose of this research is to examine the case of three airfields for the order to delivery time of mission critical aircraft parts for a specific aircraft type. Design/methodology/approach — This research captured data from three information systems to assess the order fulfillment process. The data were analyzed to determine the performance in fiscal year 2020. Using the model of that performance, the cost of reducing transportation times using publicly available commercial cost estimates was assessed against the impact on aircraft availability. Findings — The results indicate that paying the costs for expedited shipping would have increased aircraft availability by 1.09 times the average annual aircraft flying hours for the three cases. The cost for the equivalent of an additional aircraft for the year was a third of the annual straight-line depreciation for that aircraft type. Research limitations/implications — This research assumed that the transportation time service levels publicly posted could be achieved. The weight of each mission critical part was not available, so the weight was selected from a probability distribution of mission critical part weights that was retrieved from prior research. This research provides options to enhance aircraft availability and identifies the associated costs. Practical implications — Adjusting the contract with transportation providers to reduce the transportation times of mission critical parts could have a large impact on aircraft availability at relatively little cost. Social implications — This research could enhance aircraft readiness in service of the common defense. Originality/value — This research provides an effective methodology for enhancing military readiness through contract adjustments with commercial partners. The value of this research is that it will serve to adjust the value proposition of mission critical parts inside the United States Transportation Command’s Next Generation Delivery Service contract

Competitive advantage and fuel efficiency in aviation

This paper builds upon a resource based view of competitive advantage under a dynamic capabilities construct. Fuel efficiency measurement in the aviation industry can be incorporated into dynamic capabilities such as strategic decision making and alliancing. These dynamic capabilities can drive operational cost reductions, which in-turn can enhance profitability and establish a competitive advantage. To further this advantage, fuel efficiency can be embedded inside an organizational culture. A fuel efficiency focused organizational culture can be a valuable, rare, inimitable and non- substitutable resource. This paper proposes a model to merge the dynamic capabilities of strategic decision making and alliancing with organizational culture under fuel efficiency. Under this model, a fuel efficiency index is introduced to drive behavior and provide accountability. Effective use of the index has profit potential

Aircraft selection modeling: a multi-step heuristic to enumerate airlift alternatives

We consider the use of the new C-130J-30 aircraft for long distance (strategic) cargo movement. Currently, only large aircraft, the C-5 and the C-17, are identified as strategic airlift assets by the United States Air Force. Our mathematical model identifies all logical airframe combinations to perform a cargo movement given a set of constraints. Using previously developed routing algorithms and fuel metrics, we evaluated the combinations and calculated the potential savings had the most fuel efficient combination been selected. Analyzing 1 month of historic data for four long distance routes, our proposed model suggests that savings could have been more than one million dollars

Pilot Development: An Empirical Mixed-method Analysis

Purpose — Pilot upgrade training is critical to aircraft and passenger safety. This study aims to identify variances in the US Air Force C-130J pilot upgrade training based on geographic location and provide a model to enhance policy that will impact future pilot training efforts that lower cost and increase operator quality and proficiency.Design/methodology/approach — This research employed a mixed-method approach. First, the authors collected data and analyzed 90 C-130J pilots\u27 aviation records and then contextualized this analysis with interviews of experts. Finally, the authors present a modified version of Six Sigma\u27s define–measure–analyze–improve–control (DMAIC) that identifies and reduces the variances in C-130J pilot training, translating into higher quality outcomes.Findings — The results indicate significant statistical variances across geographically separated C-130J pilot training organizations. This leads some organizations to have higher proficiency levels in specific tasks and others with comparative deficiencies. Additionally, the data analysis in this study enabled a recommended number of flight hours in several distinct categories that should be obtained before upgrading a pilot to aircraft commander to enhance standards.Research limitations/implications — This research was limited to C-130J pilot upgrades, but these results can be implemented within any field that utilizes hours as a measure of experience. Implications from this research can be employed to scope policy that will influence pilot training requirements across all airframes in civilian and military aviation.Originality/value — This research proposes a process improvement methodology that could be immediately implemented within the C-130J community and, more importantly, in any upgrade training where humans advance into higher echelons of a profession

Load Planning Processes to Enhance Cargo Compartment Utilization

Purpose: The United States Air Force often provides effective airlift for cargo distribution, but is at times inefficient. This paper aims to address the under-utilization of military airlift cargo compartments that plagues the airlift system.Design/methodology/approach: The authors examine seven techniques designed to increase cargo compartment utilization and increase airlift utilization rates. The techniques were applied through load planning software to 30 real-world movements consisting of 159 sorties. They then ran each post-technique movement through a modeled flight environment to obtain cycle movement data. The metrics gained from both the load planning software and the modeled environment were regressed to provide statistical understanding regarding how well each technique influenced cost savings.Findings: The results showed a 24 per cent elimination of aircraft required and a savings of $14.5m. Extrapolation of the authors’ findings to four years of airlift mission data revealed an estimated annual savings of$1.6bn

The Myth of Strategic and Tactical Airlift

In the 21st century, our ability to quickly and decisively deliver combat forces and equipment is of the utmost importance in achieving our national security objectives. The swiftness and flexibility of the US Air Force’s mobility airlift fleet is the key to executing a rapid global mobility strategy. The operational effectiveness and efficiency of military air transportation relies on the expertise and intuition of Air Mobility Command’s (AMC) mobility planners. Working in coordination with the United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) and geographic combatant commands (GCC), AMC is responsible for the tasking and tracking of almost 900 daily mobility sorties worldwide. Using a hub-and-spoke model, mobility planners conceptualize airlift requirements and routes as either tactical or strategic in nature. Airlift assets are also considered this way. Tactical aircraft (usually C-130 variants) are smaller and are used primarily for intratheater airlift within a defined area of responsibility (AOR). Strategic aircraft (C-5B/M, C-17A) have larger payload capacities and extended ranges, making them useful for intertheater transportation between two different AORs or GCCs

Doha agreement meeting on terminology and definitions in groin pain in athletes.

BACKGROUND: Heterogeneous taxonomy of groin injuries in athletes adds confusion to this complicated area. AIM: The 'Doha agreement meeting on terminology and definitions in groin pain in athletes' was convened to attempt to resolve this problem. Our aim was to agree on a standard terminology, along with accompanying definitions. METHODS: A one-day agreement meeting was held on 4 November 2014. Twenty-four international experts from 14 different countries participated. Systematic reviews were performed to give an up-to-date synthesis of the current evidence on major topics concerning groin pain in athletes. All members participated in a Delphi questionnaire prior to the meeting. RESULTS: Unanimous agreement was reached on the following terminology. The classification system has three major subheadings of groin pain in athletes: 1. Defined clinical entities for groin pain: Adductor-related, iliopsoas-related, inguinal-related and pubic-related groin pain. 2. Hip-related groin pain. 3. Other causes of groin pain in athletes. The definitions are included in this paper. CONCLUSIONS: The Doha agreement meeting on terminology and definitions in groin pain in athletes reached a consensus on a clinically based taxonomy using three major categories. These definitions and terminology are based on history and physical examination to categorise athletes, making it simple and suitable for both clinical practice and research

Infographic consensus recommendations on the classification, definition and diagnostic criteria of hip-related pain in young and middle-aged active adults from the International Hip-related Pain Research Network, Zurich 2018

**Please note that there are multiple authors for this article therefore only the name of the first 30 including Federation University Australia affiliate “Michael Drew" is provided in this record*

White matter hyperintensities are a prominent feature of autosomal dominant Alzheimer’s disease that emerge prior to dementia

Background To promote the development of effective therapies, there is an important need to characterize the full spectrum of neuropathological changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease. In line with this need, this study examined white matter abnormalities in individuals with early-onset autosomal dominant Alzheimer’s disease, in relation to age and symptom severity. Methods This is a cross-sectional analysis of data collected in members of a large kindred with a PSEN1 E280A mutation. Participants were recruited between September 2011 and July 2012 from the Colombian Alzheimer’s Prevention Initiative registry. The studied cohort comprised 50 participants aged between 20 and 55 years, including 20 cognitively unimpaired mutation carriers, 9 cognitively impaired mutation carriers, and 21 non-carriers. Participants completed an MRI, a lumbar puncture for cerebrospinal fluid collection, a florbetapir PET scan, and neurological and neuropsychological examinations. The volume of white matter hyperintensities (WMH) was compared between cognitively unimpaired carriers, cognitively impaired carriers, and non-carriers. Relationships between WMH, age, and cognitive performance were further examined in mutation carriers. Results The mean (SD) age of participants was 35.8 (9.6) years and 64% were women. Cardiovascular risk factors were uncommon and did not differ across groups. Cognitively impaired carriers [median, 6.37; interquartile range (IQR), 9.15] had an increased volume of WMH compared to both cognitively unimpaired carriers [median, 0.85; IQR, 0.79] and non-carriers [median, 1.07; IQR, 0.71]. In mutation carriers, the volume of WMH strongly correlated with cognition and age, with evidence for an accelerated rate of changes after the age of 43 years, 1 year earlier than the estimated median age of symptom onset. In multivariable regression models including cortical amyloid retention, superior parietal lobe cortical thickness, and cerebrospinal fluid phospho-tau, the volume of WMH was the only biomarker independently and significantly contributing to the total explained variance in cognitive performance. Conclusions The volume of WMH is increased among individuals with symptomatic autosomal-dominant Alzheimer’s disease, begins to increase prior to clinical symptom onset, and is an independent determinant of cognitive performance in this group. These findings suggest that WMH are a key component of autosomal-dominant Alzheimer’s disease that is closely related to the progression of clinical symptoms