Designing resilient military logistics with additive manufacturing

Purpose In this study, the authors explore how novel and relevant technologies can change the overall design of systems, and which factors influence the design of resilient systems in particular. After evaluating the effects of these factors, the authors describe the potential role of AM-supported maintenance operations in military logistics and draw broader conclusions regarding designing for resilience. Design/methodology/approach The authors build a simulation model of the AM-supported maintenance capability of a mechanised battalion to analyse factors affecting its resilience. AM production capacity specifically refers to metal printing and was verified by data generated from 3D printing of the actual APC parts. Findings The current AM speed is not able to increase resilience at the depot level, so at present, increasing the spare parts inventory is a better way to improve resilience. However, with future improvements in speed the AM may become feasible in battlefield maintenance. Practical implications AM holds great promise in increasing resilience of especially the spare part logistics. At present technology, it is not yet fully realised in the case. Originality/value The authors suggest a concrete system performance measure, where reaching a concrete limit, system resilience is lost. The authors present arguments for a definition of resilience where pre-disruption activities are not part of resilience. The authors maintain that simulation, with its ability to include detail, is well-suited in design-for-resilience because supply chains are context dependent and disruptions unexpected

Performance analysis of the Finnish defence forces maintenance

Valtionhallinnon linja, jossa kukin hallinnonala keskittyy lähtökohtaisesti vain omaan ydintoimintaansa, on pakottanut virastot arvioimaan oman toimintansa tuottaman lisäarvon asiakkaille. Tämä tarkastelu on johtanut siviiliorganisaatioista tuttuun, tiettyjen toisarvoisten toimintojen ulkoistamiseen. Tässä tutkimuksessa tarkasteltiin Puolustusvoimien kunnossapitotoimintojen järjestelyjä, sen ulkoistuksen perusteita ja vaikuttavuutta. Erilaisia konstruktioita suunniteltaessa on huomioitava myös sen ylläpidettävyys. Jos järjestelmä suunnitellaan jo olemassa olevaan yllä- ja kunnossapitoympäristöön, on toteutuksessa huomioitava tämän ympäristön resurssit. Vaihtoehtoisesti, jos konstruktio suunnitellaan ylläpidettäväksi olemassa olevista poikkeavilla ratkaisuilla, vaatii se kunnossapidollisten resurssien ja mahdollisesti koko prosessin uudelleentarkastelun. Konstruktion ja sen suorituskyvyn kannalta keskeinen tunnusluku on käytettävyys. Taistelujärjestelmien osalta käytettävyysvaatimukset juontuvat suoraan operatiivisista suorituskykyvaatimuksista. Käytettävyys eli käyttövarmuus muodostuu toimintavarmuudesta, kunnossapidettävyydestä ja kunnossapitovarmuudesta. Kaksi ensimmäistä osatekijää liittyvät suoraan itse konstruktioon ja kolmas kunnossapito-organisaatioon ja prosessiin. Puolustusvoimissa on käytössä useita rinnakkaisia ja osin päällekkäisiä johtamismenetelmiä. Organisaation johtamisessa on elementtejä sekä prosessijohtamisesta että tulosjohtamisesta. Puolustusvoimien erityispiirteinä ovat lisäksi linjaesikuntaorganisaatiojohtaminen sekä toimialakohtainen johtaminen. Koska kunnossapito on Puolustusvoimien logistiikan alainen toimiala, jonka toimijat läpileikkaavat kaikki organisaatiotasot, on tarkasteltava kaikkien johtamismenetelmien liittymäpinnat kunnossapitoon. Puolustusvoimien kunnossapidon suorituskyvyn tulee perustua poikkeusolojen tarpeeseen. Kunnossapito on kokonaisuus, joka muodostuu kunnossapidettävien järjestelmien käytettävyysvaatimuksista, käytettävissä olevista resursseista ja kokonaisprosessin johtamisesta. Kunnossapidon kokonaisvaltaisen toteutuksen tulee pyrkiä omalta osaltaan maksimoimaan Puolustusvoimien kokonaissuorituskykyä.The current government policy dictates that ministries should first identify and then concentrate on their core functions. This has forced the ministries to evaluate their produced value to their focus groups, i.e. clients. Due to this, many functions formerly produced by officials are now being produced by civilian agencies. This study focuses on evaluating the Finnish Defense Forces’ maintenance functions and the outsourcing activities related to this. When designing new systems, it is imperative to take into consideration the systems’ availability performance. When maintenance process and organization already exist, it is important to acknowledge their performance and restrictions towards supporting the new system. In every system one of the most important factors is the system’s availability perfor-mance. In military systems the availability performance requirements are connected to operational requirements. The availability performance consists of reliability-, maintainability- and maintenance support performances. The first two are related to the system in question and the third to the overall maintenance organization. The Finnish Defense Forces (FDF) has implemented several, partly overlapping and slightly parallel leadership and management practices. The main method of allocating resources is performance management. Secondary to this are line staff management and line management. Maintenance and related activities take place on all organizational levels. As such, it is imperative to define all the processes that contribute to successful maintenance. The performance of the FDF maintenance process should be based on the demands of military operations. The needs for maintenance operations are defined by the demands of individual system requirements and, on the other hand, by the resources (people, money, facilities) and management of the maintenance organization. The overall performance of the maintenance system needs to contribute to the overall performance of the FDF

Capability development in hybrid organizations : enhancing military logistics with additive manufacturing

Funding Information: Open Access funding provided by Aalto University. The APC was funded by Aalto University. Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s).Additive Manufacturing (AM) has the potential to revolutionize key aspects of Military Logistics and partnerships between governmental and industrial organizations. Extreme outsourcing of key capabilities has created complex and deep hybrid organizations between armed forces and the private sector. In this study, the internal and external effects and requirements of Additive Manufacturing in the context of the hybrid organization of The Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) and its strategic partner in Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul (MRO), and Millog Oy were studied. First, with a literature review, we sought to link the capability development processes and the change drivers within them in both military and commercial contexts. Then, we utilized an existing, structured capability model used by the FDF (DOTMLPFI) and its individual change drivers to form an initial concept of AM as a part of the hybrid organization in question. The initial concept shows that AM can increase the performance of the commercially backed Military Logistic System by mitigating the risks of spare parts shortage in case of supply line disturbances and by facilitating localized spare parts production. However, the different primary goals of the military and commercial organizations and the contractual base of the hybrid organization impose constraints on the capability development process. Administrative decision-making across the organizations and the conflict between maximizing military and commercial potential are the key challenges in maintaining joint-capability systems of hybrid organizations.Peer reviewe

Enhancing the technical resilience of critical infrastructure with additive manufacturing

Purpose The purpose of this study was to explore the potential of additive manufacturing (AM) for improving the logistics of supplying critical spare parts, so that larger quantities of spare parts can be manufactured directly in the field. A contribution of the study is to address the need to reduce the storage of spare parts, shorten repair time, increase the usability of resources, test the concept of operation, enhance the readiness time of the critical infrastructure, and heighten its technical resilience. Design/methodology/approach In this study, we investigated the internal resilience of waterworks, particularly “technical resilience,” which here is interpreted according to the approach and definitions of the US National Infrastructure Advisory Council. The Hayes and Wheelwright four-stage model of operations strategy (1984) (Hayes & Wheelwright, 1984) was applied to the present case, which focused on the spare parts supply chain, production, and operational needs. The perspective of the study was a worst case scenario in respect of critical parts of the water pumps of the waterworks, which were computer-aided design (CAD) modeled and additive manufacturing (AM) simulated. Findings In the present case, it was found that four fifths of the critical spare parts could be 3Dprinted directly and one fifth could be cast. This suggests that 3D printing can increase the availability of spare parts, especially in a situation where the security of supply has declined. Research limitations/implications This study was limited to the operational environment of one Finnish waterworks and one of its pump types, in a setting in Finland where 3D printers were available. Original/value Technical resilience and AM were examined and evaluated in this study mainly from the point of view of supply chain resilience and AM in the spare parts supply chain in the context of a critical infrastructure. The results may be valuable to decision-makers,manufacturers, and infrastructure managers of the security of supply