Vanguard Magazine

www.vanguardcanada.com OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2021 17 Sponsored Content KEY ENABLER FOR NAVAL DIGITAL IN-SERVICE SUPPORT L3Harris Integrated Data and Configuration Management Solution A s the Royal Canadian Navy evolves the Concept of In- Service Support (ConISS) from the current Hali- fax Class to the Canadian Surface Combatant, one key enabler to achieve the ConISS objectives is a robust Integrated Data and Configuration Man- agement Solution (IDCMS). The current data environment lacks certain elements required to support the Naval Material Assurance (NMA). The L3Harris IDCMS provides the data and configuration man- agement backbone for the fleet to achieve NMA goals, and offers significant advan- tages in terms of fleet availability and ef- ficiency. A Canadian solution serving the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) for over three decades, L3Harris' IDCMS has contin- ued to evolve over time, through invest- ment and experience, and now serves the complex In-Service Support (ISS) requirements of several major RCAF plat- forms and systems. L3Harris was an early adopter of S1000D standards and since 2003 has progressed its Integrated Data Environment solutions to further enhance the functionality necessary for full airwor- thiness compliance for RCAF fleets, which is transferable and scalable to NMA stan- dards. L3Harris' IDCMS is a fully integrated Collaborative Environment and S1000D- compliant solution providing all function- ality requirements to support elements of Program Management, Systems En- gineering, Logistic Support, Data and Configuration Management, Materiel Management and interfaces with the De- partment of National Defence and Indus- try existing databases. L3Harris' IDCMS makes use of emerg- ing technologies, such as 'digital thread', that enables digital twins and uses its vir- tual and augmented reality, as well as 3D graphic and data modelling capability, to extract the digital twin's data source. Being an exact replica of the physical con- figuration of the platform (aircraft, ship or land vehicle), the digital twin's data source can support the release of real-time maintenance updates and operations data within the IDCMS, published for use by maintainers and operators. While most of the design data is cap- tured during the design phase, additional data is captured post-commissioning via L3Harris' automated digitization pro- cess during the ISS phase. The data is then error-checked against the latest data standard, stored and automatically popu- lated in the L3Harris IDCMS. L3Harris' IDCMS is hosted in a secure Canadian cloud and accessible anywhere and any- time, providing Single Source of Truth information to the user community and project stakeholders, whether on board a deployed vessel or ashore. A fully integrated technical solution is a key enabler; however, to achieve ConISS objectives, proven experience is essential. In supporting several fleets for the RCAF, L3Harris has developed detailed ISS pro- cesses and has successfully embedded these processes in its IDCMS. Moreover, each ISS process, incrementally developed using stakeholder input, then tested and implemented, has resulted in a proven ConISS. This methodology has ensured that the end system reflects and institu- tionalizes the real needs of actual custom- ers or system stakeholders. The IDCMS not only automates the ISS processes and tasks required for several stakeholders to perform, it also validates that the user has the correct credentials for the task and provides an audit trail for system assurance. Key Performance Indi- cators are measured and displayed in cus- tomizable dashboards, providing the level of information required by each system stakeholder to execute their decisions. The secured Canadian cloud hosting L3Harris' IDCMS is accessible to the user community anywhere and anytime, via desktops or handheld devices, provid- ing all elements of In-Service Support, fleet operational and maintenance plan- ning, operational and maintenance data, materiel assurance and fleet availability. Such a fully digitized In-Service Support solution is available at L3Harris, already trusted by leading defence customers and thousands of users. For more information, please send an email to info.marketing@l3harris.com PERSPECTIVE

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