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ASNE Day 2016 - Technical Paper Session 6 : Thursday, March 3, 2016 1515-1700

Future Trends in Naval Applications

 

Authors: Joshua Smith, Sandra Dy, and Tim Voth, and Bill McLaughlin

Title: Modeling the AEGIS Waterfront Workforce Requirements to Effectively Plan for the Future

Abstract:

Background

The Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyers (DDG 51) and the Ticonderoga class guided-missile cruisers (CG 47) are equipped with the AEGIS Combat System (ACS), which provides a wide range of warfighting capabilities in multi-threat air, surface, and subsurface environments. The ACS integrates a comprehensive suite of naval weapon systems with an advanced command and control center, making it possible to track and destroy enemy targets. ACS equipped surface combatants are considered to be the Navy’s most capable and survivable surface combatants.

The DDG 51 program halted procurement between FY05 and FY10 in favor of the more capable DDG 1000 program. However, in July 2008 the Navy decided to truncate the DDG 1000 program to three ships and restart the DDG 51 program, which resulted in a five year gap in procurement. The restart of the DDG 51 class destroyer program, in addition to a high number of ships requiring modernization efforts, caused a surge in waterfront test requirements for the AEGIS Waterfront teams in FY15-16. Due to the technical nature of the Waterfront requirements, a plan was required to ensure that the essential AEGIS Combat System Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and Engineers were brought to the Waterfront to support new construction and modernization of the DDG 51 class ships.

Introduction

To address the Navy’s need for highly effective ACS Installation & Test Waterfront teams, PEO (Program Executive Office) IWS (Integrated Warfare Systems) 1.0 and its Ship Integration branch headed an initiative to:
1) Build a dynamic model that would capture the overall resource demand for the Waterfront teams
2) Conduct a comprehensive study to alleviate any workforce gaps
This effort was created in order to ensure the Waterfront teams were properly staffed at all times, because a critical resource shortage on the Waterfront would be detrimental to the teams’ ability to install and test the ACS on both new construction and modernization ships on time. The goal was to have a universal Waterfront team where the workforce could be leveraged from all teams to meet all resource demands, mitigate risk, and be as cost effective as possible.

The team executed this initiative by working with all the Waterfront managers to gain a comprehensive understanding of the specific resource requirements for each program and how they overlaid with the Ship Availability schedules. This was done by using historical data to build profiles for each program where work had been done, interviewing SMEs to develop anticipated requirements for future programs, and mapping each profile to the corresponding schedule based on location and the ALO (AEGIS Light Off) date. This information was used to populate the model which was further used for gap analysis and solution development.

Findings

Based on the development of the model and the results of the study, the team was able to project the ACS Installation & Test Waterfront workforce demand through 2022 which revealed a large workforce gap beginning in the 2016 timeframe. Utilizing the model, the team was able to identify which skillsets were required at the various homeports, and which programs were causing the influx in demand. The data also revealed opportunities for internal efficiencies, such as cross training of personnel, workforce augmentation, and collateral duties which would help meet the resource demands at a lower cost to the US Navy. The team provided IWS 1.0 with a sustainable and cost effective implementation plan that would allow them to meet the demand as it currently stands while also mandating semi-annual and monthly review cycles to ensure the plan remains relevant with the unavoidable changes to future requirements.

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