Operational Readiness Simulator: Optimizing Operational Availability Using a Virtual Environment

The maintenance and logistics systems that support aircraft fleets are complex and often very integrated. The complexity of these systems makes it difficult to assess the impact of events that affect operational capability, to identify the need for resources that can affect aircraft availability, or to assess the impact and potential benefits of the system and procedural changes. This problem is further complicated by the adoption of condition-based maintenance approaches resulting in dynamic maintenance planning as maintenance tasks are condition directed instead of scheduled or usage based. A proof of concept prototype for an aircraft operational readiness simulator (OR-SIM) has been developed for the Canadian Forces CH-146 Griffon helicopter. The simulator provides a synthetic environment to forecast and assess the ability of a fleet, squadron, or aircraft to achieve desired flying rates and the capability of the sustainment systems to respond to the resultant demands. The prototype was used to assess several typical scenarios including adjustment of preventative maintenance schedules including impact of condition-based maintenance, variation of the annual flying rate, and investigation of deployment options. This paper provides an overview of the OR-SIM concept, prototype model, and sample investigations and a discussion of the benefits of such an operational readiness simulator. 1. Background Operational availability, capability, or readiness, also known as aircraft mission capable rates, is used to describe the availability of aircraft to fly their assigned missions. Fleet operation and sustainment systems for Air Force weapon systems are highly complex and multilayered and involve stakeholders from different commands within the military, the public service, and industry. There exist three primary elements through which operational capability is generated. The first is the weapon system maintenance plan. The second is the capability and capacity of the maintenance organizations (e.g., Air Force and support contractors) to produce available aircraft through the execution of the maintenance plan. The third is the aircraft operational concept through which the Air Force uses and “consumes” the available aircraft. As shown in Figure 1, the interaction or “fit” of these three elements determines the operational capability of a given fleet. From the perspective of an operational capability model, the interaction of these elements across different armed forces weapon systems combine to determine the overall operational capability of the armed forces of a