Research project NO/B/001 (Research action NO)
Context
This study contributed to the further development of an internationally-accepted structure for harmonising the necessary digital data transfers throughout the entire period of a project.
The project
The objective of the project was - through a Belgian participation in the NCO (Nato Cals Office), via an international interaction of both the NATO countries and the PfP countries (Partnership for Peace), and in full collaboration with the industry via the NICG (Nato Industrial Cals Group) - to arrive at an NCDM (Nato Cals Data Model) and a PLCS (Product Life Cycle Support). These must form the basis for standardising the digital transfer of data, in the form of both ISO and AECMA standards. This should prevent it from being necessary to formulate additional standards which would only apply for military projects, such as the STANAG´s (NATO Standardisation Agreements) and DEF (Defence) standards.
a. The preparation included a number of Workshops on the following topics:
- Acquisition Logistics
- Acquisition
- Operational Logistics
b. The first step consisted in drafting a NATO CALS Data Model (NCDM).
c. The second step was setting up a collaboration between the NCO and the industry. This project, the "NATO Cals Framework Project" had to consolidate the reports of the different working groups into a Data Architecture for the information needed to manage a system. This was achieved by drafting a TLBM (Through Life Business Model).
d. Afterwards this model was tested within the framework of a pilot project (PP1) concerning the collaboration within the concept of the Nato Helicopter (NH90).
e. At the same time, support was provided to a number of selected multinational programmes (such as Trigat, ACCS, etc.) in order to draw the necessary lessons concerning the total concept of the life cycle of a project.
f. One also examined what was the problematic in the differences between the USA and Europe concerning EDIFACT and STEP.
g. At the conclusion of these preparatory works, the initiative was taken to present the PLCS as a new standard within the framework of ISO/TC 184/SC4/WG3/T8. This proposal is supported both by the industry and by different government authorities in various countries as well as by the NCMB, via the NCO. In this way, Belgium's contribution is also ensured, since it is the intention that the NCO actively participate in the further development of this standard.
The partners
The partners were:
- Nato Cals Office
- Nato Cals Management Board
- Nato Industrial Cals Group
Expected products and results
It can be stated that this study, in the framework of the international cooperation within Nato, led to a better understanding of the current standards, their shortcomings and the lack of relevance for the specific problems of the military community. It was not the intention to develop standards solely within the military model, but rather to obtain a generally accepted standard which takes most of the wishes of this sector into account. This study led to:
a. NCDM: Nato Cals Data Model
b. NCOPS: Nato Cals Concept of Operation
c. TLBM: Through Life Business Model
d. PLCS: Product Life Cycle Support
e. Nato Cals Handbook
f. Start-up of ISO initiative concerning PLCS
g. Start-up of web page of NATO CALS
In order to support this effort, a start was made on preparing a PLCS (Product Life Cycle Support). The draft version of this proposal was submitted to ISO TC 184/SC4/WG3/T8 in March 98. After a difficult start, a consortium has now been set up under the name PLCS Inc., which will strive to develop a new ISO standard taking the NCDM (Nato Cals Data Model) as its basis.
Within the Armed Forces there is increasing interest in the implementation of these concepts. For this purpose, a number of working groups were created within the framework of:
- EC: Electronic Commerce
- IETM: Interactive Electronic Technical Manual
- PDM: Product Data Management
These working groups guarantee a flexible introduction of the Cals principles and will ensure that in the near future more and more purchase dossiers will incorporate these elements.
Since Jan 2000, a pilot project was started up in order to harmonise the purchase of military equipment and in order to be able to do testing with the various products and future standards. This study is important for harmonising the purchase of military equipment in the first instance, but in the longer term it is of interest for the entire industry, since it aims at a digital standardisation spread over the entire service life of a product.
It is recommended that this effort be continued by constantly raising the awareness of the Belgian Industry, so that their position on the market is not needlessly weakened.
CALS (Continuous Acquisition and Life Cycle Support) - Harmonisatie van normen en gebruiksregels : eindverslag
Brussels : Federal science Policy Office, 2003 (SP1161)
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