PHILADELPHIA - Defense Contract Management Agency’s Industrial Analysis Center provides mission-critical information and analyses to senior decision makers throughout the defense acquisition community, providing an invaluable tool to military, civilian and industry leadership.
IAC is a component of the agency’s Portfolio, Management & Integration Directorate. Through DCMA’s approximately 12,000 civilian and military professionals in the United States and 26 countries around the world, the center leverages defense industrial base, or DIB, intelligence to analyze industrial capabilities in support of warfighter missions.
IAC catalogs its intelligence in the taxonomy, a shared database that contains an architectural construct of supply chain relationships with the DIB. The taxonomy is the main repository for DIB information, as well as a collaborative workspace where IAC analysts pool their knowledge and leverage the diverse expertise of colleagues. The agency can identify supply chain relationships and program dependencies by characterizing and representing dependencies in the supply chain.
Through a NodeXL interactive tool, DCMA can depict potential single points of failure throughout the DIB, and create an agency-wide standard for industrial base dependency analysis.
In addition to the agency’s network and available tools, IAC has a cadre of 50 civilian industry analysts, engineers, economists, operations research analysts, and information technology specialists with experience in depot and shipyard operations, private industry, defense acquisition and other government organizations.
The experience touches almost every aspect of the Department of Defense Acquisition Category I, II, and III and sustainment programs. IAC is well-positioned to perform comprehensive analyses on the capabilities needed to meet national security requirements.
By law, ACAT I program personnel are required to provide industrial base capability considerations in the acquisition strategies they prepare for milestone A, B, and C decision reviews. To support favorable defense acquisition board outcomes, the center works closely with program managers to prepare informed analyses of industrial readiness for ACAT I programs.
Would it matter if DoD stopped assessing the industrial base? Can’t the department just find a capability to develop what is needed, when it is needed? The answer to those questions is that industrial base considerations are part of every review and decision point in the defense acquisition system. The assured availability of an engaged and robust DIB — from raw materials to production facilities — is necessary to achieve defense priorities and remain ahead of future threats.
Industrial base and market viability analysis start as early as development planning prior to materiel development decision review. Through its industrial capabilities assessments and other analytical products, the center provides senior leaders with a risk-based evaluation of capabilities required to support major weapons systems. Within the last year alone, the IAC completed analyses of the Tomahawk missile, Dry Combat Submersible, Ground Combat Systems and the military aviation industry. If the industrial base is insufficient to close or partially close a validated capability gap, DoD accepts risk until something can be done to mitigate it. This is why sustaining the right capabilities in the industrial base now is critical for realizing the department’s strategic goals in the mid- and long-term.
These evaluations and partnerships with industry and academia support Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Frank Kendall’s goal of “achieving dominant capabilities through innovation and technical excellence,” which was established in Better Buying Power 3.0.
Also outlined in BBP 3.0 is the need to incentivize innovation in industry and government. One aspect of this is the desire to leverage industry’s independent research and development, known as IR&D. Industry pursues these investments based on DoD interests and anticipated needs, as well as its ability to recoup its investment dollars through overhead contract rates.
While the agency evaluates IR&D for cost allowability, AT&L has asked IAC to analyze the investment areas and patterns to foster greater discussion between senior defense and industry leaders. DoD cannot direct industry investment. However, the department does need to understand a particular company’s rationale and pattern of spending to anticipate where technology is heading in a particular sector.
IAC also is well-rooted in mission assurance for the DIB. It is a process to protect or ensure the continued function and resilience of capabilities and assets — including personnel, equipment, facilities, networks, information and information systems, infrastructure, and supply chains —critical to the performance of DoD Mission Essential Functions in any operating environment or condition.
The agency recently established an IAC-chaired mission assurance working group to help better understand and execute mission assurance responsibilities. One key mission assurance tenet is the Defense Critical Infrastructure Program. IAC is the office of primary responsibility for the agency in its role as Defense Infrastructure Sector Lead Agent for the DIB.
The DISLA manages the identification and prioritization of defense critical infrastructure essential to protect, support, and sustain worldwide military forces and operations. Through its series of filters, the taxonomy serves as the foundation process for identifying and prioritizing DIB capabilities. An output of the taxonomy is the important capabilities list, a directory of industry sites that possess important capabilities in support of DoD. That list enables integrated data analysis and risk management activities across DoD at the program, corporate, supplier, sector and sub-sector levels. It supports department efforts with critical identification of Task Assets and Task Critical Assets, which are then vetted through the Joint Staff.
Through its worldwide presence, DCMA monitors the effects on the DIB from natural, technological and manmade emergencies, such as earthquakes, epidemic, floods, hurricanes, radiological releases and cyber events. The IAC leverages information and provides impact assessments on operational status, production or program deliverables to senior leaders in the defense acquisition community across the globe.
Date Taken: | 07.13.2015 |
Date Posted: | 07.13.2015 10:11 |
Story ID: | 169859 |
Location: | PHILADELPHIA, PA, US |
Web Views: | 177 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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