Chapter 23 - Logistics Test and Evaluation

The Test and Evaluation (T&E) of logistics is a measurement of the support system's ability to meet predetermined performance requirements. Each element of logistics is equally important and must be given consideration for logistics T&E. Not all elements are applicable to every program acquisition due to the nature of the equipment being procured and subsequently tested. Care must be exercised to ensure that the impacted elements are included in the Logistics T&E process.

In addition to the above elements the logistics T&E process must also integrate the Reliability and Maintainability (R&M) process and the Human Factors (HF) evaluation. Note that the equipment's R&M design features have a great influence over the efficiency of the support system. For example, if the support system is developed concurrent with equipment design and an R or M design feature fails to meet the predicted level of performance, the equipment must be redesigned or modifications must be made to the effected logistics element to compensate for the failed design feature. Therefore, the developer of the support system performance requirements must be thoroughly knowledgeable of the R&M design requirements, the predicted performance, and achieved capabilities.

Closely associated with maintainability, and equally important in some cases to the equipment operator or maintainer, is the impact resulting from HF design. A lack of attention to HF primarily affects the quantity and type of people needed to operate and maintain the equipment. For example, if the physical size of an item is so large that it requires a four-man lift, or if the controls to operate a system are spread out beyond arm's length from a sitting position, additional manning may be required. (Also see Section
20).

When consideration is being given for logistics T&E, the logistics component of the flight test T&E team must ensure that the following items are well defined in the procurement contract in order to be able to properly evaluate the logistics elements:

• Parameters to be measured
• Methods for measurement
• Time frames for measurement
• Penalties and incentives associated with the achieved demonstrated performance.

Although a Flight Test Engineer (FTE) does not normally get directly involved in the Logistics T&E process, it is vital that he understand how and why Logistics T&E must be integrated into the test program. Systems must be available for ground maintenance evaluation tasks and HF evaluations, and this non-flying time must be considered when planning the overall test program.