Simulation Modeling Analytical Support System (SMASS)

Challenges

The Naval Air Depot at Jacksonville had a multitude of aircraft types competing for common aircraft overhaul resources with stove-piped functions. They used custom spreadsheets to perform production planning, scheduling, and workload prioritization.

Solutions

DRC developed the SMASS, an object-oriented simulation model that is used to assess rapidly changing requirements and to quantitatively improve operations. The SMASS model provides an animated picture of aircraft moving through depot operations, allowing simulation and analysis of a broad range of scenarios, such as aircraft flow through the Navy Depot's Strip, Prime, and Paint shops. SMASS can be used to assess shop workflow, scheduling, and layout. The user can also determine the sensitivity of current and proposed industrial processes to system input factors such as alternative repair parts policies, manpower shortages/changes, workflow/repair process changes, budget changes, and shop layout.

Benefits/Achievements

Eliminates the need for using numerous spreadsheets as a basis of tactical aircraft scheduling, status reporting, and aircraft analysis.
Enhances management visibility into aircraft schedules and delays, helping to reduce cycle time, manufacturing costs, and aircraft inventory.
Improves the level of Material Resource Planning (MRP) system implementation with respect to the population and maintenance of aircraft status data from less than 10% compliance to more than 90% through increased management visibility.
Quantifies the benefits of large potential capital equipment investments, providing the rationale or business case for these large expenditures.

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