DAU successfully piloted the new LOG 211 Supportability Analysis  training course September 24-28, 2012 at our DAU South region campus in Huntsville, AL.  Students included participants from all of the Services, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and Industry, who represented a broad cross section of the course target audience of Product Support Managers, Systems Engineers, and Life Cycle Logisticians.  The new LOG 211 course addresses the analysis framework and trade studies by which the impact of the design characteristics of Reliability and Maintainability (R&M) are analyzed to determine their impact on both system performance and product support. 

By way of background, according to the DAU iCatalog, “LOG 211 builds on the Supportability concepts presented in LOG 201, Intermediate Acquisition Logistics. Designed as DAU’s foundational course for the instruction of Supportability Analysis, LOG 211 uses a notional scenario to engage Life Cycle Logisticians and other career field workforce students within the Systems Engineering process to ensure that design characteristics such as Reliability, Availability, Maintainability (RAM) and Affordability are included as system performance requirements, and that the system is concurrently designed, developed and acquired with the optimal Product Support infrastructure and resources. In addition, LOG 211 provides detailed process-oriented instruction in specific Supportability Analysis techniques and tools. Its instructional methodology uses student exercises, gaming and simulations focused on selected subsystems and components to illustrate the influence of Supportability principles and the outcomes of its trade studies in maturing both the system design and its sustainment infrastructure while achieving Affordability. The use of Supportability Analysis tools and the Logistics Product Database is reinforced throughout the course as an integral part of the Systems Engineering and Product Support processes, and as key enablers to developing, fielding and sustaining supportable and affordable weapon systems.”

As I shared with you in an August 8 blog post entitled “FY13 Life Cycle Logistics DAWIA Certification Requirements”, to reiterate “there are no planned changes to the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) certification training requirements in fiscal year (FY) 2013 for the Life Cycle Logistics career field.  For defense acquisition workforce members either currently pursuing or planning to pursue life cycle logistics certification, the FY12 training requirements will not change in FY13.” Hence, LOG 211 will be offered in FY13 as a “Core Plus” course, recommended, but not mandatory to meet DAWIA certification requirements. There will be nine offerings of this four and half-day long LOG 211 course beginning in the second quarter of fiscal year 2013 at:

·         February 4-8, 2013  Ft. Belvoir, VA

·         March 18-22, 2013  Huntsville, AL

·         April 8-12, 2013   Ft. Belvoir, VA

·         April 22-26, 2013  San Diego, CA

·         May 13-17, 2013  Ft. Belvoir, VA

·         June 17-21, 2013  Huntsville, AL

·         August 5-9, 2013  Ft. Belvoir, VA

·         September 23-27, 2013  San Diego, CA

·         September 30-October 4, 2013  Huntsville, AL

Along with the recommended completion of all life cycle logistics acquisition and functional training standards for Level I and II, the mandatory LOG 211 prerequisites are:

·         ACQ 101 Fundamentals of Systems Acquisition

·         CLL 008 Designing for Supportability in DoD Systems

·         CLL 012 Supportability Analysis

·         LOG 101 Acquisition Logistics Fundamentals

·         LOG 103 Reliability, Availability & Maintainability (RAM)

·         SYS 101 SPRDE Fundamentals

Because of the relatively limited number of seats available in FY13, recommend interested supportability analysis practitioners, as well as life cycle logisticians and systems engineers seeking a better understanding of supportability and RAM (reliability, availability and maintainability) analysis complete the LOG 211 prerequisites and register as early as possible.