PORT HUENEME, Calif. - Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC), Port Hueneme Division's Virginia Beach Detachment is enhancing Navy efficiencies and fleet combat readiness by developing Interactive Electronic Technical Manuals (IETMs) in-house instead of outsourcing them. The time-saving change comes as a result of some creative computer engineering and affects IETMs for the Navy's AN/SPS-73 and AN/SPS-67(V) 5 surveillance radar programs, officials announced Aug. 14.
The in-house capability, which proved successful earlier this year with the completion of an IETM for the AN/SPS-73 radar program, is currently being used to update the IETM for the AN/SPS 67(V) 5 program.
"An in-house, on-the-fly publishing solution was the way to go," said Marie Petran, a data management information technology (IT) specialist with NSWC, Port Hueneme Division. "It provides tools and processes that allow technical developers to integrate various media to create professional, interactive content, and to re-use digitized elements or objects."
In the past, IETM development and updates had to be outsourced to individual Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), because they had the necessary expertise for these tasks.
Outsourcing for IETM development or updates had an impact on fleet readiness as the process could take months, or even years, depending on content size, amount of changes, and the number of personnel assigned to work on the project. However, Petran possesses the graphic skills along with the coding and XML expertise that enabled her to conceptualize and execute a more efficient alternative.
XML, short for Extensible Markup Language, is used to store, structure and transport data within an IT infrastructure to allow for document creation and updates. Petran re-engineered the legacy IT system, using XML capabilities to work more effectively and efficiently with Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformation tools-something the legacy system did not have. This makes authoring and editing the IETMs less cumbersome and more systematic, alleviating authoring mistakes and reducing labor time. "With this change, what it would take an OEM a year to do, I can do in approximately eight months," Petran said.
Additionally, the output can now be viewed through Internet Explorer using a Web browser versus a proprietary viewer that was needed in the past.
According to Petran, this on-the-fly approach takes raw data and turns it into a functioning IETM within minutes instead of days as it had in the past. "It also enables content changes to be made and verified almost immediately," she added. "Before, we had to go back and forth with the OEM to make and validate revisions."
Quality assurance tools were also built in to provide quicker verification when revisions are made. The author can pinpoint content inserts and deletions, focusing only on areas that have changed. This saves time and provides a more accurate validation of the data.
"NSWC, Port Hueneme Division now has a way for our employees or support contractors to do IETM work in-house, accurately and quickly, without having to contract it to the OEM or other outside businesses or commands," Petran said.
"As a result," said Branch Manager George Mack, "we have already helped the Navy realize better efficiencies and will continue this trend in the future, keeping the fleet combat ready in a more affordable way."
The Virginia Beach Detachment is an essential branch of NSWC, Port Hueneme Division, providing test and evaluation, in-service engineering and integrated logistics support for surveillance radar systems, system interface and radar design improvement.
NSWC, Port Hueneme Division, commanded by Capt. Bill DeBow, is a field activity of Naval Sea Systems Command and provides the Navy's global fleet with weapon system in-service engineering, logistics, and test and evaluation. NSWC, Port Hueneme Division is located at Naval Base Ventura County, Calif., where it employs more than 1,900 personnel.