Integrated Forward Maintenance Hub

Background

The SAF continuously innovates to improve our systems. As part of the efforts to develop future focused capabilities, the concept of a one-stop Integrated Forward Maintenance Hub (iFMH) that harnesses depot maintenance and repairs capabilities to enhance maintenance productivity was developed. The first iFMH was established in March 2018 at Sungei Gedong Camp (SGC), to consolidate tracked maintenance resources.  

Maintenance and Engineering Support (MES) Formation collaborated with ST Engineering Land Systems to establish the iFMH@SGC. With the introduction of the iFMH@SGC, there has been a 20% savings in manpower cost for on-site depot-level maintenance tasks. The duration required for repairs has also reduced by 50%. This enables tracked vehicles to be more readily available for training and operations. 
 
Functional Components

Forward Depot-Level Maintenance Workshop. The Forward Depot-Level Maintenance Workshop enables ST Engineering Land Systems to perform depot-level tasks on-site at iFMH@SGC. This eliminates unnecessary administration, reduce incurring transport cost and the repair turnaround time from sending vehicles for repairs at ST Engineering Land Systems' Jalan Boon Lay Depot.
 
Forward Spares Support Warehouse. With the Forward Spares Support Warehouse, spares are  more readily available for repairs, compared to the previous delivery time of three days. There is also an Independent Spares Retrieval and Exchange System (iSPARES), similar to SingPost's POPstation, for selected spares to be deposited. With the iSPARES, SAF technicians can collect the required spares at any time of the day to conduct maintenance work.

Forward Technical Support Office. A Forward Technical Support Office has been set up with 1st Army Maintenance Base Maintenance Operations Section, where Tracked System Service Managers can synergise maintenance efforts with ST Engineering Land Systems. This reduces the administrative processing time required for handling quotations, warranty claims, as well as rejections.

Telemetry and Analytics Systems

Background

The MES Formation designed and developed a Telemetry and Analytics System (TAS) which incorporates scientific methods and processes to make sense of data captured from monitoring vehicle platforms' health and utilisation. The TAS was conceptualised to allow MES to shift from rule-based to condition-based maintenance model, enabling better engineering management and usage of SAF vehicles. The TAS has been implemented for the Singapore Army's fleet of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), and has reduced our Army Engineers technical investigation time from 48 hours to eight hours per UAV.

Functional Components

Data Logger. The Data Logger is a plug-and-play module attached to a platform to collect data on its health and usage. With this, servicemen need not manually record data from the platforms.

Data Analytics Engine. The Data Analytics Engine is a software algorithm that translates the data collected by the Data Logger into predicted outcomes. It uses data analytics to create an efficient maintenance strategy that monitors the condition of a platform and triggers the need for maintenance when required. This enables timely and precise maintenance tasks to be performed, minimising platform breakdown. 

Data Visualisation and Application Dashboard. The TAS also includes a dashboard which consolidates all the data collected from the Data Logger and Data Analytics Engine. The dashboard allows the data to be processed easier, and enables easier visualisation and decision-making.