Project: Support Equipment Controlling Authority AIR5.0D (SECA N) Operations
The Support Equipment Controlling Authority AIR5.0D (SECA N) is a
department within the Naval Air Systems Command, Aircraft Controlling Custodian
(NAVAIR ACC). The SECA mission is to1Manage and carry out Aircraft Maintenance
and Material Readiness List (AMMRL) program functions under NAVAIRINST 13650.1
for Support Equipment (SE) assigned to Commander Naval Air Systems Command
(COMNAVAIRSYSCOM) activities. The primary goal of the SECA is to ensure that all
COMNAVAIRSYSCOM activities have the necessary Support Equipment (SE) required
to maintain naval aircraft and airborne weapons systems in an operational and safe
working condition. This is accomplished through four major production operations:
 The development of an Individual Material Readiness List (IMRL)
 Inventory management
 Source Data Revision Recommendation (SODARR)
 Depot level repair process
One of the primary SECA responsibilities is to ensure that 2SE requirements are
identified in IMRL’s. 3The IMRL is a consolidated list specifying items and quantities of
SE end items required by a particular aircraft maintenance activity or activity component
to perform its assigned maintenance level functions as detailed by the Naval Aviation
Maintenance Program (NAMP). The IMRL identifies SE requirements and platform
system application. This information assists SE managers in formulating decisions
regarding overall readiness, budget forecasts, equipment procurement and redistribution
of assets. The IMRL consists of five main sections: employment data, change list, index,
main body, and activity inventory record.
The employment data section provides the activity a list of type/model/series
(TMS) used to create the IMRL, and allows the activity to view data used to calculate
allowances that are shown in their IMRL. The activity maintenance department reviews
this data to ensure the information listed coincides with their current and projected
workload.
The change list allows the activity to view any changes to the IMRL that have
occurred since the last IMRL supplement and the print date of a new IMRL.
The index section provides the ability to locate items of SE within the IMRL
using several different sources such as, part number, stock number, avionics systems, and
nomenclature.
The main body section provides the source data, application, and allowancing
information for each item of SE based on its platform application. This section of the
IMRL is broken into several subsections where SE is grouped according to its intended
maintenance function such as, airframes, power plants, avionics, weapons, and facility
type equipment.
The activity inventory record section provides a complete list of on hand SE
assets as of the printed date. This section is somewhat useless, and seldom used by the
activity because its data is limited to the date it was printed. Instead, activities rely on the
Local Asset Management System (LAMS) for purposes concerning inventory reporting
and management since it provides current real time data. LAMS will be discussed later
in this report.
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Activity employment is used to identify maintenance tasking in the Support
Equipment Management System (SEMS) to enable the selection of source data needed to
create allowances for an IMRL. The SECA department head assigns the primary
employment responsibilities to an individual who possesses the necessary knowledge and
experience to maintain uniformity and consistency of the employment process. A
secondary individual is assigned the role of backup as a precautionary measure, and is
trained by the primary until proficiency has been achieved.
When building an IMRL for an Organizational, Intermediate or Depot level
maintenance activity, the SECA obtains input information from the Weapons System
Planning Document (WSPD), Program Planning Document (PPD), and the NAVAIR
NOTICE 4700 Gas Turbine Engine Maintenance Assignment. These documents are
maintained and published by the NAVAIR Program Managers for each of their assigned
weapons systems for planning and budgetary purposes. The information contained in
these sources such as, aircraft deck loading, maintenance level, operational detachments,
and the three degrees of engine level maintenance, will enable the SECA to employ their
respective activities with current and future (five years out) workload assignments. The
requirement to employ five years into the future was an AMMRL program decision based
on budgetary requirements to obtain funding for future Common Support Equipment
(CSE) procurements. This provides allowance quantities that the NAVAIR Program
Managers could use when planning budget proposals for future procurements of Peculiar
Support Equipment (PSE) to support new weapons systems.
Once the information has been gathered from these sources, the SECA manually
enters this data into the employment screen located on the SEMS allowance module.
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SEMS is a database owned by PMA260 AMMRL program office, managed by Space and
Naval Warfare Systems Center (SPAWAR) located in New Orleans, LA, and provides a
means for overall SE visibility and management.
The allowance subsystem is updated the second weekend of every month through
a regeneration process that creates, changes, or deletes allowances for SE based on
employment changes made by the SECA. Employment changes entered into SEMS prior
to this will not provide visibility of SE allowance changes until the next regeneration has
been completed. Therefore, to reflect any employment changes that have been made
previous to each update, a special regeneration of the allowance subsystem is required.
The SECA department head is the only authorized individual that can request special
regenerations due to the cost of this function. Special regenerations are infrequent since
most employment changes are made well in advance of actual aircraft and weapons
system base loading.
Once the regeneration (if required) is complete, the SECA submits a request for a
new IMRL using the reports screen located on the SEMS Support Equipment Asset
Readiness Reporting (SEARR) subsystem. The request is an overnight batch process that
generates an email to the requester with notification that the IMRL is complete and ready
for download with a link to the IMRL location.
The IMRL is downloaded from the SEMS database electronically and saved to a
compact disk. Due to its size, typically up to several thousand pages, this document is
delivered to the local base printing office where it can take up to 3 days to be produced in
paper form. Generally two copies of the IMRL are printed, one copy each for both the
SECA and maintenance activity. Some of the larger maintenance activities, such as the
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Depot, have printing capabilities. Therefore the IMRL is delivered electronically and
printed locally by that command.
Once printing is complete the IMRL is picked up and brought back to the SECA
office where every page is scrutinized for proper format and completeness. An IMRL
that is determined to be defective during this inspection is returned to the printing office
and reprinted. However, if the IMRL is satisfactory it is packaged and shipped using the
U.S. postal service, or FedEx if urgently required, to the maintenance activity.
The IMRL is considered a living document with constant changes occurring daily
and requiring updates to the paper copy. This is accomplished through an IMRL
supplement that identifies all changes to the IMRL that have occurred since the print
date. 5The IMRL supplement is a monthly change notice that is prepared and issued for
each IMRL activity. Beginning the first month after an IMRL is prepared and every
month thereafter, the supplement for that IMRL will list all changes since the previous
supplement. An update action is used on the supplement to show additions, deletions or
changes that affects each activity IMRL. The allowance supplement is automatically
produced for each IMRL as part of the SEMS monthly update cycle. The SECA
downloads the allowance supplements for each IMRL and delivers to the activity
electronically, or paper copy depending on their printing capabilities. The changes that
are reflected in the supplement are transcribed onto the paper copy of the IMRL body by
the activity IMRL manager and the SECA manager. This way a complete hard copy is
available at all times in the event that electronic data is lost or unavailable due to system
failure.
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Effective inventory management of SE is a key part of the NAMP. To minimize
the cost of providing the SE required for maintaining aircraft airborne systems, effective
management and accountability is mandatory. 7The AMMRL Program SE inventory
management system provides inventory control at the SECA and local levels, as well as
on-line visibility of SE assets on a program-wide basis. SE in-use inventory data is
continually updated by SE Transaction Reports (TR) and submitted by reporting
custodians. Each IMRL activity is required to submit a completed SE Transaction Report
to the SECA each time a transaction occurs. Inventory data maintained in SEMS is used
when generating a variety of scheduled and requested reports that are available to user
commands with SEMS access. These reports provide the SE inventory data necessary to
determine a measure of supportability of aviation maintenance for specific commands,
geographic areas, ships and the Navy/Marine Corp overall. Consolidated inventory data
are utilized by all levels of management for effective distribution or redistribution of SE
assets, budget development, and NAVAIRHQ and Inventory Control Point (ICP)
procurement projections.
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The AMMRL Program Support Equipment Inventory Management System
includes a closed loop subsystem. This subsystem provides tracking of in-use SE during
the transfer cycle, centralized maintenance of activity SE inventory records, management
by exception and error detection in inventory reporting procedures. The inventory
management system utilizes three separate databases: LAMS, SECA TOOLS, and SEMS
for inventory control.
LAMS is a database that was developed by PMA260 NAVAIRHQ who has overall
ownership and management responsibilities. 9LAMS is the only authorized means for the
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automated management, tracking, and inventorying of Support Equipment (SE) assets at
the organizational, intermediate and depot level of maintenance. Given that a single item
of SE may cost over one million dollars, the efficient use and accountability of SE at the
organizational, intermediate and depot level is of great importance to fleet support.
LAMS is an approved management information system for standardized local
management of Individual Material Readiness List (IMRL) assets through the use of a
desktop computer and barcode technology. By using barcode equipment that records
inventory results, highly accurate wall-to-wall inventories can be accomplished and
maintained with significant reductions in both manpower expenditures and operational
disruptions. LAMS is utilized by the maintenance activity IMRL manager for reporting
receipts, transfers, asset material condition, and other inventory management functions.
The activity will process a TR using LAMS to notify the SECA that an inventory
transaction has occurred. The TR is exported from LAMS and delivered to the SECA
electronically as a means for updating SEMS inventory.
SECA TOOLS is a database that was developed by PMA260 NAVAIRHQ who
has overall ownership and management responsibilities. SECA TOOLS is utilized by the
SECA for transmitting files to the SEMS database. The SECA receives the exported file
from the activity and uploads the data to SECA TOOLS where the TR is inspected for
accuracy. Once the TR has been inspected and determined complete, an upload file is
created that interfaces with SEMS. SEMS is a closed loop inventory tracking system that
is utilized throughout the entire Naval Aviation Enterprise (NAE) for SE management.
The SECA uploads the exported file from SECA TOOLS and loads this file in SEMS
where the transaction process is scheduled. A completion notification is emailed to the
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SECA with a link to the source file when the transaction process has been completed.
The SECA will download the completion report, attach to an email, and return it to the
reporting activity notifying them that the process is complete.
To ensure inventory accuracy is maintained between LAMS and SEMS, a file
named Activity Inventory Record Comparison (AIRCOMP) is generated monthly from
SEMS and sent to the reporting activity. This file is processed in the activities LAMS
where a report is generated that will identify any discrepancies between the two systems.
In the event the AIRCOMP report discovered discrepancies, the SECA and activity
IMRL manager will work together to resolve the issue immediately and a new
AIRCOMP report is generated and processed until all discrepancies have been resolved.
The report is returned to the SECA where the results are reviewed, averaged, and
reported to the AMMRL program office during the semi annual AMMRL Program
meeting (APM). The goal is to maintain 100% inventory accuracy at all times to avoid
the possibility of procuring SE that is not required, or more importantly not procuring
assets that are urgently needed due to erroneous inventory data. Inventory accuracy
affects both budgetary and supportability concerns.
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The SECA uses SEMS to provide SE allowance and inventory management
information to the organizational, intermediate, and depot level maintenance activities
they support. To all users, SEMS is the only authorized source for in-use SE allowance,
inventory, technical information, asset location, excess and deficit, rework, and
requisition and procurement validation information.
The SODARR process is an avenue for correcting SEMS source data errors. The
SODARR process is managed and controlled by PMA260 from the moment data is
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entered into SEMS until completed. The SECA function in the SODARR process is to
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use the appropriate SEMS input transaction, prepare an automated SODARR, and enter
that SODARR to SEMS if the request for IMRL revision affects other IMRL activities.
When source data errors are identified, the activity IMRL manager will initiate an IMRL
Revision Request (IRR). Using the LAMS database, the IMRL manager creates the IRR
which describes the action requested. The IRR is saved as a Microsoft Word document
and is electronically forwarded to the SECA for processing. Once received, the SECA
loads the document into SECA TOOLS and begins the necessary research to identify
corrective action. Using SEMS, the SECA enters the required information and submits
the request for source data correction. A computer generated serial number is assigned to
each SODARR for tracking and history purposes. The SODARR becomes immediately
visible to all other SECA’s. Designated points of contact at each SECA will review each
SODARR and either agrees, disagrees, or selects “not applicable”. If any other SECA
disagrees with the request a reason is provided and the SODARR is withdrawn. A
SODARR cannot be processed and completed whenever there are disagreements.
However, the SODARR may be resubmitted by the originating SECA once any
disagreements have been resolved, a new control number will be assigned and the
SODARR travels through the same process. Whenever the SODARR is agreed to, or
“not applicable” is selected, the SODARR is delivered electronically to the Weapons
System Manager (WSM) responsible for logistics management of that particular SE. The
WSM reviews the SODARR request and updates the Support Equipment
Recommendation Document (SERD) located on the AUTOSERD database with the
requested changes.
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AUTOSERD is owned by PMA260 but managed and controlled by Naval Air
Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) Lakehurst, NJ. AUTOSERD is a master
database that feeds SERD source data information into SEMS through a monthly update
cycle. During the monthly update cycle the corrected SERD is passed to SEMS and
verified by the WSM who has the final sign off action on the SODARR. This corrected
information is included in the IMRL supplement and provided to the activity IMRL
manager. The SECA and the activity IMRL manager will annotate this corrected
information on the paper copy of the IMRL.
The SE depot level rework program was established to provide a cost effective
approach for maintaining expensive SE in a ready for use condition.
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The objective of
the NAMP, as it relates to SE, is to achieve and maintain maximum material readiness,
safety, and conservation of SE.
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The required rework of SE beyond the capability of the
Intermediate Maintenance Activity (IMA) shall be performed under the provisions of
NAVAIRINST 13680.1 at the next level of maintenance, normally a NAVAIRDEPOT or
commercial contractor. The purpose of the NAVAIRINST 13680.1 is to 14establish
policy, assign responsibilities and provide procedures within Naval Air Systems
Command for the management and execution of depot level rework of SE end items.
The responsibility of the SECA is to manage the overall SE rework program for
their assigned activities which include, scheduling SE at the appropriate Depot Rework
Point (DRP), providing shipping instructions and weekly production status reports to the
maintenance activity, and to participate in funding alignments with Naval Air Support
Equipment Facility (NAVAIRSEFAC). The NAVAIR 13680.1C policy dictates that for
an item of SE to have depot level repair capability it must meet certain criteria. The SE
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must be Beyond Capability of Maintenance (BCM) at the organizational and/or
intermediate level activity, must have a “D” in the fourth and/or fifth position of the
Source Maintenance and Recoverability (SM&R) code, total Navy on hand inventory of
at least 26 assets, and have a dollar value of at least $5,000.
Whenever SE fails to perform its intended function, and is beyond the capability
for repair at the organizational and/or intermediate level, the maintenance activity will
notify their IMRL manager that repair or replacement is required. The IMRL manager
will review source data to determine if the asset meets the criteria for depot level
maintenance, and use LAMS to process the necessary TR changing the status code to
reflect a Not Ready for Issue (NRFI), or Not Ready for Use (NRFU) condition. An email
is sent to the SECA with the exported TR attached requesting depot level repair. The
SECA, utilizing SEMS, will determine if depot level repair has been established for the
SE end item and what DRP has capability for repair. Since funding is allocated by each
SECA to the various DRP, the SECA will ensure that funding is available by calculating
the sum of total man hours required for repair, and cost per man hour. The SECA depot
repair budget contains emergent repair funds that are available as needed and can be
allocated to the DRP to complete the repair process.
Once funding is in place the SECA will schedule the repair in SEMS. A control
number is assigned to maintain a closed loop tracking process for visibility of the asset
from the time the SE is shipped to the depot, received at the depot and inducted for
repair, repairs completed, and asset returned and received at the activity. The control
number is utilized by the depot for production updates, the SECA for providing
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production status reports, and the maintenance activity for inventory TR processing of the
transfer and receipt of the SE to and from the depot.
Three of these four production operations work efficiently. However, the IMRL
production is in need of a complete change. There is a need to convert this process to an
electronic format and retire the paper product to save money and time required to process
this document. During an airspeed project named “SERD into SEMS first pass
accuracy”, in which I was an acting yellow belt member, one of the quick fixes that was
agreed upon was to make this change from paper to an electronic format. PMA260
AMMRL program office have taken the initiative to develop a new LAMS version that
will incorporate the IMRL as a subversion that can be viewed and maintained on the
personal computer. This will give the IMRL manager and SECA the ability to view the
IMRL, which includes the activity inventory record, electronically without the need for
paper products. The monthly supplement will be delivered to the activities via email
where they can download the file to LAMS for updating any changes that have occurred
to their IMRL. These changes will eliminate the cost of printing, packaging, shipping,
and manually making changes to the paper copy of an IMRL. This change will save the
Navy thousands of dollars each year and give the SECA and IMRL manager time to work
more important issues, but more importantly it will increase productivity.
1
Department of the Navy, Naval Aviation Maintenance Program (NAMP), Commander Naval Air Forces,
February 01, 2005, Page 10-12.
2
Department of the Navy, Naval Aviation Maintenance Program (NAMP), Commander Naval Air Forces,
February 01, 2005, Page 4-2.
3
Commander Naval Air Systems Command, NAVAIRINST 13650.1D, July 26, 2006, Enclosure 6.
4
Naval Air Systems Command Aircraft Controlling Custodian, Standard Operating Procedures, Support
Equipment Controlling Authority, May 9, 2005, Page 75.
5
Commander Naval Air Systems Command, NAVAIRINST 13650.1D, July 26, 2006, Enclosure 6.
6
Department of the Navy, Naval Aviation Maintenance Program (NAMP), Commander Naval Air Forces,
February 01, 2005, Page 16-30.
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7
Commander Naval Air Systems Command, NAVAIRINST 13650.1D, July 26, 2006, Enclosure 9,
paragraph 2.
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Commander Naval Air Systems Command, NAVAIRINST 13650.1D, July 26, 2006, Enclosure 9,
paragraph 6.
9
Commander Naval Air Systems Command, NAVAIRINST 13650.1D, July 26, 2006, Enclosure 9,
paragraph 2a and 2b.
10
Commander Naval Air Systems Command, NAVAIRINST 13650.1D, July 26, 2006, Enclosure 4,
paragraph 2b.
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Commander Naval Air Systems Command, NAVAIRINST 13650.1D, July 26, 2006, Enclosure 11.
12
Department of the Navy, Naval Aviation Maintenance Program (NAMP), Commander Naval Air Forces,
February 01, 2005, Page 10-9.
13
Department of the Navy, Naval Aviation Maintenance Program (NAMP), Commander Naval Air Forces,
February 01, 2005, Page 10-10.
14
Department of the Navy, NAVAIRINST 13680.1C, Naval Air Systems Command, September 05, 2001,
Page 1, Para 1.
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