Consolidated Automatic Test Equipment Facility (CATEF) 

Harris Government Communications Systems Canada (GCSC), in partnership with Raytheon Canada Limited and the Canadian Department of National Defence (DND), established a Consolidated Automatic Test Equipment Facility (CATEF) in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The CATEF is a centralized avionics repair, maintenance, and support facility that services Canadian Forces CF188 aircraft operations.

This AS9100 / ISO9001:2000, controlled goods registered facility is an Accredited Maintenance Organization by the DND.  Activities are underway to achieve Design and Technical Organization Accreditation in accordance with the DND Technical Airworthiness Manual (TAM) by March 2010.  This facility is positioned to expand and offer services for avionics repair, integrated logistics support, and life-cycle management opportunities on other military aircraft. It will serve as a centralized avionics depot and life-cycle management support center for various weapon systems. These capabilities could easily be expanded to define the support requirements for equipment, identify major cost drivers, assess and influence the Reliability and Maintainability (R&M) for the design options, identify optimum support solutions, balance life-cycle costs against performance, and verify the support solution adopted for equipment entering into service. The operation is experienced at functioning in an Integrated Product Team environment and works closely with its customer to ensure total satisfaction. The Calgary operation has core competencies in the following areas:

Test, Repair and Overhaul

The operation provides complete test, repair, overhaul and calibration services on selected avionics and automatic test equipment, in order to return unserviceable material to a serviceable condition in accordance with prescribed standards.

Item Management

The operation has item management responsibility for the selected items repaired at its facility, or by Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEMs), as well as the associated piece parts. GCSC supports operational availability by ensuring that assets are available wherever they are needed. They manage the spares inventory, continuously assessing and acting upon changes in reliability or maintainability trends, or diminishing resources. Systems are in place for property accounting, document control, procurement, inventory control, and redistribution of material as necessary.

 

Engineering Support

GCSC is responsive to requests for engineering support. This support involves technical inquiries, investigations of anomalies, evaluation of engineering change proposals and the initiation of design changes, deviations and waivers. Current efforts involve the maintenance of Test Program Sets (TPSs) for the Automatic Test Equipment (ATE) centralized at the facility. This includes the investigation of all station System Trouble Reports (STRs), their conversion to Software Change Requests (SCRs), and the issue of Temporary Workaround Procedures (TWPs) and / or TPS updates as required.

 

Configuration Management

Processes and procedures are in place to track approved hardware and software configurations.

 

Obsolescence Management

The continued acceleration of product obsolescence has a direct effect on the ability to extend the service life of military electronic systems and equipment. In recognition of the severity of this problem to the older weapons systems supported, GCSC gathers manufacturers' discontinuation data and identifies alternatives for resolution. This includes utilizing the services of outside service providers with established tools for early identification and resolution of situations where there is a loss, or an impending loss of manufacturers or suppliersof parts.

 

Life-Cycle Material Management (LCMM)

 

Complex systems require an infrastructure to ensure that they remain in top operating condition. The life-cycle material management function at the Calgary facility ensures that system maintenance, enhancement and grow life are completed in the most economical manner possible in an effort to reduce sustainment burden and cost. Life-Cycle Material Management is the “cradle to grave” management of a piece of equipment. Based on the current stage in the product life-cycle of assigned equipment, the associated tasks include management of configuration, change, technical standards and procedures, technical publications, calibration requirements, maintenance support equipment requirements, reliability, operational performance, product improvements, life cycle cost and component obsolescence, acquisition projects, and disposal.

 

Subcontract Management

 

The subcontract management process at GCSC establishes the total set of business and technical relationships between the customer and supplier. The process begins with development of requirements and subcontract acquisition strategy, and involves all phases of the acquisition cycle. Emphasis is placed on close, interactive relationships between customer and supplier and longer-term business relationships, as opposed to arms-length, short-term relationships. This approach builds cooperative relationships with suppliers and stresses extensive information sharing and joint problem solving that is based on mutual trust and commitment.  GCSC currently manages 36 subcontracts in support of CF188 avionics.

 

Logistics Support Analysis

 

GCSC currently manages the series of analytical tasks that identify the support planning parameters and management requirements for assigned equipment in a post-design environment including Level of Repair Analysis (LORA), provisioning recommendations, training and support equipment recommendations, obsolesce risk evaluation, maintenance concept identification, facilities impact analysis, and tailoring of United States based logistics data to the Canadian Forces Support Structure.

Controlled Goods Handling

As a Party to at least 17 Technical Assistance and Manufacturing License Agreements, GCSC works in strict compliance with Controlled Goods and International Traffic in Arms Regulations,

Manufacturing

Harris GCSC is in the process of manufacturing Microwave Signal Conditioning Units on behalf of the DND.