Manufacturability of Light Armored Vehicle

Marine Corps Systems Command (MCSC) has overall developmental and production responsibility for numerous Marine Corps programs that are in a variety of acquisition cycle phases. In an effort to ensure that total system risks are adequately addressed throughout all phases of the USMC Light Armored Vehicle (LAV) Ballistic Protection Upgrade Program (BPUP), the Program Manager Light Armored Vehicles (PM LAV) contracted with the Best Manufacturing Practices Center of Excellence (BMPCOE/WILLCOR) to provide independent assessment support to the LAV BPUP. Accordingly, WILLCOR was tasked to assess the manufacturing capability of the LAV armor producer in order to reduce the risks to full-scale production.

PM LAV had contracted with Armatec Survivability Corporation (Armatec) to develop and manufacture the armor upgrade for the LAV family of vehicles. In an effort to ensure that manufacturing risks are minimized, the Program Manager has requested that BMPCOE/WILLCOR conduct an independent assessment of Armatec to include management, facilities and equipment, manpower, processes and procedures, and production readiness.

The work effort for the LAV Program included meetings and discussions with members of the following organizations: PM LAV Program Office, DCMA-IASO office, Armatec Survivability Corporation, and with major subcontractors. This effort also encompassed tours at the Armatec facilities. The principal efforts were directed to identification of risks to the success of the Ballistic Protection Upgrade Program (BPUP), assessment of the impact of the identified risks to the program and recommendations of alternatives/improvements to mitigate the identified risks in the following areas:

1. Contractual vehicle
2. Acquisition Strategy and current Program Plan
3. Existing contractor/subcontractor's organizational structure
4. Capability of existing contractor/subcontractors to meet production goals
5. Systems engineering and manufacturing processes
6. GFE/NDI suitability and availability
7. Schedule realism

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