Background to OSCAM


	Background to OSCAM

Cost analysis is required at all stages in the life cycle of defense systems. During the acquisition phase it is necessary to estimate the operating and support (O&S) costs of the system as well as the development and production costs. Once equipment is in service, one needs to estimate the costs of alternative O&S policies as circumstances change. Cost analysts use such tools as dedicated parametric costing software or simple spreadsheets that tend to be static and do not model the dynamics of operation and support.

The Operating and Support Cost Analysis Model (OSCAM) is a joint UK/US program aimed at developing a suite of tools (developed by HVR Consulting Services Limited) that can provide rapid assessments of the O&S costs of high cost capital assets and their component systems. Using System Dynamics, OSCAM represents the business processes that drive costs and their relationship to management policies in order to assess the impact of alternative maintenance strategies and operating policies on the cost and availability of these assets. OSCAM provides a suite of models that have been developed for land, sea and air environments, including:

	US DoD/UK MoD Ship and Shipboard Systems costs
	US DoD Naval Air Platforms
	US Marine Corps Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle
	US Air Force C-17
	UK MoD Land-based equipment, with or without weapons

Examples of the types of issues that can be investigated include:

- The impact of Reliability Centered Maintenance;

- The effects of Lean Manning;

- The impact of and strategies for Contractor Logistic Support;

- Impact on maintenance of unintended use;

- Effects of scenarios such as warfare; and

- Alternative spares management strategies.

The tool is equally applicable to new projects where it can be used to devise the optimum O&S strategy and to existing programs where improvements in the current policy can be identified.

HVR Consulting Services Ltd.