Last Friday, I posted a blog entitled “Product Support Manager (PSM) Success Enablers” in which I outlined key guidance available to assist DoD PSMs in successfully executing their duties and responsibilities. As promised, I also wanted to share the robust suite of training and learning assets currently available or in development to assist PSMs understand and execute the statutory and policy-driven responsibilities and expectations of the position.
Rapid Deployment Training (RDT) from the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) either via direct download from the site or presented to your organization by a DAU faculty member is already immediately available on two key topics, namely:
· Directive Type Memorandum (DTM) 10-015 “Requirements for Life Cycle Management and Product Support”
· Document Streamlining - Life-Cycle Sustainment Plan (LCSP)
In addition, virtually every DAU life cycle logistics learning asset in some way shape or form address key life cycle management outcomes, including designing for, developing, or sustainment of weapon systems, life cycle product support, and development, validation and execution of outcome-based product support strategies. Just a few key highlights intended to assist both current and future PSMs include the following new (or updated) courses available next week coinciding with the start of fiscal year 2012:
· Deployment of a new week-long LOG 340 Life Cycle Product Support classroom course with substantial new material related to a range of outcome-based product support strategies, including the product support strategy development, business case analysis, public-private partnering, supply chain management and logistics assessments, among others.
· Addition of a full day lesson focused on development and implementation of a robust, effective, and successful Life Cycle Sustainment Plan to the highly regarded LOG 350 Enterprise Life Cycle Logistics Management capstone certification course
· Deployment in the coming days of a significantly enhanced revision of LOG 206 Intermediate Systems Sustainment Management course
· Deployment earlier this summer of a revised LOG 103 Reliability, Availability and Maintainability (RAM) course, with significantly expanded content that focuses on, among other things the Life Cycle Sustainment Outcome Metrics and important new emphasis on the Sustainment Availability Key Performance Parameter (KPP).
· Addition of a “choose one of four option” for Life Cycle Logisticians pursuing Level III DAWIA certification, each focusing on a key aspect of product support, including O&S cost analysis (BCF 215), configuration management (LOG 204), services acquisition (ACQ 265), and product support requirements management (RQM 110).
A new LOG 365 Product Support Manager (PSM) classroom course targeted specifically for sitting and selected PSMs is in the early stages of planning and development. Nearer-term, several new web-based continuous learning (CL) modules are in the final stages of programming, and are slated to go live on the DAU Life Cycle Logistics Continuous Learning site in the coming weeks, including four of particular interest to the PSM:
· CLL001 Life Cycle Management & Sustainment Metrics
· CLL005 Developing a Life Cycle Sustainment Plan (LCSP)
· CLL012 Supportability Analysis
· CLL036 Product Support Manager (PSM)
In addition to the 36 other life cycle logistics continuous modules already available, several key ones to bring to your attention include, but are by no means limited to:
· CLL008 Designing for Supportability in DoD Systems (recently revised)
· CLL011 Performance Based Logistics (PBL)
· CLL015 Business Case Analysis (BCA)
· CLL020 Independent Logistics Assessments (LA)
This is just the start, as DAU, working closely with the DoD, Component and Agency materiel readiness, product support and life cycle logistics policy makers, seeks to provide PSMs with the most robust, current, relevant, and real-time learning assets possible to facilitate your success on the job. Helping you, the PSM, deliver essential product support outcomes – optimized, affordable readiness across a system’s life cycle – to your Warfighter customers is as much our objective as it is yours.
