Original Date: 08/10/1998
Revision Date: 01/18/2007

In the past, Type Commanders were responsible for coordinating the initial outfitting of intermediate-level aircraft maintenance support material for the construction of all new aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships. However, the pressures on the Type Commanders to also provide maintenance support material to operational and deployed ships often resulted in new construction ship materials being diverted, especially in emergent and urgent requirements. Under these conditions, documentation was often inadequate to ensure a timely reorder or return of the diverted material. This method created costly delays during the outfitting process, and impacted those shipyards where prefabricated infrastructure components with specific footprints were required for some equipment installations. In addition, requisitioning was managed through the Supply Liaison, and Type Commanders relied on contractor support for technical publication and documentation delivery, installation, and verification. Accordingly, the overall method was fragmented and inefficient.

Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC), Lakehurst implemented the New Construction Ships Outfitting (NCSO) program, which is managed by the Site Standup Branch. The NCSO program provides the initial outfitting of material while the ship is under construction. The goal is to have all support material in place and operational at the time the ship is commissioned. Due to long lead times, the material requirements must be identified early in the construction cycle, acquired, sent to a holding area, inspected, documented, delivered to the ship on time, verified, and certified. This process uses a computer-driven tracking system to ensure that the required material is available to support aircraft operations for deployment.

Since implementing the NCSO program, the Site Standup Branch reports a significant improvement in the overall outfitting process as well as customer satisfaction. The Branch also realized a sizable cost savings by preparing the technical documentation in-house, and initiating a searchable inventory system. This search feature enables the Site Standup Branch to search the entire Navy inventory for reusable equipment from decommissioning ships, and to assess these items for refurbishment and reissue when feasible in lieu of new procurement a function not previously performed by the Type Commanders.

For more information see the Point of Contact for this survey.