Acquisition Management Policy   (Revised 11/2009)

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2.7 : In-Service Management   (Revised 11/2009)
2.7.1 : What Must Be Done   (Revised 11/2009)
2.7.2 : Outputs and Products   (Revised 11/2009)
2.7.3 : Who Does It?   (Revised 11/2009)
2.7.4 : Who Approves?   (Revised 11/2009)

2.7 : In-Service Management (Revised 11/2009)    

Activity during in-service management supports execution of the FAA mission of providing air traffic control and other services. This entails operating, maintaining, securing, and sustaining systems, products, services, and facilities in real time to provide the level of service required by users and customers. It also entails periodic monitoring and evaluation of fielded products and services, and feedback of performance data into mission and investment analysis as the basis for revalidating the need to sustain deployed assets or taking other action to improve service delivery.

Service organizations are responsible and accountable for managing service delivery within their area of responsibility throughout in-service management. They bring together the multiple engineering, logistics, and other management specialists necessary to operate and sustain fielded systems, services, products, and facilities. This includes managing resources within specific geographic areas, and may involve emergency sustainment actions in response to natural disasters or other unanticipated events.

Service organizations have flexibility to sustain and enhance fielded capability. They may implement pre-planned product improvements or block upgrades as stipulated at the investment decision, and may use sustainment resources to upgrade components of fielded products as needed (e.g., printers or processors).

In-service management planning documents focus on actions and activities that support continued operation and maintenance of deployed assets. The documents clearly define in-service management activities, such as configuration management, preventive and corrective maintenance, training, infrastructure support and logistics support, along with planned activities to support post implementation reviews and operational analyses.

Service organizations evaluate on a continuing basis the safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of operational assets as a basis for improving service delivery over time. This process begins with a post implementation review at one or more early operational sites to determine whether a new investment program is achieving its performance and benefit targets and whether it is meeting the service needs of customers. The primary objective is useful information on how best to eliminate flaws and optimize performance and benefits before deployment at additional sites. This evaluation process continues throughout in-service management with the periodic evaluation of operational assets to determine whether they are continuing to contribute to agency safety, performance, and cost goals or whether they should be modernized, replaced, or removed from service. These operational analyses are the basis for out-year planning in the service organization business plan, which integrates ongoing and planned investment activity with resources for the operation and sustainment of fielded assets over their service life. The overarching goal is the continued best use of agency resources to achieve FAA strategic and performance goals. Click here for links to post implementation review and operational analysis policy and guidance.

When a fielded capability is projected to be unable to satisfy service demand or when another solution offers improved safety, lower cost, or higher performance, the service organization initiates action to enter the investment analysis process leading to a new investment decision.  The key is to look far enough into the future so there is enough time to approve and implement a solution before the existing capability fails.

Service organizations must remove and dispose of fielded assets and services when they are no longer needed. This includes restoration of sites where obsolete products or services were deployed, disposal of government property, recovery of precious metals, and cannibalization of useful assets. The cost of removal and restoration is included in the acquisition program baseline of the replacement program. If there is no replacement program, the cost must be otherwise factored into the service-area operating plan.

2.7.1 : What Must Be Done (Revised 11/2009)    

  • Deliver air traffic control and other business services. This is done using infrastructure, procedures, personnel, and other assets as assigned and funded.
  • Sustain services within baseline values. Management and engineering actions throughout in-service management sustain and improve service delivery, correct deviations from cost and performance standards, and improve quality. These actions include modifications to hardware and software to solve latent or discovered technical problems, process changes to improve performance, planned block upgrades and product improvements, and sustainment actions that lower operating costs. It involves the management of personnel, information systems, money, logistics support, spare parts, technical resources, and other assigned assets. Management techniques include fiscal and workforce planning, contract award and administration, fiscal and program control, and process management to achieve cost, performance, and benefit objectives. All modifications to fielded assets must be in accordance with the enterprise architecture. If a planned modification requires a change to the architecture, appropriate amendments and products must be developed and approved.
  • Evaluate performance and customer expectations. Post implementation review(s) at deployment sites help to determine whether performance and benefits are being achieved. When projections are not being realized, corrective action is planned and implemented. Periodic operational evaluations of fielded assets continue throughout in-service management to identify performance shortfalls, determine trends in the cost of ownership, identify adverse support trends, and solve systemic operational or support problems. These evaluations are the basis for revalidating the merit of sustaining investment assets or the need for other action. Findings are fed back into service analysis, where it is determined whether to continue to sustain existing assets or recommend new investments to solve systemic operational problems in the service environment. 
  • Prioritize opportunities for operational funding. Service organizations participate in cross-organizational planning to review, integrate, and prioritize the allocation of operational resources to fielded services and assets. This objective is to continue support for high-ranking service needs and reduce or terminate support for low-value or redundant assets. Recommendations are presented to the Joint Resources Council for approval.
  • Support service delivery. This includes corrective and preventive maintenance, supply support, second-level engineering, depot-level repair, modification of hardware and software to improve performance, test and support equipment, and transportation of supplies.
  • Sustain in-service support. Any modification to fielded assets (e.g., block upgrade, planned product improvement, problem correction) must be accompanied by concomitant changes to key elements of the support infrastructure such as training, documentation, spare parts, and engineering support. This includes development, attrition, and refresher training for personnel who directly operate, maintain, or provide support functions.
  • Update the OMB Exhibit 300 for annual budget cycle (designated programs only). Annual updates reflect program changes and move the budget submission forward one year. The OMB Exhibit 300 must continue to achieve a passing score from the Office of Management and Budget.
  • Update in-service management planning documents. Service organizations review and update in-service planning documents as needed.
  • Execute emergency sustainment actions. This includes planning for contingency and emergency responses. Highest priority services are sustained even if performance goals for lower priority services cannot be met.
  • Maintain physical, personnel, and information security at all FAA facilities. This includes environmental threat and facility assessment and accreditation in accordance with FAA internal security planning.
  • Sustain the physical infrastructure. Resources are planned and allocated to sustain utilities, buildings, grounds, structures, roads, telecommunications, handling of hazardous materials, lightning protection, bonding, grounding, heating, cooling, and special access.
  • Acquire, manage, and dispose of property. This applies to FAA-owned and leased properties, as well as to non-federal facilities with external sponsors. This activity may involve the purchase or lease of buildings, structures, and grounds, as well as removal and disposal of no longer used equipment, systems, services, products, facilities, real property, and resources. Removal and disposal includes decommissioning, dismantling, and demolishing of systems and equipment; restoring sites including environmental cleanup and disposal of hazardous materials; disposing of government property; recovering precious metals; and reusing surplus assets.
  • Manage and control configuration of all services and service components. This includes the submission of NAS change proposals to the appropriate approval board to baseline, install, and manage changes to NAS systems, software, and equipment. Coordination with the appropriate systems engineering organization is necessary to ensure changes are compatible with and reflected in the enterprise architecture.
  • Sustain flight inspections, aircraft certification, and regulatory requirements. This pertains to all safety-related quality assurance actions, including establishing safety standards for operations, monitoring safety performance, issuing and maintaining certificates and licenses, and developing and revalidating procedures such as approach and landing procedures.

2.7.2 : Outputs and Products (Revised 11/2009)    

Delivery of FAA enterprise services;

  • Post implementation reviews and corrective action as needed to achieve investment performance and benefits;
  • Periodic operational analysis of fielded assets including the effectiveness and efficiency of supply chain management;
  • Periodic revalidation of the need to sustain fielded investment resources;
  • Enforcement actions, baseline changes, and investment recommendations to maintain or improve service delivery;
  • Change proposals to install systems, software, and equipment and to improve capability, safety, or efficiency in accordance with the enterprise architecture;
  • Program technical reports and hardware discrepancy reports to correct hardware and software problems;
  • Annual OMB Exhibit 300 submissions (designated programs only);
  • Emergency sustainment actions to sustain high priority capabilities and services;
  • Up-to-date configuration records for fielded equipment;
  • Annual report on critical operational needs;
  • Periodic assessment of facility security enhancements;
  • Action plans to remedy cost and performance shortfalls;
  • Updated in-service management planning documents if needed;
  • Flight inspections, aircraft certification, and regulatory actions.

2.7.3 : Who Does It? (Revised 11/2009)    

Service organizations:

  • Provide and sustain services;
  • Manage resources to sustain fielded assets;
  • Manage preplanned product improvements;
  • Update OMB Exhibit 300s for the annual budget cycle (designated programs only);
  • Review in-service management planning and update as needed;
  • Manage the configuration of fielded assets consistent with FAA policy and the enterprise architecture;
  • Develop infrastructure for modifications to fielded assets, including training, documentation, spare parts, and repair;
  • Periodically assess customer satisfaction as the foundation for improving service delivery;
  • Monitor quality, assess performance, track cost, and identify adverse support trends for fielded assets;
  • Periodically revalidate the need to sustain fielded assets or recommend other action such as upgrade, replacement, or decommissioning and removal;
  • Assess the impact on sustainment of fielded assets resulting from delays in fielding a new capability;
  • Sustain the physical infrastructure.

AIO Value Management Office:

  • Reviews and scores OMB Exhibit 300s as part of the annual budget cycle (designated programs only).

PIR Quality Officer:

  • Oversees the quality, planning, conduct, and reporting of post implementation reviews.

Integrated Logistics Management Team:

  • Assesses the effectiveness of supply chain management and the support concept; and
  • Recommends changes to logistics management to optimize service delivery at best value.

2.7.4 : Who Approves? (Revised 11/2009)    

The Chief Information Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Acquisition Executive approve OMB Exhibit 300s for designated information technology capital investments before submission to OMB.

The Acquisition Executive and Chief Financial Officer approve OMB 300 Exhibits for designated non-information technology capital investments.

The Vice President (ATO) or Director (non-ATO) of the operating service organization approves updates to in-service management planning documents.