Case Studies
Oshkosh — HIMARS
Oshkosh — LVSR
Oshkosh — FHTV
Harris — 52 Mod
Army — Red River Army Depot
Army — NextGen EMS
Army — EMS-2
Mobilized Systems, Inc.
Case Study — Oshkosh, FHTV
"In it for the long haul" could be the motto for O'Neil & Associates' Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicles (FHTV) team.
As part of the FHTV, the Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT) was the beneficiary of the kind of dedication and focus that O'Neil & Associates uses to plow through, wrap up, and deliver long-term projects despite ongoing delays and additional work added to the project.
Oshkosh Truck Corporation (OTC) has been building the HEMTT for more than two decades using a continual improvement process to make the vehicle better and better. Changes to the truck, of course, mean changes to the manuals. Engineering changes are collected into batches, then they are processed as OTC and the Government approve the expenditures.
In this case, change items had been accumulating for nearly two years before the Request for Quote was issued to O'Neil early in 2003. On top of that, various delays and funding issues delayed the actual start of work for another 12 months, while more changes were added to the batch. Both paper and Interactive Electronic Technical Manuals (IETMs) had to be updated and time was getting short, because a complete vehicle/manual revision was in the works. The result was an unprecedented number of changes to be processed in the short time before the revision.
Once work began, O'Neil dedicated several associates to follow the project through to completion. Even with additional changes coming through during the writing process, the O'Neil team kept the work flowing through to OTC and the Government for approval. When the deadline arrived, IETM discs were already in the hands of the Government agencies responsible for distributing the technical manuals to the field.
"Our team manages a massive amount of data for the FHTV program, and we have a lot of delivery orders and schedules to maintain," said an OTC project manager. "A project this large, involving such a number of people, is going to incur problems along the way, but the secret to success is to identify the problems early and work together toward resolution. That's what OTC and O'Neil & Associates do on the FHTV program. I enjoy the interaction and camaraderie of this team."
The Army Publications Office was impressed as well. "I only have one thing to say," said a Government representative. "Thank you, thank you, thank you for doing such a good job! Communication is a constant worry on large projects, and I'm relieved to see the publications look real good. Dates are correct and pages are properly centered: simple enough things, but very important to our publications division. Thank you for a job well done."
Getting it done right and on time every time. It's the O'Neil way!