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, HIMARS
When Oshkosh Truck Corporation (OTC) developed a vehicle and trailer system called HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) for the Marine Corps to quickly transport containerized rocket pods to artillery rocket batteries in the field, they based it on the Marines' Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement (MTVR), a truck that can go just about anywhere and haul just about anything. OTC also turned to a documentation company willing to go to any lengths to get the job done: O'Neil & Associates.
As OTC's first choice in technical documentation, O'Neil & Associates was already responsible for the development and maintenance of the MTVR program's existing operation, maintenance, repair, and parts data in the Interactive Electronic Technical Manuals (IETMs) format. So, rather than "reinvent the wheel" with an entirely new manual, O'Neil integrated most of the HIMARS information into the IETM (as an additional variant of the MTVR base truck) using Usable On codes (UOCs) indicating which procedures would be used for specific vehicles and then setting up links between and within files.
The main difference between the HIMARS and MTVR is a compact crane manufactured by a European company whose extremely strong safety focus leads them to replace assemblies rather than repair them in the field. This conflicted with the Marines' need to repair equipment with as little downtime as possible and their need for highly detailed maintenance, repair, and parts data to make that happen.
That's where O'Neil & Associates went the extra mile working directly with the crane manufacturer to perform and document a full teardown, repair, and reassembly of the crane, including an EMS-2 IETM software link with crane diagnostics. When the manufacturer expressed concern about programming access, O'Neil project managers scheduled a WebEx Internet conference for their engineers and service managers to view (via the Internet) the thorough, safety-oriented instructions and a demonstration of the diagnostic link to the IETM.
"Now that I've seen the careful instructions you've developed and the safeguards built into the IETM manual, I am quite impressed and much more at ease with O'Neil & Associates' development of these instructions for the military," said the manufacturer's service manager. "We are always highly concerned with safety, and you are showing us that you perform and document these operations in the safest way possible. That removes a great deal of concern for us." As an additional check, O'Neil & Associates flew a service technician in from The Netherlands to review all of O'Neil's crane documentation using the actual vehicle as a guide. After he was satisfied, the information was released to OTC and the Marine Corps.
While O'Neil & Associates was doing all this, another documentation company was working on the HIMARS Resupply System Trailer (RST). After intermediate deliveries of RST data didn't materialize and with deadlines looming, OTC asked O'Neil & Associates to move up the RSV documentation delivery date by two weeks, swapping the RSV delivery date with the RST delivery to buy some extra time. They then asked for O'Neil's help to complete the RST project.
O'Neil technical writers swarmed over the trailer finishing up incomplete information and developing new tasks not previously addressed. As validation began on the RSV, O'Neil wrapped up the RST and delivered information to OTC. Then, O'Neil sent an experienced text graphics integration specialist "on the road" to the other documentation company to help get the paper manual produced, as they were unfamiliar with the software required to produce a paper manual for the Marine Corps.
This "above and beyond" effort to help a customer is typical of O'Neil & Associates. "O'Neil gets my sincere thanks in providing additional support on the RST maintenance and provisioning/RPSTL data," an OTC manager said. "Without that support, we would have never been able to satisfy our contract requirements with the Government. O'Neil personnel stepped up to the plate without hesitation, which enabled us to provide the quality data our customer expects. This type of excellent working relationship ensures success on every contract that our team pursues."
After the HIMARS project was validated and delivered, the ultimate customer (Marine Corps) had documentation to rely on and delivered on time with no glitches in the process.
"I have nothing but praise for this entire team," said a Marine Corps representative. "O'Neil's quality continuously improves and the rapport between OTC, O'Neil, and the Marines is such that this is one of the better teams I've been part of."