Assist small and medium manufacturers (smms) in the EL paso region by enhancing their digital engineering capabilities to support the department of defense's digital transformation goals

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) awarded a $963,000 Project Grant under the Congressionally-Identified Projects program (CFDA 11.617) to the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM) to assist small and medium manufacturers (SMMs) in the El Paso region. The project aims to enhance the digital engineering capabilities of the SMMs to support the Department of Defense's digital transformation goals. Key activities include conducting digital transformation assessments, developing an integrated digital engineering environment, and providing digital engineering training to develop the workforce's capabilities. The expected outcomes are to successfully integrate the SMMs into a digitally-enabled aerospace and defense supply chain and build a skilled workforce proficient in digital engineering. NCDMM will collaborate with the University of Texas at El Paso and the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining to deliver these services. The award period is from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025.

Purpose

The purpose of this project is to assist small and medium manufacturers (smms) in the EL paso region by enhancing their digital engineering capabilities to support the department of defense's digital transformation goals. This initiative aims to integrate these smms into the aerospace and defense supply chain by developing an "infrastructure as a service" model, which will help remove barriers to entry into the defense industrial base.

Activities

The activities to be performed include conducting a digital transformation program assessment, where outreach and assessment will be carried out for 10 smms, followed by deeper evaluations of 5 selected companies, and pilot implementations in 2. Additionally, an integrated digital engineering environment (IDE) will be developed and deployed, providing a digital engineering infrastructure for the selected smms. The project will also offer a digital engineering course and provide tailored training to develop the workforce's capabilities in digital engineering tools and processes.

Expected outcomes

This project's expected outcomes are to enhance the digital engineering capabilities of the selected smms, successfully integrate them into a digitally threaded product development environment, and develop a skilled workforce proficient in digital engineering methods that will contribute to the aerospace and defense sectors.

Intended beneficiaries

This project's intended beneficiaries are the small and medium manufacturers in the EL paso region, particularly those involved in or seeking entry into the aerospace and defense supply chains.

Subrecipient activities

As part of this project, the university of texas at EL paso (utep), in collaboration with regional partners and the national center for defense manufacturing and machining (ncdmm), will lead the efforts in digital transformation assessment, IDE deployment, and talent development.