LCC Program Execution.doc

Expectation Management

Agreement

Performance Insertion Program

Life Cycle Cost Evaluation

Program

For

Air Force Tires 19 November 1969

(Revised 23 Aug 2006)

I. Purpose

A. The purpose of this agreement is to define Government and Industry expectations for the Performance Insertion Program (PIP) and Life Cycle Cost (LCC) evaluation for the Air Force (AF) Tire Program. Content has been developed, edited and is now published as a joint effort between qualified tire manufacturers (herein referred to as manufacturers), the United States Air Force, and Defense Logistics Agency/Defense Supply Center Columbus (DLA/DSCC). The PIP and LCC programs:

(1) Provide an avenue for technology insertion in response to new requirements as well as advances in tire science.

(2) Are used as tools to define the landing index. The landing index is defined and the methodology of how the index is reached is discussed in the program strategy sections (Section IV Strategy for PIP, and Section V Strategy for LCC).

(3) In conjunction with the tire cost, the landing index is used to identify the best value for the government and ultimately the taxpayer.

B. This Expectation Management Agreement between the USAF, DLA/DSCC and manufacturers establishes an agreement to operate and administer the AF PIP and LCC programs. The intent of the EMA is to enhance communication among all parties and provide an equitable means to support the PIP and LCC programs. Manufacturer compliance with this policy is voluntary and does not obligate funds. All contractual agreement will be processed in accordance with FAR requirements.

II. Introduction A. The PIP allows the manufacturer and the AF the opportunity to observe the performance of a newly qualified tire prior to performing a Life Cycle Cost (LCC) evaluation. Even after meeting qualification requirements, through submittal of the Qualification Test Report (QTR), some tires may not meet the needs of the AF, or the manufacturer. Prior to significant investment by both parties a PIP will be done to ensure a reasonable level of performance can be expected from the investment.

B. The Life Cycle Cost tire program is designed to support the concept and initiatives of R&M 2000 for Air Force tires. Program parameters are covered by DODI 5000-2 and test and evaluation will be performed as outlined in AFI 99-1. The purpose of the tire LCC program is to establish a method to buy aircraft tires based on overall durability and cost per landing*, and to provide improved tires to the user. This results in a significant savings to the Air Force from an overall logistics standpoint.

· Cost per landing utilizes the Performance Index as defined in paragraph V section D. (10), (a).

III. Background A. The Air Force tire LCC program was initiated in 1969. It includes both new and rebuilt tires. Improvements have been realized in many areas, e.g. cost savings, reliability, and improved safety and reduced maintenance.

(1) The overall program is accomplished in six phases:

(a) Announcement.

(b) Development.

(c) Qualification.

(d) PIP

(e) On-aircraft and laboratory data collection and evaluation.

(f) Buy program.

IV. Strategy for PIP A. The manufacturer will provide a minimum of 10 tires to be installed on operational aircraft. The aircraft to be used should have a flying tempo, and operate in an environment that is reflective of the expected lifetime use of the tire. The AF will arrange for the PIP tires to be flown and coordinate site visits with the field and the manufacturer.

B. Unless otherwise noted any performance data collected, or inspections conducted during the PIP will only be done by the AF and the manufacturer of the tire.

C. The AF will have ultimate authority to refuse further evaluation or use of a tire. The manufacturer can choose to pull their tire from further production.

V. Strategy for LCC

A. POLICY:

(1) The decision authority over the tire LCC program is the Air Force; however, activities will be closely coordinated with the tire industry and the government procuring activity. This is essential to sustain continuity in the programs and encourage competition since cost of development resides primarily within the industrial complex.

(2) The selection of tires to be included in the LCC program will be determined by the Air Force; however, input from the manufacturers will be solicited and their recommendations will be considered. The ultimate purpose in the selection of tires for the LCC program is to reduce operating costs without jeopardizing safety or performance. The following guidelines will be considered in the tire selection:

(a) High usage rate or dollar value.

(b) Not previously evaluated (no index).

(c) Change in specifications or requirements since last evaluation.

(d) Opportunity exists to obtain competition on a tire currently in a sole source or poor competitive status.

(e) Reasonable expectation of improvement in performance, reduced cost, or both.

(f) Sufficient aircraft to support evaluation.

(g) Age of existing index.

(h) Use of tire is programmed for sufficient future usage to offer a reasonable opportunity for savings to amortize the cost of the index evaluation.

(i) Availability of carcasses for rebuilt development and production.

(j) Rebuilt tires that use a new tire carcass which has been significantly re-designed since the last evaluation for the rebuilt tire.

(k) Other management decisions for policies which would affect the desirability of evaluating a tire.

B. LCC PLANNING AND SCHEDULING

(1) The USAF will announce planned LCC evaluations three years in advance, except for the tires listed in Table 1, which are on a 2 year cycle. The USAF will update this schedule at least annually and provide this information to the manufacturers and the government procurement activity in order for Industry to begin their design/development effort. The USAF reserves the right to cancel or delay a LCC at anytime, however, will attempt to coordinate such actions with the manufacturers and the government procurement activity. The announcement will include, but not be limited to the following information:

(a) Tire size and ply rating.

(b) National stock number (NSN).

(c) Aircraft designation.

(d) Specifications to be used for qualification.

(e) Program milestones (QTR date - contract date - delivery date - start date - anticipated completion date).

(f) Anticipated wear removal criteria.*

(g) Bias or Radial

* Under normal conditions, wear removal is anticipated to be MWL. However, in some cases, such as wet weather conditions, other removal criteria may be established. In such cases, the USAF will notify the manufacturers as early as possible.

(2) Except for unusual and compelling circumstances, the following statements apply: For the tires identified in Table 1, the indices established via the LCC program will be in effect for a period of at least 24 months following their establishment. Additionally, LCC evaluations start dates will not be conducted at less than 24 month intervals for a specific tire.

Table 1

AIRCRAFT

TIRE POSITION

T-38

Main

F-16 all models

Nose and Main

F-15 all models

Nose and Main

(3) If an index evaluation for a particular tire is scheduled but a manufacturer does not submit a new QTR, the latest tire listed on the QPL for that manufacturer, that meets the requirements for that LCC, will be utilized by:

(a) Taking tires from USAF inventory.

(b) Ordering 120 - 200 new tires, at a non inflated price, if none are available.

(c) Running the new construction against the old construction of the participating manufacturer or a competing manufacturer and normalizing the data.

Example:

#1 Index

#2 Index

Company A = 20

Company B (new tire) = 25

Company B = 15

Company B (old tire) = 10

Company A adjusted index =

20 x (10) = 13.3

(15)

The new indices would then be: Manufacturer A = 13.3

Manufacturer B = 25

(4) Development/design costs incurred to participate in an LCC program will be borne by the manufacturer. Government procurement activity participation for new or rebuilt LCC tires will not exceed 200% of the current procurement costs of tires 40 inches in diameter or greater or 300% of the current procurement costs of tires under 40 inches in diameter. Where tires have not been purchased for an extended period of time, use of the last successful procurement cost plus inflation factors (variable) may be applied to establish a current base price. Development changes must be sufficiently justified to warrant the 200% to 300% LCC procurement price and, on request, provided to the government procuring activity.

(5) Each tire must qualify through the Wheel/Tire Compatibility Program, outlined in paragraph C, prior to being accepted for LCC participation. Additionally, each tire must also participate in a PIP prior to being accepted for LCC participation.

C. WHEEL/TIRE COMPATIBILITY PROGRAM:

(1) Tire qualification: Tires will be qualified using SD-6 qualification and existing tire specifications. QTR’s will be submitted to the Aircraft Tire Program Engineer, for evaluation and engineering approval. When submitting a radial tire where a bias currently exist, prior to procurement and use of the tires in a LCC evaluation, it will be necessary that the wheel pass additional safety of flight testing with proposed tire construction per MIL-W-5013. All wheels tests per MIL-W-5013 will be completed prior to being listed on the QPL.

(2) Wheel Compatibility: It will be the responsibility of OO-ALC to obtain verification of wheel and tire compatibility. The required testing will be coordinated with the appropriate Air Force wheel engineer. In the event the tire is a re-design and wheel compatibility approval was previously obtained, a waiver may be granted.

D. LCC EVALUATION:

(1) A quantity of 120- 200 LCC tires from each participating manufacturer will be utilized. This will allow for a suitable sample size and an economical production run for the manufacturer where applicable. All manufacturers tires will start the evaluation at the same time. Prior to initiating any evaluation a detailed evaluation plan will be generated by the OO-ALC engineer and coordinated with the command headquarters, the assigned bases, and the participating tire manufacturers. Special emphasis will be directed toward ensuring, as much as feasible, equal exposure of all manufacturers tires, including planned mixing of manufacturers tires on aircraft within participating squadrons. Radial and bias tires are not to be mixed on the same aircraft.

(2) The sample size used to calculate landing indices will be the same for each manufacturer and will be based on the smallest sample size among the participating manufacturers. A minimum sample size of thirty (30) data points per testing location is desired. If there are less than 30 acceptable samples for any testing location from any manufacturer the project engineer, in consultation with the OO-ALC statistician, will determine if sample size is adequate. If more than one (1) base is used in the evaluation, the sample size for each contractor will be the same for each base; however, it will not be necessary for the sample size from different bases to be the same. Reduction of a manufacturers sample size will be achieved by use of statistical random number tables; this will be accomplished three times and the average will be taken. Each manufacturer will be provided a copy of the data for his tires, however, copies of the competitor’s data will not be provided.

(3) The sample size used to calculate reliability factors will be the same for each manufacturer and will be based on the smallest sample size among the participating manufacturers. If more than one (1) base is used in the evaluation, the sample size for each manufacturer will be the same for each base; however, it will not be necessary for the sample size from different bases to be the same. Reduction of a manufacturers sample size will be achieved by use of statistical random number tables; this will be accomplished three times and the average number of discrepant tires will be used. Each manufacturer will be provided a copy of the data for his tires, however, copies of the competitor’s data will not be provided.

(4) Use of a 168 inch dynamometer with applied wear surface maybe used to evaluate a portion of the LCC tires in an amount to be determined by the USAF. Equal quantities of each QTR participating in the evaluation (including the baseline) will be included in the laboratory evaluation. The results of this testing will be inserted into the final LCC tire sample, after the sample sizes are equalized. This index will only be used if the data generated from the dynamometer testing correlates to the data obtained from the field evaluation, as determined by the Air Force Tire Engineer.

(5) Tires will be included in the sample if they are removed from the aircraft for either wear or defects which are the result of manufacturer material or design, and which do not cause failure. Tires removed with damage beyond the manufacturers control, such as foreign object damage (FOD), under inflation damage, excessive skid spots not determined to be a normal wear characteristic of the aircraft brake system, or similar damage, will not be counted in the sample. Aircraft tires will normally be removed due to wear, cuts, or other damage according to Air Force Technical Order (TO) 4T-1-3. All manufacturers tires must be removed using the same criteria. Both touch-and-go and full stop landings will be obtained, recorded, and used in the calculation of the landing index, unless otherwise agreed upon. In the event the LCC tires are subjected to T&G landings during the evaluation the T&G ratio for each manufacturer will be computed. The T&G ratio will be computed as follows:

T&G ratio = T&G landings x 100

Total landings (full stops + T&G)

As long as the difference between the T&G ratio of the manufacturers is within 1%, the calculation of the index may proceed. If the difference is above 1%, the following procedure will be used to bring the difference to 1% or less:

(a) Determine the average T&G ratio of the manufacturer tires.

(b) Remove the data point from each manufacturers data that is furthest from the average as determined in step 1.

(c) Recompute the average T&G with the remaining data points.

(d) Repeat steps 1 though 3 until the difference in T & G average is 1% or less

(6) All tire failures will be analyzed by the respective tire manufacturer in conjunction with the OO-ALC engineer. Any tire failure resulting from a design/material defect will be cause for disqualification and removal from the evaluation. The final decision concerning disqualification resides with the OO-ALC engineer.

(7) When the sample size reaches an acceptable size (minimum of 30) as determined jointly by the OO-ALC engineer and the manufacturers, the evaluation will be continued or discontinued at the convenience of the Air Force.

(8) During the evaluation a maximum of 10 tires per participating manufacturer will be selected by the Air Force and shipped to the respective manufacturer for NDI (normally holography/shearography). The holographic/shearographic inspection shall be bead to bead. The holographic/shearographic results will be reported to the OO-ALC engineer in conjunction with the respective manufacturers engineer to determine appropriate action. The holographic/shearographic records will be maintained by the manufacturer for a minimum of one year in the event review by the Air Force is desired. The manufacturer will pay for the return of the tires (shipment) and holographic testing.

(9) Normally there will be three visits made to the evaluation bases; a preliminary visit to brief base personnel regarding the test plan and their involvement and responsibilities prior to the start of the evaluation, a mid review visit to ensure that the evaluation is proceeding according to plan and inspect tires and data, and a final visit to inspect the tires and data. These visits will be coordinated with the base evaluation monitors and the manufacturers by the OO-ALC engineer.

(10) Final index calculations will be made by the OO-ALC engineer. Each manufacturer will be notified of his index and the indices of all other participating manufacturers. The indices will then be provided to the procuring activity contracting officer, included in the applicable Qualified Products List (QPL) (thus invalidating the previous QTR), and used for future procurements. In the case a baseline tire out performs a new QTR design for a given manufacturer, the USAF reserves the right to consider the baseline QTR for future procurement.

(a) Computation of the Landing index will be based on the following formula:

X = X (t) (S)

N

X = Landing index

X = Average number of landings per tire (mean) t = Distribution factor for 95% confidence level

S = Standard deviation

N = Sample size

(b) Computation of the Reliability factor will be based on the following formula:

R = N - B

N

R = Reliability factor

B = Total number of defective tires from sample

N = All tires tested

(c) Computation of the Performance index will be based on the following formula:

P = X * R

P = Performance index

X = Landing index

R = Reliability factor

(d) Should more than one base be involved in the LCC evaluation an index will be established for each base. These will be averaged and the resultant single index will be established for each manufacturer.

VI. Responsibilities

A. For the PIP

(1) The manufacturer will

(a) Provide a QTR for a tire meeting the current requirements

(b) Provide a minimum of 10 tires to be flown on operational aircraft

(2) The Air Force will

(a) Evaluate QTR, and if it meets the requirements, approve

(b) Arrange for the PIP tires to be flown on operational aircraft

(c) Arrange site visits to view the tires during the evaluation

(d) Ensure information pertaining to the performance of the PIP tire will be kept confidential

B. For the LCC

(1) The manufacturer will:

(a) Recommend weapon system tires for participation in an LCC

(b) Submit QTR’s to the Tire Program Engineer by the suspense date as identified in the SD 6 process

(c) Produce the LCC tires per contract delivery date after contract award

(d) Provide Engineering support for the duration of the LCC

(e) Attend a minimum 3 site visits at each LCC location

(2) The Air Force:

(a) Determine which weapon system tires will participate in a LCC

(b) Announce weapon system tire LCC’s three years in advance except for the following which are on a two year cycle

i. T 38 Main

ii. F 16 all models Nose and Main

iii. F 15 all models Nose and Main

(c) Update proposed LCC’s yearly and present at the Program

Management Review (PMR)

(d) Ensure wheel tire compatibility IAW Wheel and Tire Compatibility Program

(e) Develop and publish an evaluation plan for each LCC

(f) Evaluate LCC data and publish an index for each participating tire, except when a previously LCC’d tire was used as a baseline

(g) Add LCC’d tires to Qualified Products List and remove old tires from same list as needed

(h) Provide any new LCC index data to DSCC for use in procuring AF aircraft tires (this will be reviewed yearly at the PMR)

(i) Act as Engineering Source Authority (ESA) for AF aircraft tires VII. Administration A. The AF is responsible for administering the EMA. The AF will update and distribute the EMA as necessary. Review of the EMA will occur once a year at the PMR. The correlation, and updating will be coordinated with all participants and be accomplished on an as need basis.

(1) Distribution List:

(a) Defense Logistics Agency Defense Supply Center Columbus (DLA-Courtesy Copy)

(b) Goodyear Tire and Rubber

(c) Michelin Aircraft Tire

(d) Dunlop Aircraft Tyre Limited

(e) Bridgestone

(f) USAF Tire Engineer (ESA) B. DLA/DSCC has been identified by the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) commission as the agency responsible for procurement for all aircraft tires for the AF. DLA was tasked, as a solution for BRAC, to privatize the AF tire program. . This agreement is between tire manufacturer’s and the AF, is referenced in the Tire Privatization Initiative as a tool the privatization contractor's approach must be "consistent" with, and will remain in affect as a tool for the parties improve aircraft tire performance and cost per landing.

C. As of 1 Mar 2007 DLA/DSCC is managing the AF tire program. The AF will remain the Engineering Source Authority for AF aircraft tires.

Performance Insertion Program and Life Cycle Cost Program

Air Force Aircraft Tires

Expectation Management Agreement Coordination Signatures Manufacturer Signature

Date

Printed Name

Title

Company Name

USAF

Government Agency

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