Budget cuts and logistical nightmares have impaired the U.S. Air Force's ability to keep its jets in the air due to long maintenance and repair times.

A $4 million, three-year grant awarded to the Electrical and Computer Engineering and Management Information Systems departments will explore new methods to combat problems created by separating flight operations from repair facilities, said ECE professor Bernard Zeigler, co-principal project researcher.

The grant, titled "Computer-Aided Business Engineering," or CABE, is being developed along three research paths under the direction of Jay Nunamaker Jr., regents professor and director of the Center for the Management of Information.

The award comes from the Logistics Research Division of Armstrong Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, and Warner-Robbins Air Force Base, Georgia, will be the testing grounds for this project. The planes fly out of Idaho, but any maintenance or repair work must be done at the depot in Georgia.

The problem is a lack of communication, especially in real-time and group environments.

"Their systems aren't comprehensive enough. We're going to demonstrate how teleconferencing and multimedia can interact," Zeigler said.

One research area, led by Doug Vogel, MIS professor and co-principal researcher, will develop the software for group support systems. These systems will allow for "any time, any place" communications among groups of people geographically separated.

Video-conferencing will be the primary development in this area, along with more advanced uses of the Internet, according to Sarma Nidumolu, MIS professor and co-principal researcher.

Zeigler heads the second research group, which focuses on modeling and simulation.

"Modeling captures the structure of the system, and simulation executes the model," said Hessam Sarjoughian, research engineer.

For example, in one model, the value of having a parts supply near the air base is explored. Simulations allow the jet to either successfully take off or experience various problems requiring parts and service.

The simulations also allow researchers to discover whether the extra supplies can save a costly trip to the depot in Georgia for common problems.

"On paper, the issues look simple, but there are a lot of complexities," said Sankait Vahie, research engineer.

He explained that several kinds of aircraft from different bases will use Warner-Robbins Air Force Base for repairs, and each of them needs to be part of the model.

Since the main goal of Computer-Aided Business Engineering is to increase efficiency, each of these variables must all be considered in the project design. Any overlooked possibility could slow productivity and make the project less successful, Vahie said .

The exciting, and hard, part of the project is "to go beyond what we have today," Zeigler said.

In each of the three areas, new technology exists, but so far none of the software tools are specialized enough to solve these problems. This lack of resources motivated the Air Force to look for a university with diverse talents and the most advanced equ ipment to create the software and implement the changes.

The final research field, business practices and culture, is directed by Nidumolu and will develop management techniques to make the new systems friendly to those who use them.

"You can't just say, 'Here's a great change,' and forget its impact on people," Nidumolu said.

Changes will be made in all areas, from employee skill levels to monetary compensation.

While the grant has the specific goal of streamlining operations for the Air Force, the underlying goal is to create a system that can be applied to any business.

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Wildcat Web Links: The University of Arizona's Real Time Research Group homepage describes the group's projects and publications and also gives links to other related sites on the Web.

http://loochi.bpa.arizona.edu

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