Navy workforce teams who volunteered to compete in the Sustainment Data Challenge have begun to apply their expertise toward developing innovative solutions that could significantly impact the Navy’s future readiness.

During the challenge kickoff held Feb. 4, Mr. Niel W. T. Hogg, N8B stated, “This Sustainment Data Challenge is seeking insights from a wide range of actual platform data located across the sustainment system by utilizing talent from within the Navy to deliver a tool that can be used to make data driven decisions to enhance the readiness of our E-2 fleet, in less than a year and with potentially broader application.”

“This initiative is remarkable because it addresses all four themes outlined in the CNO’s updated Design 2.0, Strengthen Naval Power, Achieve High-Velocity Outcomes, Strengthen our Navy Team, and Expand and Strengthen our Network of Partners; and it partners across the Aviation community and perhaps across sustainment efforts Department wide.” Mr. W. T. Hogg shared with the teams.

Sixteen teams from four major Navy Systems commands are participating in the challenge — six teams from Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), six from Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), two from Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR), and two from Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP). Senior Leaders opened the kickoff event with the teams to discuss the importance of the challenge. Teams also gained access to subject matter experts and learned more about the details of this highly competitive opportunity.  

The four-month long challenge has each team working independently with the same starting data set to identify the relationship between sustainment factors affecting a platform’s readiness. Teams were encouraged to supplement the starting data set with additional data sources to increase the breadth, depth and fidelity of data models as they proceed through the challenge. The objective of the Challenge is to prototype a system-of-systems model for the sustainment of a weapon system. Team are competing for an opportunity to mature and expand the model using additional platforms after the Challenge. 

Mr. George E. Kovatch, Director, DON OCMO stated “The Sustainment Data Challenge aligns with the DON’s long-term data goals that are outlined in our Business Operations Plan. This Challenge aims to improve data quality, standards, visibility, access and security, enhancing information integration through expanded interoperability and reuse.”  Additionally, he stated that the Challenge, “establishes and continuously improves capabilities to perform analysis to enable effective of decision making. It also helps to  build a skilled data workforce.”

This Sustainment Data Challenge will use crowd sourcing to leverage historical data, existing structures and workforce experiences to tackle the incongruent data sources that generate Navy program sustainment resource plans. The challenge will bring together data scientists and data engineers to get hands-on experience predicting sustainment resources by generating models and candidate solutions over the course of four months.

The challenge teams will present potential solutions at the finals in June. “No one knows Navy data better than we do. I look forward to seeing the models developed by the challenge teams. These models will increase our ability to understand, predict and assess trade-offs significantly increasing platform sustainment activities,” said Elliott Branch, deputy secretary of the Navy, Acquisition and Procurement.

The Sustainment Data Challenge is sponsored by Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Research, Development and Acquisition (ASN RDA), Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV) and the Office of the Chief Management Officer (DON OCMO). The challenge will develop prototype predictive system-of-systems analytical model(s) to identify sustainment requirements and resources that consider dynamic operational scenarios to achieve Navy readiness goals. The ability to apply, scale and extend these solutions to additional Navy programs is anticipated for the future of the Navy’s readiness.