Since 1990 the Royal Air Force has suffered many airbase closures and sharp reductions in aircraft numbers; balanced by more than commensurate falls in spare-part holdings and support facilities. The Service has also been affected by fundamental organisational changes and by severe cuts in Service manpower, especially in logistics trades. Concurrently, annual support budgets have been restricted while operational commitments have grown more uncertain and demanding. Indeed, apart from sustaining a demanding flying effort with reduced resources, RAF logistics staff must now plan to support many rapid deployments and concurrent intensive operations from uncertain locations. This thesis examines factors leading up to the current state of affairs, concentrating on the combined impact of radical stockholding philosophies and new management stnlctures. Concurrent change throughout the aerospace industrial sector which repairs and overhauls many of the Service's most critical assets will also be examined. The text then evaluates current operational commitments from a stockholding and contracting perspective before assessing their most likely impact on existing repair chains. The study evaluates the current state of repair facilities at airbase, depot and industrial levels to assess their overall potential for timely expansion. It then develops and critically analyses various alternate support options which may also serve to minimise the impact of stock shortages on operational effectiveness. Drawing on the combined findings of a survey of over 400 current RAF repair contracts and several complementary surveys, the study examines common features within current industrial repair processes. It then highlights procedural, contractual and corporate factors which now stand to hinder any acceleration of repair output in times of crisis. The work also assesses a number of present initiatives to improve repair processes and to concentrate planning around emergency rather than routine requirements. This unique and far-ranging work closes with an assessment of modern mathematical modelling techniques, areas for further study, overall conclusions and recommendations.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:632816 |
| Date | January 1999 |
| Creators | Fowler, John C. |
| Publisher | University of Manchester |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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