The launch of Systecon’s Executive Life Cycle Management Program
On Tuesday, September 27, an expectant crowd gathered at the Elite Palace Hotel in Stockholm to take part in Systecon's inaugural "Executive Life Cycle Management" course. For three days, a dozen participants from Sweden, Germany, Spain and South Korea were drilled in concepts and methods necessary to lead organizations that have the goal of taking a holistic approach to cost-effectiveness.
On Tuesday, September 27, an expectant crowd gathered at the Elite Palace Hotel in Stockholm to take part in Systecon's inaugural "Executive Life Cycle Management" course. For three days, a dozen participants from Sweden, Germany, Spain and South Korea were drilled in concepts and methods necessary to lead organizations that have the goal of taking a holistic approach to cost-effectiveness.
The course was designed to give participants a general framework for life cycle management and an increased understanding of the role of a life cycle manager.
Dr. Patrik Alfredsson, Senior Partner at Systecon
"It is unfortunately all too common today that the technical design of a system are given too much weight in relation to the design of the support solution," says course leader Patrik Alfredsson. "To achieve a cost-effective solution these must be balanced by a parallel and iterative procedure, which can be a challenge for the management."
The course also provided insight into the types of analyses, models and tools needed to make informed decisions from a life cycle perspective. The theoretical parts were supplemented by a number of exercises in which participants could sharpen their analytical skills.
Some lessons from the course:
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To succeed in life cycle management, strategy, information management and analysis capabilities must work together in balance. If one part is too weak it does not matter how strong the others are.
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A large part of a system’s total cost is tied up by decisions made early in the life cycle. Plan your analysis resources accordingly.
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Try to avoid falling into the classic "sequential trap," where you first develop the technical systems, then look at what it takes to support them, and finally assess what it will all cost. This inevitably leads to a sub-optimal solution and unnecessarily high costs.
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LCC for procurement helps to shift the focus from the immediate technical needs to the future costs of operation and maintenance. It helps the project to strike a balance between technical performance and cost.
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At LCC procurement, be transparent about how your assessment model works. It allows for bidders to customize their solution to meet your needs and reduces the risk of misunderstandings and dissatisfaction of those who end up without a contract.
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When designing maintenance solutions using the principle of Performance Based Logistics, make sure to select a measure (Key Performance Indicator - KPI) that matches the scope of the undertaking. It should be easy for the provider to measure and report, while still clearly linking to system availability.
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Do not underestimate the challenge in making the handover between different actors and phases of the system lifecycle. There is an imminent risk that knowledge, information and analytical structures are lost as well as control of future costs.
The participants were very positive, and several expressed looking at the course as a step towards becoming better equipped to meet their respective challenges back home.
“The LCM-Training performed by Systecon has been a great experience. Not only the overview about the massive topic was presented in a very professional manner but also the real examples displayed over the lectures have been on the edge of current best-practices and state-of-the-art process descriptions. The presentation by the trainer has expanded our logistic view and motivated more to further develop some Through Life Management initiatives discussed.”
Juan Carlos PEREA RODRIGUEZ, MTI Officer, OCCAR EA
"A very interesting course where my own thoughts in some cases were confirmed, but the golden nuggets are insights that proved to be completely contrary to my previous perceptions."
Frederick van Roseel, Technical Manager, The Swedish Maritime Administration
"The most interesting course I have participated in during the more than 15 years I have worked with ILS!"
Fredrik Elmforsen, Consultant Manager Integrated Logistic Support (ILS), Combitech AB
Are you and your organization facing the challenges of developing your ability to reach higher system effectiveness at lower costs? Do you want to get a deeper understanding of life cycle management in general, and logistics analysis in particular? Welcome to contact Patrik Alfredsson for further discussions at patrik.alfredsson@systecon.se phone +46 (0)8-459 07 69.
Are you interested in participating in the next course? Register your interest now, and we will reply with more information (registration is not binding).