SBIR/STTR Award attributes
All organizations in the Air Force have been accumluating massive amounts of digital information over the last 50 years. Often, this data contains crucial enterprise, engineering, programmatic and technical information that is critical to the mission. The technical solution proposed would provide a means to 1) Recognize format of these documents (i.e. Microsoft Office, drawings, lists, and models (CAD/SysML)) and automatically convert them into a standard viewable format 2) Extract data from all documents and create linkage based on metadata while enriching with additional data (i.e. tags, security operations and more) 3) organize these documents for consuption by users, systems and in establishing the technical baseline for the weapon systems and 4) Prove the solution through use case demonstrations with integration of software tools and applications. In March 2019, the AFSC/CC directed all depot maintenance records be archived for the entire lifecycle of the weapon system. The directive came on the heels of a Class A mishap where a C-130 crashed killing 16 people. The crash was caused by a liberated propeller being thrown into the fuselage cutting the forward fuselage off the aircraft. The aerodynamic inbalance caused the remainder of the C-130 to break apart in several pieces before crashing in Mississippi. The original cause of the crash was traced back to depot inspections and overhauls at WR-ALC, but no records could be found that could be reviewed from that particular asset. To effectively address this shortfall AFSC must digitize data and incorporate digital processes to organize and control paper/electronic files. AFSC is ill prepared to handle this requirement and has no effective method to convert any of the historical paper-based records into an electronic media that could facilitate effective archival. This is complicated by the fact that all maintenance records are considered controlled unclassified information at a minimum, and must be secured per AF OPSEC requirements. Most organizations do not have the technology required or the secure physical space necessary for storing paper-based records. Examples of such records include technical documents, drawings, work cards, and work control documents. Simply scanning in these paper copies will not suffice because programs around the AFSC will have no way to organize the key data from these forms. AFSC must close the gap on making this data 1) Visible – so that consumers can locate it 2) Accessible so that it can be retrieved 3) Understandable – so that descriptions of data to recognize the content, context and applicability, 4) Linked – for confidence in all aspects of data for decision making, 5) Interoperable – so there is a common representation and comprehension of data and 6) Secure – protected from unauthorized use and manipulation.
