Advancing Government: Developing an integrated, holistic approach to organic industrial base modernization

The challenge of OIB modernization

The DoD manages a network of government-owned industrial facilities collectively known as the organic industrial base (OIB). These facilities consist of depots, arsenals, manufacturing plants, and shipyards that support critical military requirements, such as ammunition production, equipment storage and disposal, and the repair of vital weapon systems.

As a result, the OIB is essential to our nation’s security and readiness. It must be postured to support peacetime requirements, while also being agile enough to respond during mobilizations and emergencies. Yet, at present, the OIB faces a number of challenges, including aging infrastructure and equipment, workforce development and retention, and supply chain instability. It is for this reason that the DoD must fully modernize the OIB.

Invest, integrate, innovate  

The modernization of the OIB requires investment in integrated, flexible, and long-term digital solutions that can adapt to an unpredictable military and geopolitical future with speed, accuracy, and innovation. The DoD needs to develop and deploy a comprehensive OIB digital transformation strategy that is based on an open architecture framework that allows the integration of multiple systems, tools, and types of data. There must be an understanding that each OIB facility is different in its mission, assets, and workforce. 

The OIB’s modernization is not a “one-size-fits-all” policy or an “out-of-the-box” implementation. Rather, it must be based on a common platform in which everyone—leaders, warfighters, engineers, analysts, procurement officials, and maintenance crews—can access critical information, operate efficiently, and seamlessly collaborate. Specifically, the cloud is the foundation for this entire modernization effort. By leveraging cloud open architecture and using a comprehensive “platform-centric approach”, the DoD can support current unit readiness, maintain the ability to surge, and modernize for the next generation. 

Examples in the field

With a comprehensive and integrated digital platform in place, government customers can deploy different tools and software that enable specific modernization efforts within the OIB. Take for example how the U.S. Air Force (USAF) is using Siemens’ Teamcenter, part of Siemens Xcelerator, as the digital thread to support the agency’s entire product lifecycle management (PLM).  

With Teamcenter, the USAF is leveraging a comprehensive solution with an open and adaptable work environment that connects people, projects, systems, and data. As a result, new technologies are developed and onboarded much faster and products can be optimized through digital twin modeling with lower cost and risk.  

In fact, digital twin/digital thread technology represents a huge opportunity for OIB modernization. For example, the U.S. Navy is in the midst of a multi-billion-dollar optimization overhaul that is using modeling and visualization tools from Siemens to create digital twins of their public shipyards, unlocking new levels of detail for their current operations that in turn are being used to inform key investment and modernization initiatives for facilities that in some instances trace their history to the early 19th century.