Factors Influencing the Logistical Support of Maintenance Training Simulators: The Development of a Handbook

Experience with maintenance training simulators has revealed a number of unanticipated logistical support problems. In some cases, the logistical support costs (i.e., the costs of operating, maintaining, and updating) incurred during the life cycle of the simulator have been greater than expected and sometimes have exceeded the initial acquisition cost of the device. Many of these costs were incurred because the personnel responsible for the acquisition of simulators were not aware of the factors influencing the life cycle costs or were not aware of the problems that could occur in operating, maintaining, and updating simulators. In addition, they had no systematic procedure for evaluating the logistical support needs of the maintenance simulators they were purchasing. This report describes the development of a handbook that addresses these problems by identifying factors which impact the logistical support requirements of maintenance trainers/simulators throughout their life cycle and providing a guide to help predict and plan for the logistical support required of a given simulator.