John Knolla presented on how suppliers and contractors can effectively communicate requirements like S1000D to reduce fear and build rational business cases. He emphasized setting clear definitions and scope upfront to address concerns. For business cases, he outlined showing how S1000D reduces long-term support costs for programs. He provided examples of successfully implementing S1000D on a regional jet program and establishing technical documentation for a commercial space tourism program. Communication, both internally and externally, was highlighted as key to overcoming fear and making the benefits of standards like S1000D tangible.

1. September 21-23, 2015
Supplier/Contractor Points of View - Taking the Fear Out
The challenge of communicating with internal and external
management, how to build a rational and defensible business
case to prevent fear, uncertainty and doubt
Presenter Name: John L. Knolla
Rank or Title: Director, Product Support Engineering
Organization: LMI Aerospace – Engineering Services

2. Introduction
• Thanks to AIA and ASD for the invitation and Paul Conn
for the introduction
• Director, Product Support Engineering LMI Aerospace-
Engineering Services
– More than 20 yrs Technical & Mgmt experience
– Experience with ATA 100, iSpec2200, S1000D as well as
various domestic and foreign military and commercial
specs and standards
– Have worked military as well as Part 23, 25, 33 and Part
400 Commercial Space programs
– My team provides onsite and remote work-transfer and
industry assist in RM&S, ILS, and Technical Documentation

3. Introduction
• This year’s theme is Making it Real and Taking the Fear Out
- these both really resonated with me
• Having been through multiple programs from start in
technical as well as management roles, and in both
employee as well as consultant capacities I felt I had some
experience to share
• Most of the presentations so far have been technical in
nature so I will put on my management hat
• The most common complaint we hear is slow adoption so I
want to focus on how we improve that, simply put we each
need to better ‘sell’ the specification, internally and
externally

4. Outline
• Overview
• Taking The Fear Out
• Making It Real
• Actual Use Cases
• Results
• Q&A

5. Overview
• Customer and Product Support trends are seeing OEM’s push
responsibility further and further down the supply chain onto
partners and first and second tier suppliers in an effort to
distribute costs and risk on integrated programs.
• First, second even third tier suppliers are finding themselves
responsible for complex elements of what was traditionally an
OEM activity, such as preparation and delivery of integrated
Technical Documentation and Supply Chain data to standards
such as S1000D.

6. Taking The Fear Out
• These new and complex requirements can be unexpected
and scary to the uninitiated
• We all know S1000D can’t usually be executed in a vacuum,
requires other applications/requirements, e.g., STE, specific
software for authoring, illustrations, content management,
validation, etc.
• We need to directly address the resulting fear
– Engaging with all disciplines internally (Mgmt, HR, IT, QA,
Procurement/Supply Chain)
– Educate them on the requirements and the best ways to meet
them

7. Taking The Fear Out
• It is important to level set definitions and
expectations
– Cannot overemphasize the importance
– MUST deliberately set definitions that are agreed to
– ABSOLUTELY MUST define scope to protect our companies
as well as our customers
– Key is level-setting on cost, risk, level of effort, roles and
responsibilities and resourcing
• The challenge then is building a rational and
defensible business case

8. Taking The Fear Out
• What do I mean by rational and defensible?
• Rational
– Reasonable
– Logical
• Defensible
– Well Defined
– Fact Based
• Initial acquisition cost of a weapon system or airliner is only
20-30% of the total lifecycle cost
• Therefore, the real opportunity and justification is in
showing how S1000D reduces support costs

9. Making It Real
• Business Case Basics
– Establish origin/nature of requirement or need
• Customer / Regulatory / Developmental
– Define the project/program
• Costs / Schedule / Resource Needs / Risks & Mitigations
– Financial
• Capital Expenditures / NRE / Recurring / SW Maintenance
• Potential recapture of profit/cashflow

10. Making It Real
• Internal Business Case
– Mgmt needs to be convinced of need and approach
– Customer needs or requirements, regulatory requirements
– Address hardware/software/training
– Supporting disciplines also may need convincing (e.g., IT, HR, etc.)
• External Business Case
– Evaluate customer needs/wants
– Compare/contrast with competition
– Provide solution(s) with justifications/rationale
• Both will involve vendor/partner identification, qualification and selection
– Identify the needs to meet the requirements, including consulting and outsource
partners like LMI if needed
Ultimately Boils Down to Communication

11. Actual Use Cases
• Internal Communication
– Regional Jet Program
• Full content development responsibility for our Assembly
– Text and illustrations
– AMM, IPC
• S1000D Issue 4.0
• External Communication
– Commercial Space Tourism Program
• Establish integrated Tech Docs planning
• Identify tools, approaches, style guide, etc.
• Links to Maintenance Management/Planning Applications
• Framework based on S1000D Issue 4.0 but initially developed as
flat/unstructured

12. Results
• Regional Jet Program
– Evaluate customer requirements
– Convince Mgmt and support disciplines of approach
– Identify, qualify and select partners
– Develop budget, schedule and resource plan
– Develop content with customer supplied BREX, Style Guide, DMRL
– Assist customer with review and comment process and checklists
– Support S2000 and S3000 type data (spares, maintenance planning)
– We are one of only 2 partners regularly meeting schedule, quality and program
goals
– Developed into a new line of business for LMI Aerospace, now supporting multiple
customers for content, illustrations, and consulting

13. Results
• Commercial Space Tourism Program
– Evaluate customer requirements/needs
– Propose flexible approach based on existing aerospace
standards
– Include links to potential maintenance planning and inspection
applications
– Develop Technical Document Development Plan
– Content originally unstructured (MSWord) but at Data Module
level with meta-data to be captured in the DMRL
– Established foundation to grow into full S1000D compliant
program if/as program desires

14. Summary
• OEM’s continue to push the support burden
deeper into the supply base
• Communication, both internal and external is the
key to Taking The Fear Out
• Developing and presenting effective business
cases is necessary to make the potential benefits
of S1000D real
• Experienced partners and suppliers reduce risk

15. Q&A
• Questions
• Thank you for your attention
Contact:
John L. Knolla
Director, Product Support Engineering
jknolla@lmiaerospace.com
www.lmiaerospace.com
O: 858-810-5471
C: 505-270-4078