RED Scientific Ltd (RED) was awarded a five year contract to deliver the Land Equipment Failure Reporting and Analysis Service (LEFRAS) for MOD DE&S. The service consists of a modern, browser-based software application for storing and analysing land military equipment failures along with a dedicated Support Team who:

• Perform data sourcing and data cleansing tasks;
• Train users on the features and functionality of the software application;
• Provide a helpdesk function;
• Deliver timely and valuable insights available from the collected data, turning it into actionable information.

RED delivers an innovative and intuitive service that makes available high quality data to enable advanced analytics, whilst illuminating opportunities to bring real world safety, availability and cost benefits to supported hardware assets.

• LEFRAS interfaces directly with 4 of the 17 core High Level Business Processes that form the backbone to the Defence Engineering & Asset Management Information System.
• LEFRAS collects fault reporting data (JCRs) daily from JAMES and produces information outputs for DE&S Project Teams (PTs) in order to initiate Post Design Services (PDS) tasks covering modifications, obsolescence management and safety upgrades.
• Users can rapidly highlight safety issues and evidence of previous related equipment failures.
• Trend analysis tools embedded within LEFRAS, support detection of emerging issues that may enable faster fault investigation and prevent unnecessary Line Replacement Unit (LRU) replacement for Level 4 repair.

Despite considerable delays in contract award, RED agreed to meet the existing project milestones for IOC and FOC. To expedite and de-risk the service handover, RED put in place an interim solution while our new software solution was developed. This interim solution passed IOC acceptance tests at the first attempt.
Build and transition was achieved within customer defined milestones with a high level of customer satisfaction. The circumstances of the contract also required RED to transfer, under TUPE, three staff from the incumbent supplier.

In parallel with the above activities, the RED team liaised with key stakeholders to fully define the user and system requirements for the software application. Our software was developed and continues to be developed using AGILE methods.

RED’s new LEFRAS software application uses Oracle technologies (Database, Application Express (APEX) and REST Data Services (ORDS)) to provide world-class digital capabilities. Through continuous deployment of the latest versions of these technologies, our LEFRAS software application delivers an ‘evergreen’ solution with key advances in core database functionality and performance, and a cleaner, richer, and more intuitive user interface. In a cutting-edge innovation, the software also embeds Microsoft Power BI within the APEX application, providing a seamless and fully integrated advanced analytics capability with the ability to generate state-of-the-art visualisations and reports.

Our service is hosted on high availability servers within infrastructure that meets the customers demanding security requirements. Users have reported that the new LEFRAS solution is much easier to use and more intuitive than the previous software application. RED’s Operations Team led by the RED Service Manager deliver the five supporting pillars of LEFRAS:

• Data Collection and Maintenance. The success of any database system lies in effective data collection, operational management and maintenance. Good data input provides a solid foundation for other outputs such as data mining and trend analysis. RED’s LEFRAS Support Team actively seek to acquire data from multiple sources to add additional context to collected failure data to produce timely, actionable information. This is the cornerstone of the success for this capability.
• Data Interpretation. To ensure the provision of high-quality, valuable data the information that LEFRAS collects is consistently and coherently triaged, screened and analysed by our LEFRAS Support Team to ensure that the data is accurate and comprehensively outlines the nature of the failure.
• Data Mining and Trend Analysis. Primary analysis is undertaken (including qualitative assessment of incoming content) before assigning to relevant project teams for evaluation. LEFRAS identifies and monitors failure trends and reports significant or noteworthy variances, in particular cross-platform and inter-system issues.
• Data Reporting. LEFRAS delivers statistical reporting, responses to ad-hoc queries and bespoke reports/case studies upon request; enabling end users to review quantitative data to support decision-making with interactive reports and dashboards.
• Feedback and Communication. Having an open channel between the user and the RED LEFRAS Support Team is important in time management, focusing output and ensuring issues are full resolved and closed off. LEFRAS acknowledges submitted reports back to source systems and provides in-app chat, news bulletins and online training for users.

RED’s LEFRAS software application enables the reporting and analysis of over 20 years of equipment failure data in a matter of moments. Offering features and functionality to filter, search, and drill into the data to discover actionable information.

• A high-quality service that delivers ongoing enhancements to data quality via a dedicated service team and advance analytics capabilities.
• Embedding Microsoft Power BI reports directly within the Oracle APEX browser based application to ensure users have access to state-of-the-art analysis and presentation features.
• Evergreen software: continually updating the software components to keep the solution modern, secure and relevant for user needs.
• Built in feedback utility that allows RED to receive user suggestions and provide continuous efficiency improvements to the User community via a defined agile request for change process.