The National Advanced Mobility Consortium (NAMC) Army Smart Motor Pool Pitch Competition asked defense contractors to provide solutions to issues identified through a Mission Driven Innovation (MDI) study, which summarized operational challenges Army motor pools currently experience in their efforts to maintain the readiness level of the existing fleet of vehicles. The competition received over 26 entries, with MCM Learning, BAE Systems and Raytheon Missiles & Defense being awarded the top prizes for their solutions spanning motor pool management, training and reporting. Due to the overwhelming success NAMC has allocated funds to facilitate another pitch competition this coming fiscal year, alongside government partners.
“The Mission Driven Innovation (MDI) study identified a number of unmet needs motor pool managers experience,” said Alissa Roath, Executive Director of the National Advanced Mobility Consortium (NAMC). “This included a lack of advanced technical training, proper tools, and coordinated planning; the use of maintenance personnel to perform non-maintenance related duties; and the inability to consistently capture accurate vehicle maintenance data.”
The top prize was awarded to Raytheon Missiles & Defense, producers of missile defense systems, precision weapons, and related technologies. Its winning entry delivered the most impactful solution for the overall issue at hand. This entry provided the framework for an Intelligent Interactive Motor Pool Management (I2M2) open platform that offers a holistic solution for integration of Army Enterprise and motor pool maintenance management data and enables Army partners and third parties to develop new SMP applications using secure, published Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).
“Our team is led by retired Warrant Officers who have lived through the motor pool needs this work aims to meet,” said Justin E. Weissert, LTAMDS Sustainment Integration and RAYVETS Huntsville Site Lead of Raytheon Missiles & Defense. “This competition was a great opportunity for us to explore collaboration and partnership with our open solution for the warfighter using our soldier-centered agile process. We’re proud to have been selected as the winner and grateful for the opportunity to share our concept with NAMC and GVSETS.”
The NAMC Smart Motor Pool $100k Pitch Competition originated when Army Program Executive Officer, Combat Support and Combat Service Support (PEO CS&CSS) leadership challenged government contractors in the spring of 2020 to envision how developments in advanced technologies might be applied to address various obstacles in vehicle maintenance and help move the Army in the direction of what is referred to as “Smart Motor Pools” (SMP).
The MDI study was conducted earlier this year in close collaboration with PEO CS&CSS and the Army Ordnance School utilizing grant funds from the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition & Sustainment, Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation. Defense Industry contractors were then provided with these findings and invited to propose concepts, showcase available technology, and offer potential solutions to address one or more of the identified problem areas.
Once completed, pitch entries were judged against their ability to solve the MDI study’s identified issues. Using these guidelines, winners were chosen by Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) in the logistics and maintenance field, Chief Warrant Officers (CWOs) and Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) from the U.S. Army Ordnance school.
Narrowed from a pool of 26 entrants, the six finalists each received $10k in prize money, with the remaining $40K reserved for award to the one or more finalist companies. The top three awards and total amounts were as follows:
1. Raytheon Missiles & Defense, Intelligent Interactive Motor Pool Management Tool ($35K award)
2. MCM Learning, On-Demand Embedded Training Tool ($20K award)
3. BAE Systems, Commanders Analytics & Reporting (CART) ($15K award)
Additional finalists: Andromeda Systems Incorporated, Concurrent Technologies Corporation
& Oshkosh Defense.
This year’s Army Smart Motor Pool $100k Pitch Competition served as a pilot program for NAMC and helped jumpstart solutions for critical operational problems facing deployed soldiers. NAMC hopes this pitch process will lead to solutions not only for these issues, but for many more in the future.
NAMC has allocated funds to facilitate another pitch competition this next fiscal year, alongside government partners, topic to be determined.
