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DOE Unveils Water Security Grand Challenge
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DOE Unveils Water Security Grand Challenge
DOE Unveils Water Security Grand Challenge

The Department of Energy has posted a request for information to obtain information on novel equipment designs that could help mitigate the water intensity of thermoelectric power plants by 2030.

DOE said Monday it invites manufacturers, utility companies, engineering and design firms to build approaches that will lower water usage in future power facilities as part of the Water Security Grand Challenge.

Mark Menezes, DOE undersecretary, said the program aims to optimize thermoelectric cooling through the employment of new technologies.

Interested vendors have until June 9 to submit their responses to the notice. The department seeks to address the need for secure and affordable water by conducting competitions and research and development initiatives.

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NRL Launches Solar Power Satellite Module
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NRL Launches Solar Power Satellite Module
NRL Launches Solar Power Satellite Module

The Naval Research Laboratory has fielded a solar power satellite hardware aboard the U.S. Air Force's X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle in efforts to study the conversion of solar energy from space.

The Photovoltaic Radio-frequency Antenna Module employs a solar panel to absorb energy and convert it into radio frequency microwaves, the U.S. Navy said Monday.

A research team will utilize the platform's energy production and temperature data to help inform the design of potential solar prototypes. NRL will also assess PRAM's operability in varying space conditions.

The laboratory seeks to develop a platform that will assess the transmission of energy to Earth aboard a spacecraft through the project.

The National Security Space Office published a feasibility study in 2007 that advises the exploration of solar power satellite technologies.

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Navy Announces New Research Opportunities for Small Businesses
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Navy Announces New Research Opportunities for Small Businesses
Navy Announces New Research Opportunities for Small Businesses

The U.S. Navy has announced a new wave of small business innovation research funds for projects that tackle topics that the service branch has expressed interest in.

The service branch said Friday it opened the 20.2 Broad Agency Announcement pre-release on May 6 covering 55 Navy-specific topics.

Interested parties may begin submitting proposals until the pre-release period's completion. The new BAA follows the previous 20.4 announcement that will stop accepting applications on May 28.

“The goals of the program are to stimulate tech innovation, increase small business participation, foster participation by disadvantaged firms and increase private sector commercialization of technical research and development,” said Jennifer Stewart, technology transfer and SBIR manager at Naval Surface Warfare Center Corona in California.

The Inland Empire region within Southern California offers support to help small businesses submit proposals and pursue opportunities under the new BAA.

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HHS Exempts COVID-19 Testing Site Providers From HIPAA Rules
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HHS Exempts COVID-19 Testing Site Providers From HIPAA Rules
HHS
HHS

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced its Office for Civil Rights will not penalize certain COVID-19 health care providers for failure to comply with regulations imposed by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). 

Under discretion, HIPAA penalties will not apply to qualified care providers and partners that support operations at COVID-19 Community-Based Testing Sites, HHS said in a Federal Register notice published Monday.

CBTS can be either mobile, walk-up or drive-through facilities that collect COVID-19 samples and provide public testing. HIPAA aims to ensure the security of patient information in health care practice.

HHS advises CBTS-involved entities to disclose only the minimum amount of personal health information necessary for COVID-19 treatment. The agency also recommends additional security measures, such as traffic control, to foster social distancing and prevent virus spreads from CBTS.

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JAIC Highlights ‘Mission Initiatives’ for Business Process Transformation
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JAIC Highlights ‘Mission Initiatives’ for Business Process Transformation
DoD's JAIC
DoD’s JAIC

The Department of Defense’s (DoD) Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) has detailed its mission initiatives focused on achieving the DoD’s business process transformation goals. JAIC said Thursday that the AI projects are meant to automate the DoD’s digital workloads and “increase productivity at scale”.

The MIs encompass lines of effort such as acquisition, business administration, customer relations, finance and budget, human capital management and training and development.

JAIC intends to work with entities such as the Washington Headquarter Services and the service branches in a range of technical areas such as machine learning, natural language processing and robotic process automation.

Use cases for the proposed initiatives include the deployment of an ML model to detect discrepancies in U.S. Army transactions, RPA-driven U.S. Navy document processing and automated reviews of forms for Office of Management and Budget compliance.

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Rear Adm. Kathleen Creighton: Navy Augments Teleworking Policies Amid COVID-19
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Rear Adm. Kathleen Creighton: Navy Augments Teleworking Policies Amid COVID-19
Kathleen Creighton
Kathleen Creighton

Rear Adm. Kathleen Creighton, cybersecurity division director at the Chief of Naval Operations Office, said the boosted amount of teleworking due to the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in cybersecurity risks, National Defense Magazine reported Monday.

She said at a Navy League virtual conference that the teleworking boost has created openings for adversaries to attack, and the service branch addresses this issue through the creation of new policies.

The new policies include approaches to renew expired access cards and a boost in the capacity of devices and networks that Navy personnel use for teleworking.

The service branch also sees the need to accelerate the implementation of Microsoft 365 and other information technology modernization efforts.

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Space Force Looks to Leverage Commercial Cloud, Satellites for Domain Awareness
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Space Force Looks to Leverage Commercial Cloud, Satellites for Domain Awareness
Space Force Looks to Leverage Commercial Cloud, Satellites for Domain Awareness

The U.S. Space Force is working to improve its space domain awareness capabilities and expand efforts to leverage data from ground and space-based assets, Federal News Network reported Monday.

Maj. Gen. Kimberly Crider, mobilization assistant to the Space Force’s chief of space operations, told the publication in an interview that the military branch seeks to collate “maximum amounts of data” into a multilevel cloud environment for various data analytics and space defense applications.

She said the Space Force also intends to collect data from sensors and commercial satellites to obtain information on elements such as debris, planets, spacecraft and other satellites. A commercial cloud environment will additionally support the service's efforts to develop a unified data library and data management environment, added Crider.

“At the same time, we also want to ensure the security of our assets, and therefore we want to be able to safeguard our data and our information as much as possible, while ensuring that we enable authorized access to our government and allied partners,” she noted.

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GAO: DoD Must Improve F-35 Program Mgmt
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GAO: DoD Must Improve F-35 Program Mgmt
F-35
F-35

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is recommending the Department of Defense (DoD) to address risks in the production and modernization of F-35 fighter jets meant to support U.S. and allied missions.

GAO said in a blog post published Thursday that the DoD expects to spend $12.1 billion to modernize F-35 computer systems, an increase of $1.5 billion from last year. The DoD also delayed the delivery of 65 F-35 capabilities to 2024, according to GAO.

The agency noted that while the contractor for F-35 airframes is on track to achieve standard manufacturing best practices, two out of eight crucial requirements are yet to be addressed. The DoD would spend $428 billion in quality-related modifications if such practices were not met, GAO said.

In addition, the watchdog said the contractor is “still changing some of its processes” and is not constantly compliant with procedures meant to prevent issues such as material corrosion.

According to GAO, over 500 fielded F-35 aircraft failed to meet reliability goals and are “more likely than expected to be in maintenance rather than available for operations.”

Other issues cited by GAO include the suspension of Turkey from the F-35 program, resulting in supply-chain challenges such as the lack of suppliers for airframe and engine components.

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Accenture Initiates Acquisition of PLM Systems to Improve Product Data Design, Engineering, Manufacturing; Nigel Stacey, Mauro Marchiaro, Alberto Codrino Quoted
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Accenture Initiates Acquisition of PLM Systems to Improve Product Data Design, Engineering, Manufacturing; Nigel Stacey, Mauro Marchiaro, Alberto Codrino Quoted
Nigel Stacey
Nigel Stacey

Accenture’s branch in Italy has entered into an agreement to acquire Turin-based boutique systems integrator PLM Systems to expand the company’s product data in design, engineering and manufacturing for its customers, Accenture reported on Tuesday. Completion of the acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions. Financial terms were not disclosed.

“Digital technologies like artificial intelligence are taking product lifecycle management to a new level. This offers industrial companies a huge opportunity to transform a core business function – engineering”, said Nigel Stacey, managing director and global lead of Accenture Industry X.0. “PLM Systems’ expertise and experience in product lifecycle management will allow us to help clients make the best use of their product data.”

PLM Systems has specialized in designing and building information systems for product lifecycle management. The company’s clients are Italian and international automotive, industrial equipment, fashion and aerospace and defense companies. 

The company’s product lifecycle management systems have helped companies manage all relevant information about a product from its inception to its disposal. Companies have integrated them in engineering and other functions to innovate and manage new products.

“PLM Systems will be a cornerstone of progressing Accenture’s leadership in engineering digitization services,” said Mauro Marchiaro, managing director, Strategy & Consulting at Accenture in Italy. “We will combine our Industry X.0 capabilities with PLM Systems’ methodologies and solutions. This combination will allow us to make the industrial product development process more efficient and sustainable for our clients.”

Accenture’s acquisition of PLM Systems will enhance the company’s capabilities and presence in the market for digital engineering services. Its team will join Accenture Industry X.0 in Italy as part of Accenture’s digital technologies to improve how industrial companies design, engineer and manufacture products and services and operate industrial facilities.

The acquisition of PLM Systems will contribute to Accenture’s overall growth strategy to expand critical skills and capabilities in strategic, high-growth areas. PLM Systems marks the fourth digital manufacturing advisory, services and solutions provider that Accenture has acquired recently. 

It is following Callisto Integration in Canada, Silveo in France and Enterprise System Partners in Ireland. Other recent acquisitions Accenture has made to strengthen its Industry X.0 business include German embedded software company ESR Labs.

“We’re excited to become part of Accenture,” said Alberto Codrino, CEO of PLM Systems. “Its client base and global footprint will offer our team new opportunities to expand their skills and we can develop even better technology solutions for clients to innovate and manage new products.”

About Accenture

Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services in strategy and consulting, interactive, technology and operations, with digital capabilities across all of these services. 

We combine unmatched experience and specialized capabilities across more than 40 industries — powered by the world’s largest network of Advanced Technology and Intelligent Operations centers. With 509,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture brings continuous innovation to help clients improve their performance and create lasting value across their enterprises.

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Akima Logistics Services Secures Spot on $6.1B IDIQ KRACEn Contract by U.S. Navy; Scott Rauer Quoted
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Akima Logistics Services Secures Spot on $6.1B IDIQ KRACEn Contract by U.S. Navy; Scott Rauer Quoted
Scott Rauer
Scott Rauer

Akima has announced that its subsidiary, Akima Logistics Services, was awarded a spot on the ten-year, $6.1 billion Kits, Recovery, Augmentation, Components and Engines (KRACEn) Multiple Award Contract (MAC) to support the U.S. Navy, the company reported on Tuesday.

“As one of 42 small business industry partners, Akima Logistics Services will help enable COMFRC to effectively use the KRACEn enterprise contract vehicle allowing the Navy to meet its sustainment needs expeditiously while delivering improved outcomes,” COMFRC Executive Director Roy Harris said.

Commander, Fleet Readiness Center (COMFRC) awarded the indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ), enterprise contract vehicle to 42 small business industry partners to enable U.S. Navy, government customers and international partners to procure aircraft maintenance services and sustainment support faster than before.

Under the contract, Akima Logistics Services will provide maintenance services and support for single satellite sites, small aircraft quantities, personnel to augment government maintenance teams, and overhaul capabilities for aircraft components and subsystems.

The MAC’s scope of work, which is set aside for small-businesses, includes modification kit build and installations, recovery of downed aircraft, repair and overhaul of aircraft and components, repair and overhaul of engines, and augmentation labor supplement for maintenance both ashore and afloat.

The contract work will follow simple platform, organizational-level Contractor Logistic Services (CLS) requirements involving few aircraft, elemental or off-aircraft tasks. The CLS Division, formally known as the Fast Acquisition Solutions to Enable Readiness (FASTER) team, was charted by Commander, Naval Air Systems Command in 2018 to improve acquisition speed and quality of services by developing expertise in CLS contracting.

“We are excited to be part of the KRACEn contract and eager to immediately provide value through our agility and experience,” said Scott Rauer, President of Akima’s Facilities Solutions Group. “This award further demonstrates Akima’s proven ability to provide customers with world-class aircraft maintenance services in support of their most critical efforts.”

About Akima

Akima is a global enterprise with more than 7,500 employees, delivering agile solutions to the federal government in the core areas of aviation, construction, facilities and logistics, IT and mission support, protective services and detention management, and systems engineering.

As a subsidiary of NANA, an Alaska Native Corporation owned by more than 14,300 Iñupiat shareholders, Akima’s core mission is to enable superior outcomes for our customers’ missions while simultaneously creating a long-lived asset for NANA consistent with our Iñupiat values. In 2019, Washington Technology ranked Akima #38 amongst the top 100 government contractors.

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