SD-2 Dod Acquisitions Buying Commercial Items And Nondevelopmental ItemsThis document offers guidance on acquisitions involving all types of commercial and nondevelopmental items: systems, subsystems, assemblies, parts, and items of supply. Commercial services are also addressed.This document does not present a “cookbook” approach to the acquisition of commercial and nondevelopmental items; such an approach could not accommodate the vast array of potential applications. It does offer lessons learned and things to consider when participating on an integrated product team.

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•  Responsiveness of such support activity to meet military requirements in peacetime and wartime (mean logistic downtime, need for priority service, wartime surge, and so on)

•  Degree to which the military service will be able to provide in-house maintenance sup- port, and the need for support facilities or a training and rotational base for service tech- nical personnel

•  Need to minimize downtime.

If in-house support is unavoidable, a preferred strategy is to select commercial items or NDIs that have built-in or automated features to assist users or maintenance personnel with quickly and accurately identifying faulty items.These items can then be removed and replaced with

high confidence that the units are in fact faulty.This capability may be provided by built-in test equipment or the use of test measurement and diagnostic equipment test procedures.The maintenance technician in the user organization removes the lowest line-replaceable unit and replaces it with a working element, sending faulty units to the intermediate maintenance activi- ty or depot. Intermediate facilities stock units for direct exchange. Items not replaced at the intermediate level are shipped to a depot. Depots usually repair to the piece-part level.The program office must identify criteria and subsequent maintenance concepts and formulate tran- sition plans when required.

If the item must be supported and maintained by the user, the maintenance plan for the item and supporting data must be purchased. Maintenance plans must meet all program requirements (economic, readiness, performance, operational, and safety).

Manpower and Personnel Knowledge and Skills

Decisions about manpower, as well as about the knowledge and skills required of the people who must operate and maintain an item, typically are made as the operational requirements and initial support concepts are formulated.The following specific areas influence acquisition decisions:

•  Number and type of people required for operation

•  Number and type of people required for maintenance (all levels)

•  Skills, knowledge, or grade levels required.

If a commercial item or NDI does not meet the manpower and personnel criteria, the basic acquisition decision will have to be reevaluated, or the initial support concept will need to be modified.