Corrosion Surveys of Army Ground Assets to Identify Leading Issues and Opportunities for Corrosion Prevention

Army Regulation (AR) 750-59 requires the Corrosion Prevention and Control (CPC) program manager to conduct a survey of Army Materiel for corrosion on a 4-year basis. With Army ground assets estimated to number at over 500,000, statistical sampling of equipment and installations was determined to be the most effective means to meet this requirement. Starting in FY2015, the Integrated Logistics Support Center (ILSC) at the Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM), working with Tank Automotive Research, Development, and Engineering Center (TARDEC), contracted Elzly Technology Corporation (Elzly) to develop a methodology to perform these surveys and catalog the assessment data. From January 2015 through May 2018, Elzly and ILSC personnel have visited 22 installations, inspected over 8,200 assets, recorded corrosion or coating damage on over 121,000 parts, and have cataloged over 180,000 photos of parts with corrosion and coating damage (surveys continue today). As part of the methodology, Elzly developed customized database tools on a mobile platform to collect, organize and analyze the inspection data without needing to move or operate the equipment. The data collected is used to identify trends in corrosion observations, highlight parts that are common for all assets, or identify issues that are specific to vehicle platforms, certain models, or in certain areas. This information is used to inform Product Managers (PdMs) of corrosion prevention and control opportunities that exist, where military or commercially available technologies can be used to reduce this degradation. The information is also available to inform future acquisition programs on material, coating, or construction methods that can be used, reduce corrosion using design and manufacturing. This paper will provide an overview of the survey tool that had been developed for assessment of vehicles, a high-level summary of the data collected, and examples of reporting provided to facilitate corrosion prevention on ground assets, both currently fielded and being developed as part of a new acquisition program.