AN EXPLORATORY ANALYSIS OF INTERMEDIATE MAINTENANCE ACTIVITY BEYOND CAPABILITY OF MAINTENANCE TRANSACTIONS: DO END OF FISCAL YEAR BEHAVIORS IMPACT COST?

There is a widely accepted notion that fiscal spending increases at the end of the fiscal year across different government levels. This phenomenon, particularly across the military services, is driven by the notion that follow-on-year authorizations will be decremented because these funds were not obligated to a 99.8% level of execution. There is anecdotal evidence of increased spend rates in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year. This study analyzes cost-driving trends across intermediate maintenance activities in support of Marine Corps aircraft squadrons to identify the year-end spend behavior. This study identifies end-of-year spending trends within a Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron (MALS). It proceeds with an exploratory analysis of the impact of spending patterns at the end of the fiscal year. The researcher focuses on beyond capability of maintenance (BCM) trends on the CH-53E aircraft to determine how end-of-year spending, maintenance practices, operational drivers, and financial constraints may impact stock position at the MALS. The researcher proceeds to examine the impact of priority levels on end-of-year spending. Additionally, data analyzed in this research cover a period of five years to identify trends as they pertain to the time elapsed while components await parts and the maintenance actions before the parts are processed as BCM.Major, United States Marine CorpsApproved for public release. distribution is unlimite