As the Department of Defense (DOD) focuses on ambitious goals for sustainable manufacturing through its Advanced Manufacturing Strategy, DeVal Lifecycle Support emerges as a leader in providing sustainable solutions. Our company is dedicated to supporting the DOD's mission to promote sustainable manufacturing by extending the life cycle of equipment, reducing waste and downtime, and enhancing efficiency in our manufacturing, products, and services.
DeVal Lifecycle Support is committed to applying advanced manufacturing technologies that improve the sustainability of our customer’s mission critical assets and support equipment. Through our 60 years of service to the DoD, we have developed innovative solutions that extend the life cycle of equipment, reduce waste and emissions, and increase efficiency.
One of our core competencies is Conversion in Lieu of Procurement, or CILOP, a strategic approach to extend equipment lifecycle and improve durability. CILOP involves converting parts and components of existing equipment to extend product lifecycle and increase durability, rather than purchasing new equipment. Through value-added engineering, we modernize existing assets with advanced materials and processes, optimizing functionality while reducing overall costs.
CILOP enables the adaptation of the equipment to meet new mission requirements and protection from environmental conditions, increasing the versatility and utility of support equipment while mitigating the risks associated with new procurement, such as potential delays, cost overruns and supply chain issues. Converting existing equipment can be more cost-effective than procuring new equipment, as it often involves lower initial investment and can reduce the need for extensive training, maintenance, and support infrastructure.
Over the past five years, DeVal Lifecycle Support has developed and delivered CILOP kits for the MHU 191 A/M Munitions Transporter, resulting in over 4,000 zero-maintenance kits provided to the Naval Air Warfare Center. These kits, designed to reduce maintenance costs and downtime and increase the lifespan of the equipment, included 26 manufactured components and 37 hardware items per kit. As a result of CILOP, over 2 million lbs. of carbon emissions were prevented.
Additional CILOP efforts include the A/S 32K-1E SATS Weapons Loader, with conversion in lieu of procurement resulting in approximately 22,500 lbs of CO2 carbon emissions avoided for each loader, with all replacement components responsibly recycled as scrap.
Reduce Reuse Recycle
Reduction in the manufacturing process through lean production methods is a priority at DeVal Lifecycle Support. We emphasize sustainable manufacturing through economically sound processes that minimize negative environmental impacts while conserving energy and natural resources. For improved sustainability, we streamline processes to reduce energy usage and waste. We also use predictive modeling and smart factory solutions to drive productivity, lower asset downtime, and extend the lifecycle of our internal machinery as well. All while focusing on quality and continuous improvement to help address sustainable practices while delivering highly reliable products to our customer.
These sustainable systems have been designed within the company to reduce waste and extend lifecycle of our products. These systems include extending the useful life of our products, consumable management, a comprehensive repairable process, machine utilization, continuous process improvement, engineering design focused on reducing maintenance, and data driven decisions within our working processes. Advanced Manufacturing capabilities include component analysis, testing of sub-assemblies and assemblies, engineering design for manufacturability and managing the logistic tail.
In 2022, DeVal recycled approximately 50,000 lbs of aluminum, steel, and iron. This resulted in a carbon emission reduction of 360,000 lbs. To further the economic impact, our team uses funds collected from our recycling efforts to create a benevolence fund, available for employees to use for unexpected home or car repairs, or other expenses to help ease the financial burden of uncertainty in our employee’s lives.
Growing the Advanced Manufacturing Workforce
DeVal Lifecycle Support values a proficient and motivated workforce for effective sustainable manufacturing processes. We invest in employee development with industry-recognized credentials through apprenticeships, internships, and leadership programs. As an SBA Certified HUBZone firm, with many of our staff living in HUBZone areas, our focus is on creating skilled domestic manufacturing jobs to reinforce the economic impact in our region as well as strengthen the defense industrial base. Through fostering skilled manufacturing skills in areas such as welding and machining, we enhance our local community and boost our economic impact in the Philadelphia region.
Our efforts in sustainable manufacturing marks a significant stride towards achieving eco-friendly and cost-effective production processes. By addressing the entire product lifecycle, from design and material selection to end-of-life management, we’re proud to continue to support the sustainable manufacturing goals of the DoD. As the defense industry continues to embrace this comprehensive strategy, the potential for reduced environmental impact and long-term economic benefits becomes more tangible, benefiting our planet for all.
About DeVal Lifecycle Support:
DeVal Lifecycle Support, a Parts Life, Inc. Company, is a full service build to print mechanical manufacturer of armament and ground support equipment, sub-assemblies, and major parts and components for military systems and sub-systems for over 60 years. As a small business certified HUBZone contractor for the Department of Defense, DeVal LCS is a full-service original equipment manufacturer with extensive high precision machining capabilities used to support our prime and government customers. Products include munitions trailers adapters & add-ons, drawbars, cargo loaders, weapon transport adapters, bomb hoist, dollies, self-propelled weapons loaders, testing and tool sets, and more. DeVal operates under regimented performance guidelines constituted by ISO9001:2015 and AS9100D Certified Quality Management Systems Programs.