With a growing population, an aging water treatment infrastructure and the looming threat of global warming contributing to uncertain weather, water conservation will continue to be a big issue. Transportation: The accessibility and adequacy of transportation options, such as public transit, paratransit services, and pedestrian-friendly infrastructure. We’ll take a closer look at the process for developing prototypes in the next section. Now you can take a little of the beach home with you by making a “down by the sea” sculpture! It now has a tower and communications array inside it. The Army commissioned the PIF to create a Mobile Tower System (MOTS) to deploy in remote airfields. Our mobile air traffic control unit boards the next transport out to the remote Army deployment, and soon the soldiers stationed there will have a new tool to use when coordinating air traffic in the field. There is no medical evidence for any health benefits of alkaline water. Most cases of water poisoning do not result from simply drinking too much water, says Joseph Verbalis, chairman of medicine at Georgetown University Medical Center.

Sadly, as a handful of sports enthusiasts and marathon runners have found out over the years, drinking too much water is actually fatal. But it’s hard to argue with results — the PIF can often produce a prototype much more quickly and for less cost than older procedures. The PIF and the Army agreed to a contract that said the PIF had to design, build and deliver a prototype MOTS within a year. For this process, we’ll assume another Army department needs to be able to coordinate air traffic at a remote Army deployment in the field. The business and operations management department oversees facility operations (including scheduling) and business relationships between the PIF, its customers and its project partners. This process has more in common with commercial business operations than traditional Army operations. But if the customer approves the proposal, the PIF can move into an actual design and fabrication process. In our example, the PIF might determine that it can produce a mobile air traffic control unit completely in house. Over time, vibrations from the unit can loosen screws, bolts, or fan blades, resulting in annoying rattling or banging noises. The PIF can shift resources from one group to the other as demands change over time.

For our example unit, the proposal would explain everything from the personnel involved in the project to the materials the PIF would use in fabrication to the expected completion date for the prototype. The PIF delivers the new prototype to the customer. Throughout the entire development process, quality assurance engineers make sure that the prototype meets both the customer’s needs and all other regulatory requirements. Engineering designs the prototypes, manufacturing builds them and quality assurance makes sure the prototypes meet all requirements. The government employees focus on administration, engineering, program management and manufacturing support. The PIF employs approximately 50 government workers and more than 100 contractor employees. The PIF includes cost data and staff requirements in the proposal. The fourth step is to develop a formal proposal. The team may have to return to step 4 and create a new proposal or halt the project completely. The biggest problem when you have water scarcity is that people cannot get fresh, clean drinking water. It’s unlikely enough people would survive to finish the project. Not every PIF project involves modifying or building new weapons and vehicles.

If the team leader determines the PIF can’t meet the customer’s requirement at all, the project ends. Next, the PIF and customer must define the requirement that will satisfy the need. But if salty stuff is your jam and you’re snacking anyway, why not marry the two and graze on stuff that will make you reach for your water bottle. The third step involves determining what resources the project will require. If the project manager determines the proposal does not meet the customer’s needs, the project reverts back to the previous step and the team concentrates on creating a new proposal. The sixth step is presenting the proposal to the customer. First, the customer must identify a specific need. In this step, the customer has the opportunity to reject the proposal in part or in full. The customer can deploy the new equipment immediately. This can lead to a deep sense of resentment and a loss of self-worth, ultimately undermining the foundation of the relationship. AMRDEC took the lead on the project and began to investigate ways to modify TOW 2A missiles so that they could penetrate masonry.