LABOR

1) The collective workforce. 2) The human resources, with the appropriate skills, necessary to accomplish a job or task, usually expressed in Manhours, or Manmonths.

LABOR HOUR CONTRACT

A variant of the Time and Material Contract type, differing only in that materials are not involved in the Contract, or are not supplied by the contractor. In these contracts, the customer agrees to pay a fixed rate (including Overhead and Profit) for a negotiated number of Labor Hours.

LABOR PRODUCTIVITY

The rate of Output of a workman or group of workers per unit of time, usually compared to an established Standard or expected rate of output.

LABOR STANDARDS

1) A compilation, by Time Study, of the Standard Time for each Element of a given type of work. 2) A set of estimated, measured, or computed values used to forecast and evaluate performance. Examples of labor standards include rates of machine cutting, Assembly time, operations per hour, etc.

LABOR VARIANCE

1) The difference between the Standard Hours priced at the standard rate and the actual hours priced at the standard rate. 2) The difference between the actual hours priced at the standard rate and the actual hours priced at the actual rate. 3) The difference between the standard hours priced at the standard rate and the actual hours priced at the actual rate.

LABOR YIELD RATE

The number of onthejob Direct Labor hours anticipated during the Fiscal Year, excluding paid and nonpaid absences.

LANGUAGE CONVERSION

The Reimplementation of preexisting Software in a different software development language.

LEAD COMPONENT

The DoD Component designated by the Secretary of Defense to be responsible for the management of a system Acquisition involving two or more DoD Componentsin a Joint Program.

LEAD TIME

The time allowed or required to initiate and develop an item or system, so that it will be available and ready for use at a given time.

LEADER-FOLLOWER CONCEPT

A Government contractual relationship for the delivery of an End Item through a prime or subcontractor relationship, or to provide assistance to another company, where: (a) the Prime Contract is Awarded to an established source (the leader), who is obligated to subcontract to and assist another source (the follower); (b) a Contract is awarded to a leader requiring him to assist the follower, who has the prime contract for Production; or, (c) A prime contract is awarded to the follower for production, and the follower is obligated to subcontract with a designated leader for assistance. (The leader may be producing under another contract).

LEARNING CURVE

1) A tool of calculation used primarily to project resource requirements, in terms of direct manufacturing labor hours, or the quantity of material required for a production run. 2) A mathematical way to explain and measure the rate of change of Cost (in hours or dollars) as a function of quantity, the learning Curve is based on the Assumption that as a quantity of units produced is doubled, the value declines by a constant percentage. The constant rate of decline is the slope of the learning curve, which is linear when plotted on a loglog scale. Several different learning curve theories exist and are utilized within the industry, the two most common types of mathematical curves being: (a) unit curves, which identify the value of each unit; and, (b) Cumulative curves, which show the value for a given amount of units. Cumulative Average Curves are developed by dividing the cumulative value by the cumulative number of units. The term learning curve is often used interchangeably with the terms Improvement Curve and progress curve. 3) In the context of Software Rehosting, these are people considerations that assess the time and effort required to gain an in-depth understanding of all aspects and ramifications of the system mission, concepts, objectives, requirements, and specifications relative to the Design constructs, couplings, and linkages already incorporated in the preexisting Software that is to be rehosted.

LEARNING CURVE B-FACTOR

1) A convex experience Curve that represents the number of previous units of experience. 2) In any competitive Business, different companies have varying amounts of experience and production "know how". The Bfactor is, roughly speaking, a handicap which adjusts the contractors in terms of experience. A contractor's Bfactor should increase as experience is gained. Bfactors can be expressed as the number of equivalent units of any model theoretically produced prior to production of the first actual unit. Therefore, an inexperienced manufacturer would have a low Bfactor and an experienced one a high Bfactor.

LEASED PRODUCTS

Any equipment or Product normally offered for sale by a company, which is leased to others under formal lease agreements.

LEGEND

An explanation of the symbols used on a drawing, map, Chart, sketch, etc., commonly printed in tabular form at the top or side.

LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

1) One of the three primary branches of the U.S. Government (the other two being the Executive Branch and the Judicial Branch), the Legislative is the Branch charged with representing the interests of their constituents and passing legislation which constitutes the country's laws. The Legislative Branch includes the Congress and all Agencies directly under congressional Control. 2) For Acquisition, the principal participants within the Legislative Branch include the congressional "Defense Committees": the Senate and House Armed Services Committees; the Senate and House Appropriations Committees; the Senate and House Budget Committees; other committees having legislative oversight of defense activities; individual Members of the Congress; the Congress as a body; the Congressional Budget Office; and the General Accounting Office.

LESSONS LEARNED

Capitalizing on past errors in judgement, material Failures, wrong timing, or other mistakes to ultimately improve a situation or system.

LETHALITY

The probability that a weapon will destroy its target or render the target neutral.

LETTER CONTRACT

A preliminary Contract, with or without a tentative Price or specific amount agreed to, and with such other basic terms set forth as can be agreed to at the time. A letter contract authorizes the contractor to commence work, incur Costs, and make Commitments pending Negotiation and Execution of the final definitive contract. It obligates the customer to make either a final definitive contract within a specified time, or to reimburse the contractor for Costs Incurred under the letter of contract. The letter contract is superseded as soon as possible by a final definitive contract. See also Undefinitized Contract Action.

LETTER OF INTENT

An Obligation instrument which can be used to initiate a Letter Contract, to protect the Price and Availability of Long-Lead items, or for other purposes requiring a Commitment to contract.

LETTER OF REFUSAL

A letter obtained by a contractor from a vendor or subcontractor refusing to comply with the specific requirements levied on them. All letters of refusal must clearly state the reason for refusal and prescribe alternate methods of meeting the Government requirement. Letters of refusal are frequently issued concerning Proprietary Data, in which case, the vendor or subcontractor may be willing to provide the Data required directly to the Government.

LEVEL OF EFFORT

1) Effort of a general or supportive nature which does not produce definite end products or results. 2) Often used to refer to a constant number of personnel assigned to a given program for a specified period of time. See also Labor Hour Contract.

LEVEL OF REPAIR (LOR)

One of four decision alternatives denoting the Maintenance Level, at which the Repair of material is performed. See also Repair Level Analysis.

LEVEL OF REPAIR (LOR) ANALYSIS

A term assigned to a technique which establishes: (a) whether an item should be repaired; (b) at what Maintenance Level; or, (c) if the item should be discarded. See also Repair Level Analysis and Optimum Repair Level Analysis.

LEVEL OF SUPPLY

The quantity of supplies or materials authorized or directed to be held in anticipation of future demands.

LEVELED TIME

Average time adjusted to account for differences in operator performance, such as skill, effort, and varying conditions.

LEVERAGE

1) A positional advantage. 2) The power to act or influence to attain goals or gains. 3) An amplification.

LIABILITIES

1) Debts. 2) Amounts owed for goods and services received, or other Assets acquired, and losses incurred. 3) A hindrance or drawback.

LICENSED PRODUCTION

Agreements by U.S. Commercial firms with foreign governments or firms to produce weapon systems.

LIFE CYCLE

The total life span of a system, commencing with concept formulation and extending through operation and eventual retirement of the system. See also Acquisition Life Cycle.

LIFE CYCLE COST (LCC)

The total Cost to the Government of the Acquisition and Ownership of a system over its complete Life Cycle. LCC includes the cost of Development, acquisition, support, and, where applicable, Disposal.

LIFE CYCLE COST (LCC) ESTIMATE

A Cost Estimate that covers all of the Costs projected for a system's Life Cycle, and which aids in the selection of a cost-effective total system Design, by comparing costs of various Trade-offs among Design and support factors to determine their impact on total system Acquisition and Ownership Costs. See also Life Cycle Cost.

LIFE CYCLE COSTING

An Acquisition or Procurement technique which considers all Life Cycle Costs (operating, maintenance, and other Costs of Ownership, as well as acquisition Price) in the Award of contracts.

LIFE CYCLE MANAGEMENT

A process for administering system hardware, software, or support over its whole life, with emphasis on strengthening early decisions which shape Cost and Utility.

LIFE SUPPORT

That area of Human Factors which applies scientific knowledge to items which require special attention or provisions for health promotion, biomedical aspects of safety, protection, sustenance, escape, survival, and recovery of personnel.

LIFE UNIT(S)

A measure of use duration applicable to an item, such as operating hours, Cycles, distance, rounds fired, and attempts to operate, etc.

LIMIT OF GOVERNMENT OBLIGATION (LOGO)

A specified amount of Funding for a Contract through a specific period of time or Fiscal Year, the LOGO amount limits the Government's Obligation to fund a contract, and indicates that any Costs over this obligation are at the contractor's risk. LOGO amounts are usually applied to research and Development funds, under an Incremental Funding plan.

LIMITATION(S)

1) A boundary or bounds. 2) The greatest amount or number allowed. 3) A statutory restriction within an Appropriation or other Authorization or Fund, which establishes the maximum amount which may be used for specified purposes.

LIMITED OVERHEAD

A partial Overhead applied in lieu of full Burden to certain activities to allocate to such activities an applicable share of employee service Expenses and other General and Administrative Costs. The amount of overhead applied is dependent on: (a) the duration and nature of the activity; (b) the support required from inplant organizations; (c) the location at which the work is to be accomplished; and, (d) the type of personnel assigned to the task.

LIMITED (DATA) RIGHTS

Technical Data for which the rights to use, duplicate, or disclose, in whole or in part, by, or for, the Government are controlled by the party furnishing the technical Data. Express written permission must be obtained for the data to be: (a) released or disclosed outside the Government; (b) used by the Government for the manufacture of items covered by the data (or if software documentation, for preparing the same or similar software); or, (c) used by any party other than the Government, except under certain restricted circumstances. See also Rights in Data.

LINE CHART

A graphic presentation that shows the relation between two sets of numbers by means of a line or Curve connecting the two respective sets of numbers. Ordinarily the axes of reference for the Coordinates are perpendicular to each other and scaled arithmetically. However, a spherical projection is possible (as a map with latitude and longitude), or one axis or both axes may be scaled logarithmically.

LINE ITEM

1) A complete descriptive entry on any document, including quantity, unit of issue, stock or part number, and description of the item involved. 2) A row of numerical facts in a tabular presentation. See Statistical Table. 3) An item of a Contract. See Contract Line Item. 4) A specific program End Item, with its own identity.

LINE OF BALANCE (LOB)

A graphic display of scheduled units versus actual units produced over a given set of critical schedule Control points on a particular day.

LINE-OF-BEST-FIT

A line which passes through a charting of Data point values, in a manner which best represents the trend of the data points. The least squares Correlation method is frequently used to compute this lineofbestfit.

LINE PRODUCTION

A method of plant layout in which the machines and other equipment required, regardless of the operations they perform, are arranged in the order in which they are used in the process (lay-out by product).

LINE REPLACEABLE UNIT (LRU)

1) The lowest level of Assembly normally removed from the system or equipment for Maintenance, Repair, or replacement. 2) A unit which is designated by the Maintenance Plan to be removed upon Failure from a large entity (equipment, system) in the latter's operational environment. 3) An essential support item removed and replaced at the field level to restore an End Item to an operationally ready condition.

LINE STOCK

Parts or Components (screws, washers, solder, common resistors, etc.), which are physically identifiable with the product, but which are of very low value, and therefore do not merit the usual item-by-item costing techniques.

LINEARITY

The condition where the change in the value of one quantity is directly proportional to the change in the value of another quantity.

LIVE FIRE TEST AND EVALUATION (LFT&E)

Survivability testing and Lethality testing required before Full Rate Production. LFT&E must be conducted on Acquisition Category I and II programs for: (a) covered systems (vehicles, weapons platforms, or conventional weapon systems designed to provide some degree of protection to the user in combat); (b) major munitions or missiles; or, (c) product improvements that will significantly affect the survivability of a covered system. A Live Fire Test and Evaluation Report must be submitted to Congress prior to the decision to proceed beyond Low Rate Initial Production.

LIVING SPECIFICATION

A Specification wherein requirements concentrate on form, fit and function, and which are formatted to accommodate readily the insertion of new technology products and advanced requirements and manufacturing processes. These specifications promote continuous quality improvement through a responsive feedback system, without Benefit of a major revision or update.

LOCAL PURCHASE

An authorized purchase of materials, supplies, and services by an installation for its own use.

LOAD

1) The overall force to which a structure is submitted. 2) The share of work allocated to an individual, machine, or group. 3) To read information from cards or tape into memory. 4) A building block or adapter providing a simulation of the normal termination Characteristics of a unit under test. 5) The effect that test equipment has on the unit under test or vice versa.

LOANED LABOR

Employees temporarily reassigned from the technical or Functional jurisdiction of one division or organization to another.

LOGIC

1) Valid, rational thinking. 2) The basic principles and applications of truth tables, interconnections of on-off Circuit Elements, and other factors involved in mathematical computations in a device. 3) The procedures used or steps followed in solving a problem.

LOGISTIC DELAY TIME (LDT)

That Component of downtime during which no Maintenance is being accomplished on a system, subsystem or repairable item, because of the nonavailability of Logistics resources (i.e., personnel, training, Technical Data, Facilities, spares and repair parts, etc.).

LOGISTIC INTEROPERABILITY

A form of Interoperability in which the service to be exchanged is assemblies, Components, spares, or repair parts. Logistic interoperability is often be achieved by making such assemblies, components, spares, or repair parts interchangeable, but can sometimes be a Capability less than interchangeability when Degradation of performance or some limitations are operationally acceptable.

LOGISTIC SUPPORTABILITY

The degree to which planned Logistics Support (including test, measurement, and diagnostic equipment, spares and repair parts, Technical Data, support Facilities, transportation requirements, training, manpower, and software support) allow meeting system Availability and wartime usage requirements.

LOGISTICS

1) The science of planning and carrying out the movement and maintenance of forces. In its most comprehensive sense, those aspects of military operations which deal with: (a) Design and Development, acquisition, storage, movement, distribution, maintenance, evacuation, and disposition of materials; (b) movement, evacuation, and hospitalization of personnel; (c) acquisition or construction, maintenance, operation, and disposition of Facilities; and, (d) acquisition or furnishing of services. 2) The term given to those activities necessary to plan for and to provide support programs, such as Logistics Support and field Engineering, publications, supply support, spares, training, administration of logistics functions, and repair coordination. 3) That Branch of military science which embraces the details of the transport, quartering, and supply of troops. See also Integrated Logistics Support.

LOGISTICS ENGINEERING

The application of support planning and Analysis techniques to: (a) define, optimize, and integrate the Logistics Support considerations into the program Engineering effort; (b) determine the optimal logistics posture to be established for the support of a weapon system or program; and, (c) perform Logistics Support Analysis and other synthesis, modeling, or Evaluations necessary to establish optimal logistics support requirements for the activation of operational phases of a program.

LOGISTICS SPARES

Those spare parts and line replaceable units procured through Provisioning for system operation and maintenance. See Initial Spares and Replenishment Spares.

LOGISTICS SUPPORT

1) The materials and services required to enable the operating forces to operate, maintain, and repair the End Item, within the Maintenance Concept defined for that end item. Logistics support encompasses the identification, selection, procurement, scheduling, stocking, and distribution of spares, repair parts, Facilities, ground support equipment, trainers, technical publications, contractor Engineering, technical services, and personnel training, etc. as necessary to provide the operating forces with the Capability needed to keep the end item in a functioning status. 2) The supply and Maintenance of material essential to proper operation of a system in the force. See also Integrated Logistics Support.

LOGISTICS SUPPORT ANALYSIS (LSA)

1) The task of identifying, defining, and quantifying the Logistics Support requirements for a program or project. 2) The selective application of scientific and Engineering efforts undertaken during the acquisition process, as part of the systems engineering process, to assist in: (a) causing support considerations to influence design; (b) defining support requirements that are related optimally to Design and to each other; (c) acquiring the required support; and, (d) providing required support during the operational phase at minimum Cost.

LOGISTICS SUPPORT ANALYSIS RECORD (LSAR)

The final documentation of the Logistics Support Analysis, recorded in deliverable form, that is the basic source of Data related to the Maintenance and Logistics Support for a specific End Item. The LSAR is the basis for training, personnel, supply provisioning and allowances construction, support equipment acquisition, Facilities construction and preparation, and for preventative and corrective maintenance.

LOGISTICS SUPPORT DATA

Data, information, and reports required for procurement, supply, cataloging, item identification, item entry control, training, operation, maintenance, overhaul, and modification of systems and/or material. See Logistics Support.

LONG-LEAD ITEM(S)

1) An item for which the contractor requires Authorization and funding prior to program goahead in order to meet contractual End Item delivery schedules. 2) Those Components of a system or piece of equipment for which the times to Design and fabricate are the longest, and, therefore, to which an early Commitment of funds may be desirable in order to meet the earliest possible date of system completion.

LONG RANGE INVESTMENT PLANS

Broad plans based on best Estimates of future top-line fiscal resources, which form the basis for making long range Affordability assessments of Acquisition programs. These plans fall into the Defense Planning Guidance (DPG), and, along with the DPG, support Milestone 0 and I reviews. In accordance with DoD Instruction 5000.2, these plans are prepared by each DoD Component with Planning, Programming, and Budgeting System responsibility, and are approved by the Deputy Secretary of Defense. They are also known as long range investment and modernization plans.

LONG TERM DEBT

Bonds, notes, or other indebtedness assumed by the company which do not mature in one year.

LONG TERM RECEIVABLES

Notes, accounts, and other receivables expected to be collectible after one year, or after a specific operating Cycle.

LOT

1) A group of people or things. 2) A specific quantity of material manufactured under identical conditions, and assigned an identifying lot number for use, technical, manufacturing, production and supply purposes. 3) A collection of units of product bearing identification and treated as a unique entity, from which a sample is to be drawn and inspected to determine conformance with acceptability criteria.

LOT ACCEPTANCE TEST

An Acceptance Test, based on a sampling procedure, to assure that the product retains its quality. No Acceptance or installation should be permitted until this test for a specific Lot has been successfully completed.

LOT QUANTITY

The number of parts, assemblies, or End Items in a Lot, or released on a given work order.

LOT TIME

The Labor Hours associated with a given Lot order.

LOW DOLLAR VALUE ITEM

An item which normally requires considerably less management effort than those in higher dollar groupings.

LOW RATE INITIAL PRODUCTION (LRIP)

The Production of equipment or a system in limited quantity, to provide articles for Operational Test and Evaluation, to establish an initial production Base, and to permit an orderly increase in the Production Rate sufficient to lead to Full Rate Production upon successful completion of operational testing.

LUMPSUM APPROPRIATION

An Appropriation in a specified amount, made for a complete program without prescribing Limitations of Expenditures within the stated purpose and amount.

LUMPSUM REDUCTION

A term used in Negotiations to mean a Cost settlement or adjustment at the bottom line, without identification or allocation to Cost Elements.