About Us

Meet Our Team

Our team has developed a unique set of skills and deep domain know-how.

David Nelson, ASI

David Nelson is a Principal Reliability Engineer at ASI with over 40 years’ experience in aerospace and defense including 20 years active service as a Naval Aviator in the US Navy. In his current work, David had extensive experience in Design for Reliability (DFR), Reliability Centered Design (RCD), Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), Life Data Analysis (Weibull), Reliability Growth Analysis (RGA), Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM), development of diagnostic processes (specifically using Oil Analysis and Filter Debris Analysis), Root Cause Analysis, Failure Modes Effects and Criticality Analysis (FMECA), reliability statistics and other reliability analysis methods.

David’s prior roles include providing engineering support to US Navy and US Air Force aircraft, US Army ground vehicles, and mass transit facilities and infrastructure. In one of his most prominent projects, David developed algorithms to apply Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (XDRF) for filter debris analysis for the J52 engine on the EA-6B Prowler successfully mitigating catastrophic risk from bearing failure in the Prowler fleet. During his active service as a Naval Aviator, he accumulated over 3000 flight hours piloting carrier-based helicopters providing Antisubmarine Warfare, Combat Search and Rescue, Naval Special Warfare support, and Search and Rescue capabilities to carrier battle groups. David’s military service included an assignment to Air Test and Evaluation Squadron ONE (VX-1) at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, MD where he conducted operational testing and served as an Operational Test Director (OTD) for variants of the H-60 Seahawk helicopter.

David is a Mechanical Engineering (Metallurgical Option) graduate of Texas A&M University. He holds a master’s degree from Auburn University and is a graduate of the US Air Force Air Command and Staff College. David volunteers with SAE Reliability (G41) and Health Monitoring (HM-1) committees for standards development in Design for Reliability (DfR), RCM, FMEA and Condition Based Maintenance (CBM).  David is currently an American Society for Quality (ASQ) Certified Reliability Engineer (CRE). He also held ASQ Certified Six Sigma Black Belt (CSSBB) certification from 2018 to 2024 and was a Society of Maintenance and Reliability Professionals (SMRP) Certified Maintenance and Reliability Professional (CMRP) from 2004 to 2022.

David has been a certified Instructor for the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) for over 20 years teaching and developing courseware for NAVAIR in Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM). He developed courseware for Pierian Academy for the application of Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) in the asset life cycle and Life Data Analysis (Weibull). He was also a tutorial instructor for Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) at the annual IEEE/ASQ Reliability, Availability, and Maintainability Symposium (RAMS) for five years.

Dennis Pries, ASI

Dennis Pries is an accomplished instructor with over 20 years of experience delivering technical training to a diverse range of Department of Defense (DoD) and non-DoD students. He specializes in curriculum development and instruction across various logistics and maintenance disciplines, including Maintenance Planning, Maintenance Task Analysis (MTA), Level of Repair Analysis (LORA), Logistics Product Data (LPD), and Environmental Safety and Occupational Health (ESOH).

Dennis develops and delivers comprehensive course content that aligns with curriculum objectives while fostering a collaborative and engaging learning environment. He applies proven questioning techniques to assess student comprehension and provides constructive feedback to ensure mastery of Enabling Learning Objectives.

His expertise includes providing Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) and LORA analysis for U.S. Navy and Air Force aircraft, U.S. Army and Marine Corps ground vehicles, and civilian mass transit systems. Notably, he conducted in-depth maintenance analysis for the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system, enabling cost-effective operational improvements.

A former Navy Instructor and course manager at a Navy Training Center, Dennis has also performed provisioning, RCM, MTA, and managed the production and maintenance of LPD. He is adept in various maintenance support disciplines and promotes continuous learner development to meet evolving curriculum standards.

Dennis has delivered more than 50 courses spanning the fields of Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) and Supportability Analysis. He holds certifications as a NAVAIR RCM Level III Analyst and a Master Training Specialist.

Chris Rooksberry, ASI

Chris C. Rooksberry is a Program Manager with over 40 years of experience in the aerospace industry. As a Senior RCM Instructor with ASI, he brings more than 25 years of instructional expertise, having conducted over 250 RCM courses.

Chris served as a Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy, where he managed aircraft maintenance for both fixed-wing and rotary-wing platforms. He also spent three years as the senior military RCM instructor at Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Headquarters, providing Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) training to more than 1,500 U.S. Navy Fleet Support Team engineers and Department of Defense contractors across all major fleet concentration areas in the United States.

His RCM instruction has extended to personnel from the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.K. Royal Air Force (RAF), and other international military forces. Chris has led the development of RCM training curricula for both NAVAIR and ASI and is well-versed in MSG-3 and SAE JA1011 standards.

In addition to his military work, Chris has delivered RCM training across a variety of commercial sectors, including manufacturing, power generation, oil and gas, water treatment and distribution, and pharmaceuticals. He has directed RCM projects for military aircraft, manufacturing equipment, data centers, power generation facilities, building infrastructure, and municipal water treatment systems.
Chris is a certified NAVAIR RCM Instructor and Level III Analyst, as well as NAVSEA RCM Backfit Level II Certified.

Nick Stevenson, ASI

Nick Stevenson is a Principal Reliability Engineer at ASI with over 20 years of experience in aerospace and defense, including six years of active service as a Nuclear Machinist Mate on U.S. Navy submarines. In his current work, Nick has extensive experience in Level of Repair Analysis (LORA), Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM), Life Cycle Cost (LCC) analysis, and advanced modeling and simulation.

Nicks prior roles include that of Naval Submarine Engine Room Supervisor where he held the responsibilities of Primary Nuclear-Mechanical Maintenance Coordinator and Machinery Division Training Coordinator for all nuclear-mechanical testing and evaluation. He became the LORA team lead for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) sustainment group and led the development of the largest predictive sustainment model for the Department of Defense (DOD) resulting in over one billion dollars in potential cost savings while increasing aircraft operational availability. He has developed LORA programs for multiple NAVAIR platforms, including the F-18 and E-2D, identifying potential maintenance philosophy changes which resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in potential cost savings, some of which has been implemented or is in the process of implementation.

Nick received his Bachelor of Science degree in Nuclear Engineering Technology from Thomas Edison State College. He then obtained a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering from the University of Central Florida. Nick holds a position on the SAE Life Cycle Logistics Supportability (LCLS) committee and has contributed to reviews and updates to the AS1390 LORA standard. Additionally, he is a Certified Maintenance and Reliability Professional (CMRP) via the Society of Maintenance and Reliability Professionals (SMRP). Nick is a Level 3 certified RCM analyst and is a Subject Matter Expert (SME) on many economic LORA software programs, including EDCAS, COMPASS, and OPUS.

Nick has been a certified Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) instructor for over 10 years teaching and developing courseware for NAVAIR in LORA. He co-wrote the NAVAIR and Perian Academy LORA 101 course and has contributed to extensive updates to each module.

Walter W. Whitington, ASI

Walter W. Whitington is a highly respected Maintenance Planning Subject Matter Expert at ASI, bringing in over 55 years of extensive experience in all areas of Acquisition and Sustainment Integrated Logistics Support (ILS).

A proud U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Walter began his career as an Avionics Technician and later became a certified Navy Instructor. As an Avionics Officer, he supported NAVAIR as an Acquisition Manager for Automatic Test Equipment (ATE) and associated Test Program Sets (TPS). His expertise has been sought after across multiple Department of Defense program offices, where he provided in-depth support in Built-In Test (BIT) requirements, Maintenance Planning, Maintenance Task Analysis (MTA), and Root Cause Analysis.

Walter is a Certified Acquisition Manager and honorably retired Marine Corps Avionics Officer. Following his military service, he has spent over 45 years as a contractor supporting NAVAIR logistics and acquisition programs, bringing both strategic insight and technical depth to sustainment initiatives.

As a Navy-certified instructor, Walter has a strong foundation in instructional methodology and curriculum development. He has taught more than 100 classes to over 1,500 military and civilian personnel from the Navy and Marine Corps, contributing significantly to the professional development of logistics and maintenance professionals across the services.

Rob Willis, ASI

Rob Willis is the Chief Operating Officer at ASI with over 35 years of operational and logistics experience. His current responsibilities include demand planning, resource allocation, financial planning, and employee development. Rob’s current responsibilities also include the development of training material including Integrated Product Support, Design Interface and Maintenance Planning, and Maintenance Task Analysis for government and industry professionals. He has over 20 years of experience in training needs analysis, curriculum development, and instructional techniques.

Rob served as an Aviation Supply and Operations Officer in the United States Marine Corps before joining ASI. During his 26-year career in the Marine Corps, Rob served numerous tours as a Supply Department Lead and Officer in Charge on numerous deployments. Additionally, he served on multiple operational and staff commands, allowing him to participate in numerous logistics planning events to support forward-deployed units. His final tour in the Marine Corps was at Naval Air Systems Command, where he was instrumental in designing and developing improved logistics processes for deployed aviation weapon systems.

Rob holds a MS in Leadership and a BS in Management Studies. He is also certified in numerous Theory of Constraints disciplines, including Jonah, Jonah for Facilitators, Supply Chain Technical Expert, Supply Chain Deployment Expert. During his military career, he was also designated as a Master Training Specialist from the US Navy.

Vijay Chachra, ASI

Vijay Chachra serves as Vice President of Life Cycle Support Solutions, where he is responsible for promoting ASI’s suite of software tools and services across the full spectrum of life cycle support management. His areas of focus include Logistics Product Data (LPD), Level of Repair Analysis (LORA), spares optimization, and Life Cycle Cost (LCC) modeling and simulation.

With over 35 years of experience in developing and consulting on Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) software solutions, Vijay is a recognized expert in supportability engineering disciplines. His software expertise includes tools such as SLICwave, PowerLOG-J, OmegaPS, TFD EDCAS, and MAAP. For the past 13 years at ASI, he has supported numerous NAVAIR programs as well as a wide range of commercial clients. Previously, he spent 10 years supporting the U.S. Air Force ICBM program, where he led the development of LPD and supportability solutions for several system upgrade initiatives.

Vijay holds a master’s degree in industrial engineering and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. He is a life member of the SAE Life Cycle Logistics Support (LCLS) Committee, contributing to the development of the GEIA-STD-0007 standard. He also serves on the ASD S5000F Field Feedback Specification team and is a CLEP Board Member, where he helps establish international chapters.

An experienced instructor, Vijay has taught numerous courses both domestically (CONUS) and internationally (OCONUS), delivering training across various support disciplines including LPD, Logistics Support Analysis (LSA), Maintenance Task Analysis (MTA), and Failure Mode, Effects, and Criticality Analysis (FMECA), using relevant COTS software.

Jill Burbank, ASI

Jill Burbank currently serves as a Logistician III at ASI, where she brings over two decades of aeronautics experience to her role as a lead instructor. She specializes in Environmental, Safety, and Occupational Health (ESOH), Logistics Product Data (LPD), Maintenance Planning, and Maintenance Task Analysis (MTA). Jill is known for her dynamic teaching style and commitment to fostering a collaborative learning environment. She brings real-world insight into every class, drawing from her rich background in both engineering and logistics support.

Earlier in her career, Jill held various roles in aeronautical engineering, training, and logistics support, contributing to several high-profile programs within the aerospace and defense sectors. Her broad range of experience allowed her to transition seamlessly into technical training and logistics analysis, where she continues to make a meaningful impact.

Jill is recognized for her strong commitment to continuous learning and knowledge sharing. She holds certifications relevant to her logistics and ESOH specialties and is actively involved in internal initiatives aimed at enhancing training effectiveness and course development. Her contributions extend to mentoring junior staff and supporting improvements in logistics processes across projects.

With a natural passion for teaching, Jill has instructed numerous courses for both military and civilian personnel, covering a wide range of supportability topics. She is known for her clear communication, practical examples, and ability to translate complex concepts into actionable knowledge. Jill believes in the power of positive thinking in the workplace and leverages her extensive experience to inspire, educate, and empower others to excel.

Peter Stuttard, Aspire Consulting

Peter has been involved in Defence support for all of his working life, initially in the Army and then as a specialist in Supportability Engineering. He has worked in the Maritime, Land and Air Environments, he has significant experience in working with Defence organisations including the UK MoD, overseas Governments, and Prime Contractors in places as diverse as the UK, Canada, The Netherlands, Germany, Singapore, Sweden, South Africa, and Turkey.

He has extensive experience as a lecturer and trainer in Supportability Engineering; he has been actively engaged in the development and training of US and UK Defence Standards, including ASD S-Series specifications. Peter has trained a great number of MOD, Armed Services, and Defence industry personnel around the world, up to the Post Graduate level, having lectured on a range of Post Graduate degree courses.

As an Army veteran, Peter served in the UK, Canada (BATUS), and Germany maintaining Army and Commando aircraft, he has operated on land and at sea, having deployed on Royal Navy [RN] and Royal Fleet Auxiliary [RFA] vessels.

Lee Fitzsimons, Aspire Consulting

Lee is a Director and support engineer with Aspire Consulting. He is the product lead for Aspire’s reliability-centered maintenance and training development services and acts as the focal point for Aspire’s involvement in the Pierian Academy.

A former aircraft mechanical technician with the Royal Air Force, after his service career was cut short by a sporting injury, Lee joined Aspire to become a support engineer. Lee has contributed to and led reliability-centered maintenance analyses, and wider logistic support analysis projects in the Air and Maritime environments on behalf of the user/operator community and industry.

Lee is a UK industry representative within the S-Series community, contributing to the steering committees responsible for SX000i, S4000P, and S6000T.

Lee was the product owner of Aspire’s supporting engineering software tool, A*, leading a multidisciplinary team consisting of analysts, software engineers, and customers, to develop and sell a homegrown tool. Lee has developed and delivered several training courses in topics including reliability-centered maintenance, Defense Systems Approach to Training, the S-Series, and others.

Bill Blatch, TFD Global

Bill Blatch is the TFD Global Technical Director, with 40 years’ experience in Management, Programme Development, Research and Project Planning. He is a former Royal Airforce Avionics Technician who specialised in database management for logistics analysis. He was the Database Administrator and data manager of the central DLO Logistics Analysis & Research Organisation (LARO) responsible for the collation, storage, maintenance, and quality of all data used for logistics modelling across all Air platforms and the transition towards the Land domain.

Of note, Bill has conducted Modelling and Analysis of Supportability within UK Military Flying System (UKMFTS) and has been instrumental in the support of a European Partner Company to configure their comprehensive military ERP system and customer data to support Lockheed-Martin F16, F-35 and C-130 fleets across several international customers.

Bill is highly proficient in the use and methodology behind SQL Server, Oracle 9i, Cisco Networking, UML 2.0 and is currently researching emerging Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Large Data, Decision Support Optimization and Simulation processes and autonomic support/supply intervention. He is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) and holds a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Electrical and Electronic Engineering.

Fergus Hawkins, TFD Global

Fergus Hawkins is the Vice President of TFD (Europe), with over 30 years’ experience in Asset Management and Product Support gained whilst serving within the Royal Air Force (RAF) and as a Civilian Contractor within UK Defence Project Teams and Industry Partnerships. He is responsible for Business Development, Software Sales, and Consultancy Services in the Asset Management & Product Supportability domain.

Fergus has considerable experience in Defence Acquisition Projects, including first-hand knowledge of Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul and Upgrade activity, as well as LSAR and Support Publications expertise. He has managed teams employed on a multitude of high-profile UK Defence Platforms such as C17, Buccaneer, Jaguar, Sea King, Tornado, A400M and Poseidon.

Fergus holds an Honours Degree in Electrical & Electronic Engineering, an MSc in Quality, Reliability & Maintainability from the Warwick Manufacturing Group and an MSc in Information, Management & Technology from Cranfield University. He is Prince 2 (Foundation & Practitioner), APMP and Agile PM Qualified and is also an Interviewer/Assessor of Chartered Engineer (CEng) and Incorporated Engineer (IEng) candidates for the Institute of Engineering & Technology, (IET)

Simon Pethick, TFD Global

Simon Pethick is a Senior Supportability Modeller, Analyst and Consultant at TFG (Europe), with over 25 years of Supply Chain experience gathered within the UK Defence Sector. He is a former UK Armed Forces Logistician, specialising in Inventory Management, Provisioning, Facilities and Physical Logistics, with an in-depth knowledge of the UK Defence Logistic Framework, Defence Standards and MOD Inventory Management Systems.

Simon has Consulted on the MODs Hawk Integrated Service Support Contract in partnership with BAE Systems and is well versed in Contract Deliverables, Performance Indicators and Commercial Negotiations as well as being a seasoned Logistic Data Analyst and Provisioner.

Simon holds Qualifications in Leadership & Management, Logistics, Project Management and Health and Safety. He is a Chartered Manager and a Member of the Chartered Institute for Logistics (CILT) UK.