CDS DS Podcast Episode 6 Goes Live

Our latest episode of The Briefing Room is now live, taking a deep dive into one of the most fundamental and often misunderstood elements of supportability engineering: the Logistics Support Analysis Record (LSAR).

If you work in defence or engineering, you’ve almost certainly heard the term LSAR. But what does it actually mean, and why is it so critical across the defence lifecycle?

In Episode 6, host Karl Rees is joined by Graham Hill to demystify LSARs and explain how they form the data backbone of Integrated Product / Integrated Logistics Support (IPS / ILS).

Together, they explore how LSAR data is built and structured and incorporating parts information, ARM data, FMECA, RCM, and Maintenance Task Analysis. The discussion shows how this structured data underpins everything from maintenance planning and provisioning to technical publications and long-term support decision-making.

Graham explains that an LSAR is far more than a contractual deliverable or static dataset. Instead, it is a living source of information that helps predict failures, plan maintenance activities, and ensure complex platforms remain safe, supported, and cost-effective throughout their operational life.

The episode also looks beyond traditional support outputs, highlighting how LSAR data increasingly feeds modelling and simulation, digital engineering, and support digital twins. As defence programmes move towards more data-driven approaches, the quality and integrity of LSAR data becomes even more critical.

Designed to be accessible for those new to supportability engineering, while still offering depth for experienced practitioners, this episode provides a clear, practical view of how LSARs connect engineering decisions to real-world support outcomes.

Episode 6 continues The Briefing Room’s focus on unpacking complex defence and engineering topics, following previous discussions on digital engineering, secure-by-design, e-learning, and the roles of sales and business development within the sector.

📺 Watch on YouTube - https://youtu.be/ZZppfHw_KWk
🎧 Listen on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/episode/7d2dq721PKvPNCjZj9RF6f?si=31ruQbWUTs-ngEzIZH74xg