Page 40 - Australian Defence Magazine October 2019
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PACIFIC
SHIP ZERO
“Ship Zero will give Navy reliable oversight throughout the Capability Life Cycle. It can't be viewed as just one element of program delivery.”
The keel laying ceremony for the first of the Arafura class at Osborne.
seaman’s service life will help to select the best people for each role.”
Continuous Naval Shipbuilding program
A Continuous Naval Shipbuilding pro- gram was announced in April 2016 by former Prime Minister Malcolm Turn- bull. This has given a renewed focus to Australian shipbuilding activity that will continue for many decades. As well as the economic benefits, the continuous ship- building program aims to develop a more agile and more adaptable Navy.
Just as the Air Force has moved away from a regulated environment to a new management framework based on air- worthiness, Navy is adopting a similar approach. Plan Mercator aims to increase seaworthiness across the fleet by requiring future Navy programs (beginning with the Arafura patrol boats under Sea 1180 and
the Hunter class frigates under Sea 5000) to implement the Ship Zero concept.
A report from the Rapid Prototyping De- velopment and Evaluation (RPDE) program in December 2016 addressed Fundamental Inputs to Capability (FIC) considerations regarding the establishment of Ship Zero. This was followed by Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) Systems Engineer- ing Faculty workshops that defined Ship Zero outcomes and functions. The work- shops called for a Ship Zero Operational Concept Document (OCD) to provide con- text to Navy Capability Program Sponsors defining what Ship Zero may look like when implemented in their Programs.
The OCD identifies seven key functions: • material sustainment
• capability specific training
• logistic engineering support
• management of capability assurance
and evolution
• support for the personnel who provide the capability
• professional skills development and or- ganisational learning
• development of tactics, techniques and procedures.
Organisations, infrastructure, facilities
and assets such as a headquarters, land- based test sites, training, through-life and crew support facilities will be required to support these functions. Their implemen- tation will depend on the nature of the supported capability, in particular: its mis- sion set, its support systems and the cost to implement. What will be critical is the re- lationship between each internal organisa- tion, the external supporting systems, the broader Australian Defence Organisation and Australian Defence Industry.
Author of RPDE’s report, Rear Admiral Neil Perry outlined the benefits that Ship Zero will bring to future programs.
“This initiative will bring all FICs to- gether, providing a more complete view of each capability. As a capability centre, it provides a reliable single source of knowl- edge throughout each Capability Life Cycle,” RADM Perry said.
Commodore Phil Spedding, Director General Navy Program Support & Infra- structure outlined to ADM what he sees as the key benefits to the Navy.
“The purpose of Ship Zero is to enhance
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