Page 64 - Australian Defence Magazine July-August 2021

64 FROM THE SOURCE
JULY-AUGUST 2021
GEORGIA COLLINGWOOD & GAVIN CAMPBELL
LEFT: Ventia hopes to expand its land presence
through enhanced regional fleet management.
verse talent pool. We know that Defence is also seen as a growing sector which is attractive for job security.
ADM: Can you go into more detail on your joint logistics command capability? And how exactly does Ventia intend to expand its presence in the land domain?
BOTH: We currently perform services under two separate contracts for Joint Logistics Command – the Defence Maintenance & Support Services (DMSS) contract pro- vides asset management, maintenance, repair and project works to a wide range of ADF hardware, primarily Army equipment, including Abrams tanks and other armoured vehicles, transport vehicles such as G-Wagons, weapons and electronics equipment. The National Clothing Sup- port Services (NCSS) contract performs fitting, tailoring and issuing of ADF clothing and other clothing-related ser- vices such as medal mounting.
Over the last three years, Ventia trades and support per- sonnel have provide forward support to local units and ex- ercises such as Exercise Talisman Sabre. In the last year, Regional Maintenance Enabling Teams (RMET), common- ly called “Leaning into Brigades”, have provided forward support to units on a permanent basis. In collaboration with the Commonwealth and Army, we hope that Ventia’s land domain presence will be expanded through enhanced regional fleet management and involvement in a greater number of ADF exercises.
ADM: What do the next 12-24 months hold for Ventia's defence business?
BOTH: It’s very important to us that we continue deliver- ing on our existing contracts with a strong focus on find- ing ways to continuously improve and excel in delivering our services.
We have strong relationships with our Defence custom- ers which gives us great insight into what they need to en- hance their capabilities but also where we need to innovate and improve to better support them.
For example, we recently implemented a ‘Home away from Home’ concept at Simpson Barracks which includes upgrades and improvements to the services that support liv- ing on the base.
We also recently invested in the development of the Ventia Innovation Accelerator (VIA), located in the Hub Southern Cross in Melbourne. VIA is a space where we can develop Australian Industry Capability by working with start-ups and new and existing SMEs to create and evolve ideas for our clients.
We will continue to develop the capabilities of our SME supply chain through training, business guidance and fa- cilitating growth opportunities.
We’ll also focus on bringing future capability and sup- port to Defence through Ventia’s broader experience in ICT and Telecommunications, Deployable Fuel, Explosive Ord- nance and Logistics. ■
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 63
tally expensive cost of transportation and off-site disposal. Following two years of working closely with the Depart- ment of Defence, Ventia successfully treated over 11,500 tonnes of PFAS contaminated soil at RAAF Base Edinburgh and RAAF Base Williamtown. There are many other environ- mental benefits of SourceZone, for example during the Edin- burgh trial, approximately 600 trucks were kept off the roads, saving over 300 tonnes of CO2 emissions. SourceZone saved a further 600 tonnes of CO2 emissions by also treating the assumed hazardous/Category A soil on site (approximately 50
per cent of the total soil).
SourceZone generates less than one per cent waste, weight
for weight, and the water used in the process is treated and recycled through the plant continuously, meaning no water is discharged off-site. Carbon dioxide emissions are 75-90 per cent lower than using thermal destruction.
ADM: How does Ventia balance the demands of major civilian works with increasing defence work? Is there a skills shortage in the sector, and if so, how do you mitigate that?
BOTH: We are fortunate to have a workforce of 30,000 peo- ple (employees and subcontractors) including approximately 3,000 for our Defence work. We can draw from expertise across the business to support increases in Defence opera- tions. We’re also fortunate that we offer roles from entry level through to highly skilled which give us access to a di-
VENTIA