FLEET SUPPORT UNIT – AUSTRALIA(FSU-AUST)

Strengthening Seaworthiness

Through a Re-invigorated 

Fleet Support Unit Capability

Presentation• Fleet Support Unit - Australia

• Seaworthiness

• A Seaworthy Afloat Technical Workforce

• Seaworthiness of the Ashore Technical Workforce

• Summary.

Fleet Support Unit - Australia• In July 2011, the Plan to Reform Support Ship Repair &

Management Practices (Rizzo Report) highlighted key deficiencies in managing Maritime assets across their lifecycle

• Key recommendations from the Rizzo Report:

• R17 - Rebuild Naval Engineering Capability• Be the Technical Masters of the materiel we employ

• R19 - Foster engineering Talent• Grow Technical Mastery every step of the way

• R20 - Rebuild the Fleet Support Unit• Provide opportunity to grow Technical Mastery

Fleet Support Unit - Australia

• In April 2012 Chief of Navy directed that the FSU-AUST be optimised to be more business-like in its operations in order to (eventually) reduce sustainment costs to Navy through better utilisation of the ashore workforce

• FSU-AUST is an Australia-wide maintenance organisation that will consistently deliver high quality maintenance, overhaul, and repair services

• By undertaking this work it will up skill its workforce, rebuild engineering capability, and foster talent

Fleet Support Unit - Australia

• Approx 550 Navy Staff Located nationally across 5 Units

• Largest single employer of ashore technical sailors

• A national headquarters located in Sydney

• Ships & Submarines are the end users• provision of maintenance, overhaul, and repair services• delivered through System Program Offices (SPOs) and the

Navy Inventory Procurement Office (NIPO) (immediate customers)

• Lead by a General Manager• reports to a Board of Directors

Seaworthiness

• Seaworthy – The judgement that a vessel and its crew are fit to fight and win at sea … today

• Seaworthiness – a judgement of the ability to be Seaworthy … tomorrow

• Judgements focus on 3 outcomes [in contextual balance]:

• Operational Effectiveness,

• Safety, and

• Protection of the Environment

• Seaworthiness Culture Project is promoting a strategy that builds, maintains and fosters behaviours that are a key enablers of Seaworthiness.

Seaworthiness Obligations

A Seaworthy Afloat Technical Workforce

• Seaworthy state - an afloat technician that is competent and capable of conducting the full range of preventative and corrective/ restorative maintenance defined to be within the remit of the afloat workforce

• Not just the result of formal training

• Sailors doing the ‘right’ work when they are ashore can make them more competent and capable of conducting the full range of preventative and corrective/ restorative maintenance when they are next at sea

• Build Knowledge

• Learn new skills & techniques

• Build experience & maintain currency

• FSU-AUST should be an integral part of the Operational Readiness cycle so that Readiness and Technical Mastery are achieved simultaneously

NAVYContinuousReadiness

SustainOperations

EffectiveOperations

Operational andTechnical Mastery

MaintainCapability

Self-Sufficiency

Experience

Mission accomplishment

Knowledgeable crew on ship

Knowledgeable sailors

Effective Training

Crew perform Maintenance

Materiel Readiness

FSU performMaintenance

SPO directedMaintenance

ContractedMaintenance

FSU-AUST ContractorShip’s Crew

MSA

Knowledge resideswith contractor

NAVYContinuousReadiness

SustainOperations

EffectiveOperations

Operational andTechnical Mastery

MaintainCapability

Self-Sufficiency

Experience

Mission accomplishment

Knowledgeable crew on ship

Knowledgeable sailors

Effective Training

Crew perform Maintenance

Materiel Readiness

FSU performMaintenance

SPO directedMaintenance

ContractedMaintenance

FSU-AUST ContractorShip’s Crew

MSA

Knowledge resideswith contractor

Technical Mastery Cycle

IndustryFSU-AUSTShip’s Crew

Knowledge Resides with Industry

Technical Mastery

Cycle

Seaworthiness of the Ashore Technical Workforce

• Seaworthiness state - Technical sailors that are being prepared to proceed to their next job afloat with increased competence and capability

• Step 1 - Select the ‘right’ work

• Step 2 - Collaborate with SPOs/NIPO/industry to undertake this work through:

• Blended industry / FSU teams• FSU teams working as a support service provider to a prime

contractor (eg. Group Maintenance Contractor)• FSU undertaking overhaul/refurbishment tasks - whole or part

task• Outplacement of FSU personnel into industry workshops/

workforces

• Step 3 – Produce quality, on time, on target results

Seaworthiness of the Ashore Technical Workforce

Selecting the ‘right’ work• Through selecting and actively participating in the “right”

maintenance, overhaul, and repair tasks, FSU sailors can develop/increase their Technical Mastery

• Total Maintenance Effectiveness (TME) Tool assists in identifying the work that the FSU should focus upon to achieve nominated Technical Mastery (and other) objectives

• Next Slide - Example of tasks where FSU should focus based on weightings applied.

Seaworthiness of the Ashore Technical Workforce

Chart BackgroundRisk of failure

High

Medium

Low

HULL FITTINGS

AIR GAS AND MISCELLANEOUS FLUID SYSTEMS

CATHODIC PROTECTION EQUIPMENT

SEAWATER SYSTEMSMANEOUVERING CONTROL SYSTEMS

SHAFTING AND PROPELLOR SYSTEMSFIXED GAS DETECTION SYSTEM

GAS TURBINE PROPULSION SYSTEMS

DAMAGE CONTROL SYSTEMS

INTEGRATED CONTROL SYSTEMS

PROVISION COOLING PLANTFIRE EXTINGUISHING SYSTEMSFRESHWATER SYSTEMDIESEL PROPULSION SYSTEMS

SHIPS UPS POWER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS

HELICOPTER REFUELLING SYSTEMS

HEATING, VENTILATION AND COOLING SYSTEMSPROPULSION TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS

GENERATION SYSTEM

0

0

Additional Resourcing and FundingReject

GM FSU-AUST Approval

Make Standard Service Line

Low Benefit / Return High benefit / Return

H

ard

to P

rovi

de

Ea

sy to

Pro

vide

Seaworthiness of the Ashore Technical Workforce

The Ability to Surge in Contingencies

• A workforce that has worked hand-in-glove with SPOs, industry:

• Is a known entity, with known capacity and competence

• Is a trusted supplier of quality, on time, on target services [Maintenance Task Management Plan philosophy]

• Provides greater technical support capacity by being able to apply more, trusted, competent tradespeople

Summary• Seaworthiness – a measure of the ability to be seaworthy

tomorrow• Materiel + Personnel

• Requires personnel with Technical Mastery, afloat (seaworthy) and ashore (seaworthiness)

• A need to continuously develop & grow Technical Mastery in the ashore sailor workforce to prepare it for employment afloat and to be available for contingency surge

• FSU can achieve that through the delivery of select maintenance, overhaul, and repair services

• Best achieved by working with SPOs/Industry in partnership

Questions

The TM Equation

AMPS/ URDEF Data

System 1, System 2, System 3…

MT

ET

Navy / FSU

‘rate’ Systems/tasks

Frequency

Task

Lev

elTrad

e skil

ls

Qualifications(Trade skills)

+Task Exposure

(Frequency)+

Task Complexity

(Task level)

Ships task contribution

to TM=

Technical SailorShip maintenance

demand

TM Gap

TM CubeTME Tool

1. The TME Tool informs initial FSU maintenance take-on for Class

2. The TM ‘cube’ stratifies Task level, Frequency and Trade Skills

3. Sailor TM is the sum of Qualifications, Task exposure & Task complexity

4. The TM gap represents the current state

TM Generation