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Defence Materiel Organisation

Maritime Reform

By Karlene Sargent

Supporting maritime capability development through the forging of major and minor investment proposals, the acquisition and introduction into service of approved capability elements, in-service support and eventual disposal when life-of-type is reached, is core business for Maritime Systems Division (MSD).

"The aims of Maritime Systems Division are aligned with DMO's vision to become Australia's premier program management and engineering services organisation," says Rear Admiral Trevor Ruting. "We are on the right path, albeit a challenging one, towards the realisation of a renewed and improved capability delivery organisation."

Appointed Head of Maritime Systems in June 2004, Rear Admiral Ruting has forged an illustrious career in Naval engineering and procurement since joining the Navy in 1968. He was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross in 1992 and made a Member of the Order of Australia (Military Division) in 2002.

As Head of MSD, Rear Admiral Ruting is pursuing an ambitious program to renew his division, in line with CEO Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO), Dr Gumley's vision for DMO. Rear Admiral Ruting's ultimate objective in this process is for MSD to become 'a recognised and proficient provider of maritime materiel and a great place to work'. Four key objectives - developed in consultation with the MSD executive team - are driving the Renewal program, namely:

  • Create a robust MSD organisation that will meet the needs of our customers well into the future;
  • Establish credible and achievable schedules across all business areas;
  • Create a total environment where we have effective engineering oversight of our work on maritime platform, equipment and inventory; and
  • Create a network of effective communications within the Division and with our Defence and Industry partners.

The creation of the MSD Renewal program is the direct result of consultation, with MSD staff, which sought to gauge the organisation's reaction to pressures on the delivery of capability, including the increased operational tempo, new reporting requirements, and the continued movement of System Program Offices (SPOs) to activity centres and the impact of the separation and establishment of two new programs within the DMO - Air Warfare Destroyer, and Amphibious Deployment & Afloat Support.

The relocation of SPOs to locations that are central to Force Element Group (FEG) activity is no easy task. With his people already dispersed across the country - from Cairns to Perth - Rear Admiral Ruting acknowledges that losing qualified, skilled and experienced people is one of the key risks in this process.

"Creating a robust organisation necessitates that some of the focus of our renewal activities is on skills requirements - now and in the future. Not only are we looking at the engineering graduate scheme, but the renewal team are also investigating the skills and job families we require to perform the work of a recognised, proficient provider of maritime materiel. To this end, we are undertaking to research all schemes currently available within Defence and attempting to map our requirements out across the next 20 years."

"Implementing appropriate changes and improvements in MSD is a positive step towards achieving our mission and I continue to consider any proposed change in the light of what is best for our people and the delivery of capability to Navy," says Rear Admiral Ruting.

Maintaining effective and productive working relationships with key customers - particularly Navy and Capability Development Group - is also high on Rear Admiral Ruting's priority list, throughout and beyond the MSD Renewal program.

But, Rear Admiral Ruting admits, there are inherent challenges in implementing the MSD Renewal program - not least of which ensuring that his people are informed and consulted every step of the way.

"Finding a balance between delivering our capability and maintaining the morale of my people remains both a priority and a challenge for me", he says.

In the meantime, MSD is getting on with the job of renewal through a number of supporting projects, which include Financial Management Renewal Project, Business Enterprise Architecture Model (BEAM), Standardising, Ship and Submarine Depot Level Maintenance and Communications.

For further information about the MSD Renewal program, visit: http://intranet.defence.gov.au/dmoweb/Sites/MSD/

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