IMPLEMENTATION of PMKeyS for the Army has been put back to ensure the transfer of information takes place with minimal disruption.

Manager PMKeyS Implementation - Army Lt-Col Rob De Haas said the September rollout to the Army was delayed as a result of lessons learnt from the Navy implementation.

"From the very beginning it was forecast that data would be the Achilles heel and what we have learned from the Navy rollout has confirmed that," he said.

"We would prefer to ensure all our data is correct and, once we have tested the system with our data, we will make a determination on a date to go live."

In addition to ensuring a smooth transition for the Army, Defence decided that the impact of adding the Air Force and then the Army might tax the system while it was still absorbing the Navy's impact.

"It's only fair to the Navy and the Air Force that we wait for the system to settle - but we can also take advantage of the opportunity to learn from their experiences.

One of the problems encountered by the Navy was a system slow down caused by anomalies in data.

Information about the same thing input from different systems may sometimes have a different identifier, which might confuse a system looking for one common name.

"A particular aspect within Army terminology may have a different name in the other services, so there needs to be an agreement on commonality to make the system work.

"In some cases this means the data needs to change - some existing systems, for example, may refer to Sub 1 for Cpl, where others may talk about Subj 1 - Cpl or Subject 1 - Corp."

Once the data is mapped, any anomalies can be tested and faults found and corrected.

"Now we're coming onto one system our data will be much more pure, so it's easier to recognise, so less errors could potentially be made."

The go-live date will depend on a number of factors including implications of major unit moves, major exercises and other large-scale events.

There will be a three to four week warning period before the system goes live, when current systems will begin to close off and shut down.

"Initial scepticism of the system has, in many cases, been replaced with acceptance and even anticipation, so we will get the system out as soon as it's ready.

"But we are not willing to provide a system that does not allow us to do what we already do well now.

"So while there may be some small hurt in some places in the short term, they will progress to big leaps forward later on - and that's something we can look forward to."

By Cpl Jonathan Garland