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NEW:
Six Adelaide Class Frigates are among some of the ships
already using CMT.
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Photo:
LSPH Phillip ‘Rex’ Hunt
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The
implementation of a new corporate strategy is set to revolutionise
the way that Navy operates in the material (engineering and maintenance)
domain.
The Defence Department’s corporate strategy for the rationalisation
and standardisation of configuration/ technical data management
aims to move from paper-driven asset management into the paperless,
instant era where it has control of ‘configuration data’ rather
than mere ‘maintenance data’.
Based on Team center Aerospace & Defense software, the development
complements the RAN’s current seagoing logistic transactions system,
the Asset Management Planning System (AMPS), by interfacing AMPS
to a shore-based safety- and efficiency- driven Configuration
Management Tool (CMT) called Teamcenter.
In Australia, the CMT has 300 users based in Western Australia
and 200 users on the eastern seaboard.
The web-enabled system allows firewall-protected access to authorised
users of the Defence Restricted Network (DRN) from anywhere in
the world. The rollout of the CMT began in June 2003, going into
eight Anzac Class frigates operating out of Garden Island, WA.
The next to use the CMT were six Adelaide Class frigates operating
out of Sydney NSW. The trigger for the search for such a capability
was the fire in HMAS Westralia in 1998, which claimed the lives
of four Navy sailors. One of the recommendations of the Board
of Inquiry was to do a review of configuration management in the
RAN.
Configuration Management Tool (CMT) Project Manager CMDR Mal Gahan,
in his previous capacity as a systems engineering management consultant,
spent five months compiling the ‘Gahan’ Report which made many
recommendations, one of which was to put all Navy data in one
place and institute a lifecycle change management process.
CMDR Gahan said the software ensures that sailors conducting maintenance
in ships at sea can go about their tasks in the maritime environment,
safe in the knowledge that the documentation, spares and training
material are the latest available, and congruent with the current
modification status of the equipment that they support.
“We wanted a purpose-built information system that gives us configuration
management compliance and complements our existing maintenance
management system,” CMDR Gahan said.
“Nowhere in Defence was there a configuration management tool
that would give us the transparency we needed for the entire lifecycle
of every maritime asset.
“We required something that identified equipment fitted and any
modifications to it, including any changes to drawings, specifications
and the like, and we needed links between technical documents,
all in one data warehouse.” “Before we had filing cabinets and
manual archives but nothing really linked to anything.
We also now have created a safer environment in which to work
from start to finish.”
Teamcenter Aerospace and Defense has a secure, web-native environment
with product lifecycle management capabilities for program- driven
change and configuration management, audit management, scheduling,
document management, ITAR (Export Control) administration and
CDRL/SDRL data management.
The product provides the first complete product lifecycle management
solution for the Aerospace and Defence industry to fully integrate
product knowledge from procurement stage to product retirement.
“By moving from simple asset management and into a thorough configuration
management, the Navy has set the foundations for similar upgrades
right across the three arms of the Department of Defence,” said
CMDR Gahan.
“Standardisation and rationalisation of asset information is one
thing, but the centralisation of data and total control of that
data eliminates support of existing systems so there is a major
cost saving.”
