By
Andrew Stackpool
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Certificates
of appreciation have been presented to families who
looked after MWD pups.
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Improvements
are now being built into the system, which has been
rolled out across most Air Force bases.
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THE
ADF’s computer-aided maintenance management (CAMM2) system has
passed its first major operational challenges.
On Operation Sumatra Assist, a stand-alone system was deployed
to Banda Aceh to support Iroquois helicopters and the communications-based
system supported C-130Hs deployed to Butterworth.
Navy tested the standalone system in Melbourne during the recent
Formula One Grand Prix and the system supported Defence aircraft
involved in the Australian International Air Show at Avalon.
CAMM2 is set up to support air operations by providing serviceable,
airworthy and correctly configured weapons systems. CAMM2 project
manager Wing Commander David Fredericks said that at the same
time the team was working on finalising the development of the
stand-alone system, the system was deployed to Banda Aceh to meet
operational requirements.
Given its development status at the time of deployment, some system
bugs were identified that needed fixing and they required sending
one of his staff members into the field to do it.
While there, the opportunity was used to visit the Hercules detachment
at Butterworth, who were using the system via satellite communications
rather than the standalone box out in the field.
“From the two deployment perspectives, we obtained excellent feedback
on the product, how it performed and where there were areas for
improvement,” WGCDR Fredericks said.
“We are now building those improvements into the system as we
roll it out. We are trying to come up with the most robust system
possible, not just out on the bases in normal CAMM2, but also
in our deployable comms-based and standalone solutions.”
New software releases are expected to occur by the middle of the
year. They will be used to automate the data exchange system between
the deployable units and the system’s mainframes.
The exchange system is CAMM2’s unique feature, according to Squadron
Leader Mark Wilkins, from the CAMM2 project office. “As far as
I know, it is the only maintenance system that works across all
ADF-owned aircraft in our inventory,” he said.
Brigadier Dave McGahey, DMO’s Director-General Material Information
Systems, visited the project’s Fyshwick offices recently to congratulate
the team for their “outstanding efforts” and praised the dedication
of the project’s contractor, Accenture.
BRIG McGahey briefed them on the way ahead as the rollout to all
bases reaches its end. He said the team would now focus on the
transition to the sustainment phase of the project, which is expected
to be completed within two years.
“The focus will be on the next series of upgrades, the centralisation
of services and increasing deployability of the product,” he said.
“We need to delight our customers to mature the product and I
know we will.” He is looking forward to the challenges of the
two years ahead.
“The great success has been the ability to put quality supply
and maintenance information systems into the hands of the warfighters,”
he said.
“That is our role and within Defence we’ve come from an environment
with lot of stovepipes, systems that don’t talk to each other
and poor data.
The team has a vision of where we are taking this into the future,
but more so of what we can do with getting our current systems
to talk to each other and making them deployable to support the
warfighter.”
System
Background
The
UNIX-based CAMM2 was established in May 1994. It supports all
ADF aircraft operations and is for use by everyone involved in
the aircraft maintenance and refit processes.
Since initial site testing of the prototype system began in July
1995 at No. 38 Squadron at RAAF Base Amberley, the system has
been rolled out across many of the ADF’s aircraft.
Rollout for the F-111, Hornet, Hawk, PC-9, AP-3C, Blackhawk, Kiowa,
Iroquois, C-130H and B707 aircraft, their associated system program
offices and their major maintenance contractors has been completed.
By mid 2005, Navy’s aviation units will be converted, then C130Js
in late 2005.
