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NAVY ENGINEERING BULLETIN MARCH 2003
33
Turning Things Around – A
Team effort
CAPT CRAIG KERR,
DIRECTOR, NAVY PROFESSIONAL
REQUIREMENTS (ENGINEERING
AND LOGISTICS)
In the second issue of the Navy Engineering Bulletin I wrote an article
regarding workforce structures which pondered the underlying reasons
why RAN technical workforces are seemingly ‘upside down’ and
unsustainable. One of the main points of the article was that through
modernising our Navy we had changed the required ratio of Senior
Sailors to Junior Sailors. But, by reducing the relative requirement for
Junior Sailors we have unwittingly decimated the ‘breeding ground’ for
our Senior Sailors.
In this article, I will touch on the
changes that have been
developed to address the ANZAC
MT conundrum. I offer it as an
example of what can be achieved
when adequate time and
resource are made available and
focussed effort is put into
resolving problems. There has
been tremendous teamwork
across and beyond the RAN in
addressing not only the specific
ANZAC MT problem, but also in
taking on other technical
personnel issues across Navy.
ANZAC Marine Technicians
There have been some exciting
developments regarding the
ANZAC MTs, which you may recall
had more POMTs in their
workforces than LSMTs. (This
made for an “upside down”
workforce structure and carried
with it unsustainable manpower
overheads.) A comprehensive
‘reverse engineering’ of the
Organisational and Corrective
Maintenance requirements has
been completed together with an
analysis of a number of options
to restructure the ANZAC MT
workforce. The result was that it
can be demonstrated the ANZAC
MTs can have a sustainable
workforce and meet the onboard
‘O’ level maintenance
requirement, (there are, of
course, limits and a number of
caveats to this statement)
Trials and implementation
subsequently commenced.
HMAS ANZAC deployed with extra
bunks fitted and additional crew
to facilitate transition into the
new structure. The end state
increases the onboard MT
Scheme of Complement by one
ABMT per Ship. (Shock, Horror –
8 sea going billets across the
class. But...) The number of
POMTs is reduced and offset by
an increase in LSMTs and in
doing so we can re-align the
driving rank and actually reduce
the ANZAC Class total (sea and
shore) liability from approx 890
MT billets to 445. Smoke and
mirrors, you might say but the
facts are we simply don’t have
the 890 personnel and are
unlikely to even get them / afford
them. What has been done here
is an optimisation of the available
/ projected available ANZAC MT
workforce, and adjustment of the
workloads to best fit the available
workforce. We are trying to live
within our means.
Use the Technology!
In order to make this work it was
necessary to free up the talent
invested in our Engineer Officer of
the Watch (EOOW) at the POMT
level tied to the Machinery
Control Room Consoles
watchkeeping. The analysis found
that we actually needed the
POMTs to supervise maintenance
rather than watchkeep in the
traditional manner. It was also
considered that the levels of
protection and automation
provided by the machinery
controls did not justify the
presence of an EOOW qualified
technician in the MCR under
most circumstances. An
alternatively (lesser) qualified
person should be able to safely
monitor and control the plant –
and bring it to a safe state under
fault conditions.
The above considerations also
prompted a questioning of
current paradigms relating to all
MT watchkeeper requirements.
Through a fairly intense series of
Marine Engineering Advisory
Group (MEAG) meetings we are
changing towards more relevant /
modern watchkeeping
arrangements. There is reinvigoration
in the air. Technology
already embedded in our Ships is
being utilised more appropriately.
There have also been a number
of trials conducted in Major Fleet
Units which break the mould of
machinery rounds and recording
data (seemingly) just for the sake
of recording it. I personally
believe rounds need to further