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60 NAVY ENGINEERING BULLETIN AUGUST 2002 in’. The high rise to the classic bathtub graph, which many technical personnel are familiar with. The high initial wear rates eventually flattening out for most of the machines life, then rising again near the end of its life. It is when machinery begins to climb out of the bathtub that action should be initiated. Why Bother To Sample It is well known that many Engineering Personnel are unaware of the true condition of the lubricating oil in the machinery in their charge. In fact there is a litany of documented examples where personnel have in fact been provided with erroneous information by the portable oil test kits, which were in service prior to the Kittiwake Oil Test Kit. Those oil test kits were totally inadequate, and just one that supports this assertion is that between 1996 and the introduction of the Kittiwake, the laboratory testing had detected in excess of 80 lube oil samples that exhibited fuel dilution greater than the maximum permissible level of 5%. Experience has shown that when fuel dilution exceeds 5% there is an unacceptable level of risk of catastrophic failure as a result of oil thinning and crankcase explosion. Tests are conducted onboard on a daily and weekly basis in order to detect the presence of excessive fuel dilution. However, it was apparent that the old test kits were unable to accurately determine the degree of fuel dilution and providing ship’s staff with false confidence in their machinery. FCAU staff process all samples that are suspected to suffer from fuel dilution with the upmost priority. During this period the laboratory testing also detected 25 incidents of lube oil having excessive sodium contamination. The presents of sodium indicates salt water leaking into the machinery via the seawater cooling system. At the moment laboratory testing is the only way to detect early sodium contamination of lubricating oils. Routine laboratory testing of oil samples has also revealed many other simple problems ranging from the wrong oil being used, oils being contaminated with water, oils with expired life and frequently hydraulic oil is found to be heavily contaminated with particle matter. SOAP Spectrographic Analysis of lubricating oil has been undertaken on much equipment in HMA Fleet since 1982. The RAN SOAP has been in existence since 1992 and has proven to be cost effective and now enables Engineers and shore support organisations to more effectively manage maintenance with the view to increasing machinery reliability. FCAU staff have used the SOAP to detect a wide variety of major and minor defects thus enabling repairs to be conducted in a planned manner. It is common knowledge that reactive maintenance is expensive and that proper planning cuts direct and indirect costs, however what is alarming is that figures from civilian industry indicate that 60% of maintenance is unplanned. Whilst FCAU has achieved many successes and saved millions of dollars through a reduction in unplanned maintenance and improved machinery reliability, it is not suggested that the SOAP is the panacea for defects on HMA Ships. Unexpected failures continue to occur for several reasons, namely, a lack of samples, poor quality sampling and the time it takes between taking a sample and receiving the results from the laboratory. In summary, it is true to say that oil sampling can help ship’s staff and support agencies. Sampling may be an embuggerance; however, it is the only way to really determine the quality of your oil. With regular careful sampling there is the real potential to reduce unnecessary maintenance and reduce the ships workload. Ship’s staff are encouraged to sample at the prescribed time. Whilst it is accepted that the system may not be perfect, it is being improved and its ultimate aim is to eliminate unplanned failures and the headaches and cost penalties applied to rectifying those defects.
NAVY ENGINEERING BULLETIN AUGUST 2002 61 ANZAC Class System Program Office – Our Function BY LEUT GILES WILSON ANZAC SYSTEM PROGRAM OFFICE Introduction In January 2002, the ANZAC System Program Office (ANZ SPO) opened its doors in Rockingham, Western Australia. Previously, this office (formerly known as the ANZAC SMO) had been split between the east (in Williamstown, Victoria) and the west (in HMAS STIRLING, Western Australia). With the home porting of three ANZAC Class ships at Fleet Base West (FBW), the decision was made to consolidate the ANZ SPO in one location. The ANZ SPO is responsible for the delivery of integrated logistic support products and services that modify, maintain and control the Product Baseline (PBL) of each vessel and shore installation from ship delivery. This is achieved using commercial in-service support contracts and in-house Australian Defence Force resources. The opportunity to shift from Melbourne was taken by only a select few incumbents; the remainder opted to remain in the home of Australian Football League and umbrellas. The vacated billets were filled by an assortment of personnel, primarily from Western Australia. The purpose-fitted building at Chalgrove Avenue now houses the majority of the logistic support and products to support and sustain the ANZAC Class capability for the ADF. The geographic span of the organisation is now Rockingham in the west and Melbourne with some residual business functions still in Canberra. The business functions will soon move west and will report to Director General Major Surface Ships (DGMSS) branch headquarters by exception, leaving the SPO relatively autonomous. Additionally, the ANZ SPO is opening a shopfront in Sydney and will be co-located with the FFG SPO to support the home basing of HMAS STUART to Fleet Base East (FBE). This group will expand as more ships are based at FBE. ANZAC System Program Office Director The Director (SPO-D) is currently CMDR Chris Eggleton. This position is the single point of accountability for the provision of the ANZAC Class Platform Engineering capability and integrity to the Capability Element Manager (CEM) and through Commander Australian Navy Surface Combatant Group to the Maritime Commander. This includes maintenance of the various baselines; any change to these baselines (including major projects), all Integrated Logistic Services deliverables (with the exception of training) and control of all the baselines including classification certificates. The position is rated as a Navy Captain / Executive Level 2 level but is likely to revert to a civilian position as a result of the recent Defence Material Organisation review of service personnel. To facilitate the accountability accorded the position, the SPO-D exercises authority by being a member of several ANZAC Class and related project boards such as SEA 1348 phase II (the ANZAC Ship build project), the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) project, Anti-Ship Missile Defence (ASMD) project, Underwater and Surface Warfare Upgrade (USWUP) project and the ANZAC Alliance board. The total budget for these projects amounts to approximately $A 7 billion, spread over several years. Unfortunately, most of the boards meet in Canberra, Melbourne or Sydney and not sequentially so if you enjoy air travel, the ANZ SPO-D is the job for you! System Program Office Sections The SPO itself is functionally broken into four major groups (SPOkes?). These are Sustainment, Business, Project Office and Generation. Each group is managed by a Commander or Executive Level 1 equivalent, with the exception of the build Project Office which has a project manager at Executive Level 2 level and the Generation group (now the ANZAC Alliance) which is managed by a board-appointed General Manager. Sustainment Manager (SS) Lieutenant Commander JASON Sears currently fills the SS position. This position manages the In- Service Support environment for
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