Review of Collins Class submarine maintenance regime nears completion
The latest review into how Australia's submarine fleet
is repaired and maintained is expected to be given to the Federal
Government shortly.
The review by British expert John Coles began
in 2011 and has recommended structural changes to the Australian
Submarine Corporation (ASC) to improve efficiency and productivity.
The
latest instalment is expected to focus on what improvements have been
made and comes as the ASC completes a two-year refit of one submarine,
the HMAS Rankin.
The boat will now be handed back to the navy which will then fit its operational systems.
"The
Coles Report was a galvanising moment for ASC," said General Manager
for Collins Class Submarine Maintenance Operations Mark Stephens.
"It
took us from doing two boats in full docking and changed that
methodology. It has radically shaped how we look at the maintenance,
what maintenance we do and how we do the maintenance."
The most
obvious sign of change at the Osborne site is a three-storey dry dock
maintenance support tower which replaces old scaffolding and allows
workers easier access to the submarines.
The timetable for major
maintenance of the boats has changed from three years to two in keeping
with the Defence Department's desire to have more of the fleet available
for the navy at any one time.
In 2012, then-defence minister
Stephen Smith said the Coles Review showed "we fall substantially below
any comparable international benchmark".
The ASC believes the reorganisation of its operations positions it well for future projects.
"We
are now looking towards that advanced manufacturing and how that is
going to equip us to be more efficient in the build phase," said Mr
Stephens.
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