The Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Ray Griggs announced today the establishment of a new organisation, Fleet Support Unit – Australia, to provide better maintenance support to the Navy.
The re-organisation was one of the key recommendations to come out of a review conducted by the Navy’s Continuous Improvement Program and incorporates elements of the Rizzo plan to reform Navy support ship repair and management practices.
The review identified that the disparate Fleet Support Units were not empowered to achieve their primary aim of repair and maintenance. The new unit will be an amalgamation of the current Fleet Support Units currently located in different establishments around the country.
“The mission of the new organisation will be to focus on the intermediate level maintenance services of the fleet,” Vice Admiral Griggs said.
“The unit will be optimised in a business like manner to eventually generate potential returns in reduced sustainment costs to Navy. We will achieve this by a more effective use of our skilled work force.”
The new Fleet Support Unit – Australia organisation will be run by a General Manager with deep experience in operating a maritime focused civilian engineering business. The General Manager will report to a Governance Board chaired by the Head of Navy Engineering, Rear Admiral Mick Uzzell .
The Chief of Navy has commended personnel serving in current Fleet Support Units now and over the past decade for their continued hard work.
“All Fleet Support Unit personnel and the broader Navy will now actively work to transform the Fleet Support Unit – Australia into a truly first class national maritime maintenance organisation.”
The new FSU organisation would be largely operational by the 1st July this year.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff , April 13, 2012; Image: navy