As economies across the globe continue to contract, navies, armies, and air forces are being told, if not, “do more with less” to at least “do the same with less.” Proceedings thus asked sea-service commanders around the world: What innovative efficiencies and economies are you implementing, or considering implementing, to improve force readiness?
Rear Admiral Bernt Grimstvedt
As chief of the Royal Norwegian Navy, I am constantly on the lookout for new ways to improve our organization, be it new technology, lean manning, or other innovative solutions that can make running the service more cost effective.
Status quo is not a viable state for any navy. We must keep up with other sea services to assert operational capability and maintain our position as a capable ally and cooperation partner. Here are some of our latest efforts and ongoing developments that will enable us to push forward.
In 2012, the Royal Norwegian Navy began a series of initiatives to improve material management and control. Based on the experiences from that campaign, we are now in the early stages of launching a more extensive effort to update and modernize the entire technical management regime.
There are many reasons for this decision, one of them being that the navy is no longer exempt from civilian law and the Maritime Safety Act. The Seaworthiness Act was repealed in July 2007 and replaced by the Maritime Safety Act, which applies to all ships belonging to the Royal Norwegian Navy, or ships used in its service. This requires a comprehensive revision of our technical management systems. Another reason is that our maintenance process today is too reactive.
During the campaign, we will look for bottlenecks in the maintenance process behind the continuous delivery of certified ships. Examples of such hindrances could be a lack of spare parts planning or the inadequate planning of the maintenance process itself.
This will include assessment and updates of all major maintenance specifications. How to conduct and follow up maintenance, and the use of modern maintenance methods will also be an important part of this plan.
Together with the Norwegian Defence Logistics Organisation, the Royal Norwegian Navy will work to introduce organizational and quality-based solutions for a new and future-oriented management regime, aimed at significantly improved force readiness in the future.
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