Sustainment: Collins: A boat designed to sink and float | ADM September 2012
By Katherine Ziesing | 9 October 2012
When
the Collins submarines work, they are a world-class capability. The issue has
always been getting the reliability issue sorted on a platform that was not
built with sustainment in mind. The new In Service Support Contract (ISSC) is
aiming to change that.
A
new maintenance and support contract for the Collins Class submarines has been signed
following negotiations between the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) and ASC
Pty Ltd. The In Service Support Contract (ISSC) has been put in place to
deliver more efficient and effective sustainment services that will improve the
availability and reliability of the Collins submarine fleet.
The
Coles Review into Submarine Sustainment emphasised the importance of entering
into the ISSC. Coles described it as a “game changer” for Collins sustainment noting
that there were perceptions that the ASC was operating inefficiently on a
cost-plus contract for sustainment.
Having
commenced on 1 July 2012, the new ISSC is a rolling five-year contract with
options to be exercised subject to satisfactory performance. It replaces the Through
Life Support Agreement (TLSA) entered into in 2003, which failed to deliver the
required operational outcomes for Navy. In May, the Government allocated an
additional $700 million for Collins Class submarine sustainment as part of the
2012-13 Defence Budget.
ASC
managing director Steve Ludlam, said that this would mark a new era for the maintenance
of the Collins Class submarines.
“This
experience and the lessons learned have provided valuable input in creating the
new ISSC to ensure performance and efficiency continues to gain pace,” he said.
The
new ISSC contract is a performance-based contract aimed at or focusing on
delivering the Navy the required outcomes in terms of the support and
availability requirements for Collins Class.
“The
difference between ISSC and TLSA specifically is that ISSC moves towards what
we see as a performance-based framework where as in the TLSA there were some
incentives in it but it wasn’t really a truly performance based contract,”
Stuart Whiley ASC’s general manager Collins Class submarines, said.
The
intention of the contact will get some longevity in its timescale and allow the
submarine enterprise partners to invest their time and money more effectively
as all players have an increased degree of certainty.
“The
TLSA contract only ran on an annual basis therefore we were restricted in terms
of horizon and what we could and couldn’t do in terms of a planning perspective,”
Whiley explained to ADM.
“Whereas
ISSC allows a longer horizon and more optimisation for better outcomes beyond
the annualised process.
“It
allows us obviously to improve our planning, allocation of resources, to level load
our capacity. It allows us to invest for improved performance and get the more optimal
outcome for the Navy. It allows us to invest in establishing long term supply contracts
with an outside agency to broaden the outside support to Collins Class.
“ISSC
is driving to a much broader supply base and a greater industry diversification
and capabilities to support Collins in-country.”
Under
the new construct, ASC is acting as the platform system integrator where they
are responsible for the certification baseline and coordinate third party work on
board on the boat.
ASC
is also moving into a single supply chain agency where it will be the single agency
responsible for all the supply chain issues as they relate to the platform.
“We
are looking to broaden the use of SMEs,” Whiley said. “One of the things we’ve
got as part of the make-buy solution is how we can use Australian industry to skill
and maintain the Collins Class. This will also help the industry position
itself for opportunities on the Future Submarine.”
Previously
the supply chain was split between ASC, Navy and the DMO. There will now be a
single point of contact for other players down the line. ASC estimates that one
in three dollars spent on Collins sustainment goes to supply chain companies in
one form or another.
Sharing
the pain and gain
The
new contract also has the ability to share the pain and the gains between the players.
But ASC is more focussed on the outcome of the program rather than the contract
fine print.
“We
are about delivering a nation building capability, specifically engineering based,”
Whiley said. “What we are trying to develop is a capability that really will
contribute to the country’s capability and basically create a foundation for us
to move forward from the submarine industry world. The future submarine is
there but you need the engineering capability to develop that. This is part of
that foundation for both current and future work.
“An
added incentive for us to perform is to develop that core engineering skill
base to be able to deliver on Collins and development the capability further.
If we perform well we get more and if we perform badly we get less. It’s a
fairly traditional performance- based framework. We don’t jump in straight
away, there is a transition phase of two years that basically gets us ready and
aligns both ASC and the other stakeholders to a space where we are all
collaborating to actually deliver on the outcome.”
The
Coles report also highlighted the dysfunctional relationship that has developed
between the players in the Collins sustainment effort. With a change of people
all round the enterprise at a leadership level, these behaviours are being
slowly, but surely, laid to rest.
“We need to have all three key stakeholder aligned in terms of working toward a
single objective and that is aligned both vertically and horizontally through
the organisation so at all levels everyone is working toward a common set of
goals and objectives,” Whiley explained to ADM.
“Our
environment is very complex and not always black and white and we need to be
able to have the conversation but also deliver the optimal outcome for the
Navy.”
The
transition program has two main factors; technical and people that are geared
towards an outcome. ASC is also looking at processes, culture, training of personnel
and how that needs to be modified to deliver.
“This
is a watershed moment for Collins Class and it’s an opportunity for not only
ASC but all stakeholders to make a change,” Whiley said. “This is an
opportunity to change and deliver a different paragon that puts some of those
old perceptions to rest effectively.”
Technical
issues
In
2006, it was identified that the banding material around the armature inside the
submarine’s main motor was showing signs of delamination. The issue was only prevalent
in a limited number of the submarines, with varying levels of delamination noted.
Analysis identified the defect was caused by a design error resulting in over
tensioning of the banding material of the main motor by the OEM.
ASC
developed a number of options for the conduct the repair, the most conservative
was to cut the aft section of the submarine, remove the motor and return to the
OEM for refurbishment. However, ASC demonstrated that conducting an insitu
repair was a preferred repair option despite such a repair not having been
conducted previously.
In
order to validate the analysis and to develop and validate the complex repair process,
a test rig which duplicated the relevant sections of main motor was built. After
extensive trials, the optimal combination of materials, tension, curing time and
temperature was developed.
During
implementation, the main motor was split, with the 32 tonne armature being lifted
within the submarine and slowly rotated as the new banding material was applied
and cured. Extensive instrumentation ensured that the optimum conditions were maintained
throughout the process.
Multiple
iterations of the banding and curing process were conducted, varying
application tension, lay-up of the band material and curing conditions. After
each iteration, the bands were removed and submitted to DSTO for testing.
The
final application of the band material was based on the most successful
combination of the numerous variables during the earlier iterations. During the
development and implementation of the repair solution ASC worked closely with
DSTO and Directorate of Submarine Engineering (DSME). The main motor in HMAS Rankin has now been
repaired, with other submarines to undergo repair when required.
“From
an engineering perspective it’s a world-class solution, it really demonstrates
what great engineers Australians are,” Whiley proudly said. “We tend to
undermine our capabilities but this is a great example of a great initiative
and great solution to a very difficult and complex problem and having seen it
you will probably agree with that.”
Man
hours
Much
is made of the million man-hours it takes to complete a full cycle docking for
a Collins class submarine. The new contract is aiming to get that figure down
substantially to 800,000 hours. Some of the OH&S issues that increase man
hours, such as having someone inside the tank while work is going on outside
and increased need for rest times after working in such cramped conditions. If
you weren’t friends with your workmates before working on a Collins class you
would be afterwards, sharing such a tight space.
“I
don’t think people appreciate for example that we have to strip all the diesels
down to component parts, get them through the hatches and reassemble them back
inside the engine inside the boat,” Whiley said.
Part
of the work in the full cycle docking that takes a significant amount of time
is looking for cracks and corrosion on the pressure hull. A team of engineers
literally climbs all over the inner pressure looking for defects, dents and any
corrosion which is logged for future reference (to see if a particular area is
prone to issues), assigned a job number to be repaired and then corrected as
needed. Each and every step of this process has safety and repair paperwork
requirements. This is all part of effectively tracking performance.
“It’s
complex, but if you do repairs on the hull you can actually change the hull
strength,” Whiley explained to ADM.
“So you have to understand the implications of previous repairs on new work.
“It’s
a very detailed process. I’ve been in Defence for 35-years in shipbuilding, and
maintenance work on submarines is the most difficult and complex work there
is.”