DEFENCE
The six-metre tall CAE NH90 simulator. Image: supplied.
Defence Force and the Ministry of Defence. There was a sense that the NZDF was in at the early stage setting the requirements and then it was the Ministry of Defence’s role to go out and buy the capability. And then, once we had purchased it, we would hand it back over to the NZDF. One of the fundamental outcomes of the new Capability Management System that we wanted to put in place was an end-to-end process, joined up between the two organisations, so that teams were formed right at the beginning and had ownership all the way throughout the process. Because we’re now forming these teams early, we’re managing to reduce some of the time periods that would 12
impact our large defence projects, when you’re trying to get through a business case cycle. Because we have our people engaged early, we find that as soon as government approves the business case and we go out to tender for it, the tender is already written. Previously, when the Government would say, “Go out to tender”, we’d put in a commercial acquisition lead and they would then develop the tender documentation. This created delays in an already long process. The Capability Management System has certainly reduced that. Because it’s end-to-end, we look at the whole of life costs from day one, and that’s a really important piece to us. This ensures that we are able to provide
greater certainty around the total costs for this capability when it comes into service and for the duration of its life. One way I’d describe it is that previously our job was to buy equipment, whereas now we are working closely with the NZDF and industry to ensure the capability is delivered. We consider everything from the people and their needs, such as ongoing training, through to the need for sustainment of whatever the asset is that we’re buying. It has to be a capability that we’re delivering, not just a platform or piece of equipment. ND: How does the introduction of the Information Domain change things in Line of Defence