By integrating and understanding our customer, Systematiq delivers successful Project Management support.
With their in-country history spanning two decades, Raytheon Australia have become a trusted capability partner and leading provider of whole-of-life capabilities for the Australian Defence Force.
As part of the acquisition contract signed with Raytheon Australia (as the Prime System Integrator) in June 2019, L19-7B (Short Range Ground Based Air Defence project) required the services of an external contractor to supplement the existing project team and provide a range of duties in support of the project execution.
Systematiq has been building relationships and delivering successful projects directly for the Government, as well as for and with Primes and Defence-related SMEs for over 12 years now.
Providing surety to customer project planning by guiding clients through the processes involved in preparing and delivering relevant milestones and deliverables to the Commonwealth of Australia (CoA) on time, is how Systematiq continues to add real value to its clients.
Based on the previous projects delivered, Systematiq was engaged to provide a Level 2 Project Manager who would be responsible for:
- assisting with the procurement (of new items),
- sourcing (for in-service items) a wide range of GFM (material as well as data and access to services) and
- undertaking governance duties such as maintaining risk logs and updating project plans.
Planning and execution of project deliverables
Systematiq’s Brendon Shine was embedded in this role where his primary responsibility was to manage the Government Furnished Material (GFM) requirements of the Acquisition Contract including equipment management, procurement/contract support, stakeholder management and governance/compliance requirements.
Brendon leveraged his previous experience of working in CASG Sustainment as a National Fleet Manager to understand the CASG business requirements for this project and leveraged the Defence network for stakeholder management and support.
The project required Brendon to undertake difficult coordination and level of stakeholder engagement requiring about 18 months to achieve a number of key goals:
- Approval and endorsement from Australian Signals Directorate (ASD)
- Export approval from United States Export Control agency
- Approval from US National Security Agency (NSA)
- Developing an approved transportation/movement plan using Department of Foreign Affairs, British Embassy (London), Australian Embassy (Stockholm) and Norwegian National Security Authority.
Overcoming unforeseen hurdles to achieve key milestones
Throughout the project there were several of complexities involved that also included hitting key milestone dates and achieving deliverables during the COVID-19 period.
“The impacts to the domestic/international supply chain created extreme difficulties and delays in acquiring GFM from OEM/Suppliers to support both the projects integration/ testing program and production build. Additionally, the border restrictions and COVID lockdowns created challenges with coordinating and conducting inter-state integration/testing activities for the project,” mentioned Brendon.
Despite the many challenges faced, Brendon was able to meet the deliverables including coordinating the movement of Commonwealth High Assurance Cryptographic Equipment (HACE) to an international contractor in Norway for the purpose of integration testing of a major sub-system of the L19 Mission System under the restrictions and difficulties imposed by COVID-19.
Tanya Buck, Project Manager LAND 19 Phase 7B commented on Brendon’s work: “Brendon was engaged during a very busy period where procurement and delivery of a vast amount of GFM equipment and technical data, and obtaining relevant approvals, was key to the ongoing success of the Prime Contract. The work undertaken required him to frequently work autonomously on multiple tasks concurrently.
He was responsive to short turn around requests for information by providing concise responses, and re-prioritised tasks when required. Brendon’s professionalism and dedication to his role was commendable. We would not hesitate to recommend Brendon to undertake similar management type roles.”
The positive result accomplished for the client was due to a couple of reasons:
- Systematiq’s ability to seamlessly integrate into the organisation and work with L19-7B members to achieve results.
- Brendon’s ability to provide specialist advice, meaning we could deliver results immediately.
- Alignment of culture and values aligned between Systematiq and L19-7B, allowing for autonomous working relationship even during remote working as per COVID protocols.
Understanding our client is key to success
Chris Cyc, Systematiq’s Integrated Logistics Group Manager commented on how this project demonstrates Systematiq’s capability in ILS project management:
“Through the work that Brendon has done on this project, Systematiq has been able to do what we always strive to do, which is to better understand the Defence client. Irrespective of a project’s complexity, our team actively engages to better understand our clients’ project acquisition requirements and subsequent project deliverables. By understanding our clients’ processes, policies, and procedures we can champion evidence-based decisions.”
Systematiq’s team of practitioners such as Brendon and Chris are highly qualified consultants and are experts in navigating Defence requirements and business processes. No matter what stage your project is in, our consultants are always motivated to add value and keep your projects moving forward.
Reach out to us if you require specialist Defence capability support with your next project. Read more about our Defence support services here.