Project Lesson

Category of Systemic Lessons

For a new or significantly modified design there will be a number of design changes emanating from initial sea trials. The aggressive delivery schedule for the ACPB did not allow time for changes from initial sea trials to be built into the follow-on build boats prior to their construction. This resulted in an evolving design baseline throughout the production phase that was not stabilised until after delivery of the last boat. Consequently the redesign, build, test and acceptance aspects of boats built after the first of class became unnecessarily complicated, expensive and inefficient. Time should be allowed after the first (or second depending on the size of the class) boat build to conduct sea trials and modify and stabilise the design as appropriate prior to the main production run.

First of Type Equipment

Failure at project inception to articulate, tailor and agree naval standards to be applied to a ship designed and built to commercial 'Classification Society' standards has resulted in considerable debate and potential cost increase.

Requirements Management

An acquisition strategy combining the acquisition and support of the fleet in one single contract rather than the traditional acquisition model followed by a separate support contract can lead to significant disputation and complications in closing out latent defects where the prime contractor is not also the builder. Invariably, once the capability is delivered and being operated and the contract is into the sustainment phase, there is a greater reluctance on the part of the prime contractor to progress rectification of build-related defects that may result in a cost to the contractor and disputation with the builder.

Contract Management