Trading Places with Customer Pays Dividends
30 Jan 2008
Understanding the culture of its customers, their processes and challenges is of vital importance to any business. The need for the UK’s defence industry and Ministry of Defence (MoD) to work in close partnership is a key theme of the 2005 Defence Industrial Strategy. To help meet this objective, BAE Systems is refining a secondment programme to encourage the regular exchange of personnel between the Company, the UK MoD and industrial peers.
The initiative began in 2002 when BAE Systems was selected ‘relationship broker’ - between industrial partners MBDA, HVR/QinetiQ and its own Land Systems and Insyte businesses - to ensure the necessary cross fertilisation of skills and experiences were delivered in support of a UK Government Indirect Fire Precision Attack (IFPA) contract.
IFPA has been widely praised by industry and the MOD for its use of innovative techniques and practices from each company. This successful approach has been carried forward to the Phase II Assessment contract, where the project manager, deputy project manager and chief systems engineer are drawn from the industrial partners.
The concept of combining knowledge from across industry with expertise from both the MOD and serving soldiers was developed further through the NITEworks programme. More than 300 people have been seconded into the partnership, for both long and short term assignments, in the past four years.
"It is a unique partnership, with personnel from across industry, the UK MOD and military, working together in a co-located environment to address future defence challenges that will affect us all,” says Gerry Ward, NITEworks partnering director. “The roles range from industry technical experts to senior military advisers, providing support, advice and guidance."
With a new five year contract now in place for the NITEworks programme and the number of partners likely to increase, it appears this model is finding favour with the UK defence industry.
BAE Systems’ employee Fleur Etchells has been working with the MOD’s capability manager (Battlespace Manoeuvre) to assist in the development of campaign plans for future capability requirements. In addition to supporting the MOD’s objectives in two key capabilities, Fleur has worked in partnership with a number of small and medium sized companies to create common toolsets and methods, ensuring a standard approach to the challenge of Through-Life Capability Management (TLCM).
“The benefits of these working arrangements are shared between BAE Systems, its partners and the MOD,” says Fleur. “We can help deliver the required tools and processes for future use and, in turn, develop a deeper understanding of the customer and the challenges it faces.”
Another employee, Karen Cosgrove, is based within another MOD unit, the Equipment Capability Customer team, working in partnership with the Defence Academy at Shrivenham, Cranfield University and DaLearning on the implementation of TLCM training.
“These secondments are a powerful tool for bringing knowledge back into the business, helping us to shape our strategy and set priorities,” comments Simon Jewell, BAE Systems’ Strategic Business Development (SBD) director. “Our team is actively engaged in key customer activities, learning how the MOD operates and takes decisions. It has been sharing industry knowledge with the MoD and its contributions have been praised by the customer for the value it is delivering.”
In addition to work on the subject of TLCM, secondments have proved successful on other programmes; BAE Systems’ employee Simon Vaughan has recently completed a secondment to the UK’s Missile Defence Centre, as project manager.
“My role was to act as an independent project manager, ensuring a smooth exchange between the MOD and its industrial partners,” explains Simon. “Work packages are awarded on a ‘best athlete’ basis. Impartiality is essential, as any bias would undermine the partnership. The model has worked so well, it may be adapted for use in other, similar arrangements in the future.”
Daren Evans, who is working with the UK MOD on the future strategic deterrent is helping the customer structure work packages and establish tools and techniques for project control and monitoring.
Importantly, the secondment programme is two way and gives MOD colleagues the chance to learn from placements within industry. Bruce Kavanagh joined BAE Systems from the Defence Science Technology Laboratory (Dstl) for a one year secondment.
“ I worked alongside BAE Systems’ engineers on a variety of projects”, he explains. “The experience was incredibly useful and my understanding of the company has grown enormously as a result” says Bruce. “During my secondment I also helped develop stronger links between the two organisations and improved the mutual understanding of our shared objectives.”
Simon Jewell believes the exchange of people between BAE Systems and the UK MOD should become common practice:
“It should be of no great surprise that secondments help to forge relationships and engender trust and understanding. We see this from working with colleagues within the company on a daily basis, so why should it be any different working across organisational boundaries?”
“Good secondments don’t just happen, “ he concludes. They take careful planning, constant attention and cultural and behavioural maturity. This all takes time and effort but it’s a small price to pay for the potential dividend.”
For further information please contact:
Barney O'Kelly, BAE Systems
Tel: +44 (0) 1252 384717
barney.okelly@baesystems.com
Issued by:
BAE Systems, Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 6YU, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 1252 384710 Fax: +44 (0) 1252 383947
24hr media hotline: + 44 (0) 7801 717739
www.baesystems.com