Vanguard Magazine

22 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 www.vanguardcanada.com some with military backgrounds but most without, ensures that the project is not ask- ing for more than required and has done a fulsome analysis. IRPDA reports directly to the Minister of National Defence and is critical in allowing the project to move into what is called the Definition phase. JSS and CSC are in Definition and AOPS is in Implementation. The Project Management Office (PMO), which falls under Assistant Deputy Minis- ter (Materiel) (ADM (Mat)), takes a larger role during the Definition phase. From Definition through to completion of the Implementation phases, the PMO is responsible for working with the chosen builder and other industry stakeholders, as well as other government agencies such as Innovation, Science and Economic Devel- opment Canada (ISED) and Public Servic- es and Procurement Canada (PSPC). The PMO takes a requirement and breaks it down into specific technical re- quirements. Our role is to stay focused on the requirement described in the SOR as we go through the lengthy design and build process. There is a lot of dialogue back and forth, and we are key in discus- sions related to striking a balance between requirements, cost, schedule and Cana- dian content. The team aims to maximize requirements and Canadian content while minimizing cost and schedule impacts when there are issues. Lastly, we work closely with the various stakeholders as we get ready to take the ships into our dockyards during Imple- mentation. This means ensuring personnel are identified, training is done and we are in all respects ready to accept the ships. Building warships is a full team effort – a team that spans the Defence Team from the RCN to Policy, to Finance, to Mate- riel, and external to other departments. It takes a lot of work and a lot of personal in- teraction to get this done. Nothing is ever simple, and if one sees remarks like "why don't we just…" it normally is not, if ever, that easy. My team fully enjoys what we do and fully appreciate the importance of ensur- ing the stated requirements are well un- derstood and delivered or adjusted as ap- propriate. Every day brings a challenge and it is exciting, fulfilling work, especially now with the delivery of HMCS Harry DeWolf, to see the culmination of years of effort. No one person can lay claim to this success; it truly is a result of teamwork. Q Knowing that warship procurement spans many years, how does your team evolve the requirement without unduly impacting the project costs and sched- ule? Requirements are generally written in a manner so as not to be prescriptive. The RCN generally does not state specific sys- tems when describing the requirement. Capability descriptions and set perfor- mance standards are given, and indus- try answers with systems that meet these needs. Sometimes something may be de- termined to no longer be required, and this becomes a dialogue between the se- lected bidder, PMO and my staff to deter- interView Members of HMCS Harry DeWolf participate in a memorial at sea for the SS Caribou, a North Sydney, N.S., to Port-aux-Basques, N.L., passenger ferry sunk by the German Submarine U-69 on October 14, 1942. Photo: DND.

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