Vanguard Magazine

38 APRIL/MAY 2021 www.vanguardcanada.com EVENT BY VADM RON LLOYD (RET'D) The opportunities that currently exist for Canadian industry, and the greater opportunities that could accrue as a result of strategies such as the Key Industrial Capabilities initiative. Putting all of these themes, the "what" into context was superbly done by RAdm Simon Page (Ret'd) who was the Associate Assistant Deputy Minister Material at the Department of National Defence. Built around the theme of Naval In-Ser- vice Support, the timing of the confer- ence could not have been better, as it was held the same week that the Parliamentary Budget Office released their report on the Canadian Surface Combatant, and the Of- fice of the Auditor General released their report on Canada's National Shipbuilding Strategy. For those who attended from across Canada, they were richly rewarded with an exceptional insight into the what, the how, and the why of the Canadian Na- val In-Service Support. The What The first day of the forum was foundation- al, providing a very deep understanding of the "what" is Naval In-Service Support and its importance to both the Canadian Coast Guard and the Royal Canadian Navy. Themes included the importance of Naval In-Service Support being a primary consideration from design to disposal. The opportunities that currently exist for Cana- dian industry, and the greater opportuni- ties that could accrue as a result of strate- gies such as the Key Industrial Capabilities initiative. Putting all of these themes, the "what" into context was superbly done by RAdm Simon Page (Ret'd) who was the Associate Assistant Deputy Minister Ma- terial at the Department of National De- fence. Page has transitioned to the respon- sibilities of the Assistant Deputy Minister Defence and Marine Procurement at the Department of Public Services and Pro- curement Canada. Suffice it to say, that as a result of his distinguished military and pub- lic service career, and his new portfolio, the event could not have had a better speaker to provide a candid assessment of the overall status of Canadian Naval In-Service Sup- port. His message was very much focused on recent successes, upcoming challenges, and strategic trends. After a week of predominately negative reporting in the media about the state of Canadian Shipbuilding/Ship Repair, it was refreshing to hear about the many suc- cesses that have and continue to occur in Canada's maritime sector. Broadly, the re- tired RAdm Page spoke about an environ- ment characterized by an increased trust between industry and government, which has led to a better understanding of our common sense of purpose enabling out- comes that better share risk. He was also optimistic that digital and innovation were being embraced across the eco-system with promising results on the horizon. His overall assessment was quite pragmatic, which was reinforced during his comments on current challenges. With all of the positive and significant changes taking place, it was noted that they still need to be solidified in our CUL- TURE. Similarly, there are still a number of silos, cylinders of excellence, that still exist, and we collectively need to do a bet- ter job at managing the "system" and our respective "enterprises". He also punctu- ated a challenge that was a recurring theme throughout the forum which was, despite the exciting future in Canada's maritime sector, "spectacular" was his exact word, we all need to remain aware and focused on the personnel challenges that exist in both industry and government. This will require an "all hands on deck" approach to ensure we sustain our positive momentum into the future. With respect to strategic trends, he re- inforced digital, specifically the Naval In- tegrated Data Environment, and three characteristics that are becoming key to all procurements:, Gender Based Analysis Plus, greening considerations and sound diversity and inclusions practices and policies. He also noted two trends that he believed would be invaluable to improve in-service support delivery in today's context. The first, is the responsibility of government, to take some of the pressure off major crown projects and inject agility into our procurement by better leveraging in-service support contracts. The second pertains to industry and the assess- ment that, in the spirit of continuous im- provement, more positive outcomes could be achieved with even greater partnerships amongst industry. He concluded by reminding everyone that industry's success is government's THE 8TH ANNUAL SHIPTECH FORUM WAS HELD VIRTUALLY ON FEBRUARY 25-26, 2021 WITH OVER 250 PARTICIPANTS FROM GOVERNMENT/DND/CAF (53 PER CENT), AND INDUSTRY (47 PER CENT) PARTAKING IN SPEAKING AND NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES. ShipTech Forum 2021 ShipTech Forum 2021

• Cover