Press Release - Ministry of Defence: Through-Life
Management
4 June 2003
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to
Parliament today that Through-Life Management of the delivery of
military capability is complex. It involves major change for the
Ministry of Defence (MoD) and those doing business with it. The MoD
has more to do to embed the Through-Life Management approach and
realise the full range of benefits that it offers.
Through-Life Management is an integrated approach to management
of the delivery of all aspects of military capability, from
identification of the need for the capability to its disposal. It
is at the heart of the Smart Acquisition reforms launched through
the Strategic Defence Review in 1998 and aimed at faster, cheaper
and better acquisition and support of equipment. Through-Life
Management is closely linked to other changes such as how the MoD
manages requirements, technology, suppliers and risks.
Today's report recognises that the MoD has progressed the
implementation of Through-Life Management alongside other major and
resource-intensive changes such as Resource Accounting and
Budgeting. The MoD has given priority to these other changes, many
of which are important enablers to Through-Life Management, for
example rapidly and successfully introducing Integrated Project
Teams1 as Sir John reported in March 2002.
The change to Through-Life Management has proved a greater
challenge than anticipated and the MoD has not yet fully developed
and coherently managed all aspects of the change. There has been
continuing support from senior management, but this has not always
been consolidated into a clearly visible strategy. The definition
and benefits of the change are not yet clear to everyone involved
and it has yet to become fully embedded in the MoD and to yield
widespread benefits in terms of demonstrable improvements in
military capability. The MoD recognises that more needs to be done
and now has a plan in place for executing the change to
Through-Life Management. This plan has the potential to provide a
coherent framework for managing the change effort.
New tools and information sources, new mechanisms for engaging
and changing the behaviour of those involved in acquisition and new
ways to measure and demonstrate successes are all essential to
Through-Life Management. These enablers are not yet fully in
place.
Progress in setting in place Through-Life Management
Plans2 has not been as quick as the MoD would have
liked. Better progress has been made recently in establishing data
on the costs of owning equipment across its whole life. More
remains to be done to resolve difficulties around the complex
interface between the Defence Procurement Agency and the Defence
Logistics Organisation to facilitate seamless Through-Life
Management. Some mechanisms for promoting Through-Life Management
behaviour are not yet fully effective. Measurement of the progress
and success of Through-Life Management has been patchy and is still
developing.
The report makes a range of recommendations to help drive
through the change to Through-Life Management. These centre on how
the MoD could develop its approach to managing Through-Life
Management as a change programme, and how the MoD could manage the
enablers of Through-Life Management more proactively. Sir John's
recommendations are listed in Part 3 of his report.
Sir John said today:
"Through-Life Management offers many benefits both in
terms of better-informed management of acquisition programmes and
better delivery of military capability. The MoD has undertaken
massive change over recent years including the implementation of
Through-Life Management. It has introduced a range of initiatives
that should help it to develop a Through-Life Management approach
but has more to do to embed this approach and realise the full
range of benefits that Through-Life Management
offers."
Notes for Editors
- The Integrated Project Team is the body responsible for
managing a project from concept to disposal. The Smart Acquisition
Integrated Project Team is characterised by its "cradle to grave"
responsibility, the inclusion of all the skills necessary to manage
a project, and its effective and empowered leader.
- A Through-Life Management Plan is defined by the MoD as a plan
which "takes a project through its life, across the acquisition
cycle, meeting customer needs and providing visibility to all
stakeholders of the Through-Life planning process."
- This report by the Comptroller and Auditor General is the
second in a series of three examining whether Integrated Project
Teams are helping to improve defence equipment acquisition. The
first study on implementation of Integrated Project Teams was
published in March 2002 and the third study, planned for 2004-05,
will examine whether Integrated Project Teams have improved
acquisition performance.
- Press notices and reports are available from the date of
publication on the NAO website at www.nao.org.uk. Hard copies can
be obtained from The Stationery Office on 0845 702 3474.
- The Comptroller and Auditor General, Sir John Bourn, is the
head of the National Audit Office which employs some 800 staff. He
and the NAO are totally independent of Government. He certifies the
accounts of all Government departments and a wide range of other
public sector bodies; and he has statutory authority to report to
Parliament on the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which
departments and other bodies have used their resources.
Press Notice 41/03
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