Asset Management Transformation Using Project Management Discipline

IMC-2019 Learning Session 38:09 Minutes

by Douglas Cook and Aidan Kalloo, Jacobs

The Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) plays a crucial role in the national defense of the United Kingdom (UK) and has been at the forefront of the UK nuclear deterrence program for more than 60 years. AWE works under contract to the Ministry of Defense (MOD) through a government-owned-contractor-operated (GOCO) arrangement. Three shareholders collectively bring unique knowledge and experience to deliver AWE’s mission: Jacobs, Lockheed Martin, and Serco. The management, operations and maintenance of Britain’s nuclear stockpile are the responsibility of AWE. Recently, AWE identified the need to enhance their asset management approach to ensure they retained their capacity to meet MOD needs today and into the future.

This presentation describes an organization’s desire to improve their asset management program and how a structured approach was developed to meet their need. Key elements to be discussed during the presentation include: how we transitioned from an asset management maturity assessment (along with recommendations) into a multi-year, detailed, and validated executable program; how the team was formed to work this transformation around specific delivery elements; what progress has been made to date; and what are the expected long-term results of undertaking this journey.

The information in this presentation is relevant to anyone who wants to begin, or who is already underway with, an asset management transformation activity. Like many problems, at first the prospect of undertaking a large improvement effort requiring a significant culture change can seem overwhelming. By giving a real world, current, and ongoing example of how incremental steps were planned and executed, we can hopefully help demonstrate how to reduce a very large and complex effort down to manageable steps.