Publication:Sea Talk Spring 2005/Planning fleet activities - about the FleetActivity Schedule

By CMDR Terry Weir Deputy Director Navy Capability Costing System

The Fleet Activity Schedule (FAS) is the RAN's principal operational scheduling document that is the 'timetable' for the Fleet. Developed by the staff of the Maritime Command Joint Operational Centre (MC JOC), it details the activities of all seagoing units, clearance diving teams and squadrons for the next 18 months.

Every six months the FAS receives a major update to its 18-month outlook to take account of changing operational requirements and other factors such as changing ship maintenance cycles. Minor changes to the FAS are issued weekly, usually to take account of short notice factors such as port visit changes and logistic requirements.

"The FAS is the end result of a lengthy process that accounts for numerous factors engaging many stakeholders", says Maritime Command's CMDR OPS, CMDR Lee Goddard.

"These range from the need for the Fleet to meet its operational commitments through to providing opportunities to train and maintain preparedness, while providing ample time for seagoing personnel to spend time in their homeport with a focus on quality family time."

The FAS is developed taking into account a range of priorities that include:

• Operations directed by Government
• Personnel Related Factors (PRF) influenced by Sea Change initiatives
• Directed Level of Capability (DLOC) preparedness requirements
• Maintenance of Navy capability
• Defence International Engagement Program (DIEP)
• Program of Major Service Activities (PMSA)
• Platform Usage Upkeep Cycle and Industry Capacity
• Collective and individual training needs
• Trials requirements
• Port visits to promote recruitment

Often these priorities are competing and, in the end, the published FAS is a balancing act.

"The demand on the fleet to undertake various activities outweighs our resources," CMDR Goddard said, "so we have to make decisions that are balanced and justifiable."

To aid the FAS planning process MC JOC has been 'tooling up'. A new software tool - the Fleet Activity Management Tool (FAMT) - has been developed for operational planners by Navy's Business Management Branch.

CMDR Goddard said that the tool makes the development of the FAS a more transparent process and will help provide more certainty to ships' companies.

"FAMT gives operational planners a tool that maintains a disciplined process in constructing the FAS, not unlike the scheduling systems used my major companies such as Qantas," he said.

"The results of the planning effort are immediately available to planning staff and we can see the impact of decisions with FAMT incorporating a large number of business rules that shape the planning process. The greatest contribution that the FAMT will make to Sea Change is FAS stability for Navy's people.

"The FAS is the most authoritative document if members of the Navy family are planning their lives (the work/life balance) around operational requirements ... even though it is constantly evolving to meet changing circumstances."

FAMT is part of the Navy Capability Costing System (NCCS) being designed to support fleet activity planning, resource management and governance requirements. The NCCS aims to enable the delivery of timely and quality management information from a single point of reference in a consistent and accessible manner.

These NCCS tools provide an integrated and consistent framework for planning, costing and reporting on fleet unit activities. FAMT, for example, allows Navy personnel wider access to information such as where ships are visiting, what operations they are on, and personnel and operational metrics, as well as specific costing information on a wide range of Navy activities.

Former Director-General of Navy Business Management Mr Steve Wearn, said that he was pleased with the development of the tools.

"We've put considerable effort into these tools," he said. " They're not perfect yet, but I believe they provide a solid foundation to assist with planning, resourcing and evaluating our fleet activities."