9 juillet 2020 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
By Charlie Pinkerton. Published on Jul 8, 2020 10:32am
Half of all late requests for military materials and equipment arrived in Canadian soldiers' hands more than two weeks behind schedule because of a problem-ridden supply chain that often forced the military to incur extra shipment costs, a new report from the Auditor General has found.
“We concluded that National Defence often did not deliver on time the materiel the Canadian Armed Forces requested, and that it did not have the right controls in place to determine whether it avoided needless transportation costs,” said the report authored by Auditor General of Canada Karen Hogan, which was released on Wednesday.
During the period of the audit, there were approximately 1 million requests for materiel — military materials and equipment — submitted and fulfilled by National Defence. The audit oversaw all materiel covered by the National Defence Act, with the exclusion of ammunition, bombs, missiles and large equipment like aircraft, vessels and vehicles.
The Auditor General found that 50 per cent of all late materiel requests were delayed by at least 15 days and 25 per cent were at least 40 days late.
Of the highest priority requests — of which there were about 86,000 observed — 60 per cent were late. Fifty per cent of all were at least six days late, and 25 per cent were at least 20 days late.
The Auditor General found that 162,000 requests, about 16 per cent of all it tracked during its audit, were more than one year late, having been stalled at some point in the supply chain.
The goal of National Defence's supply chain is to “fulfill materiel requirements in the most economical and timely manner possible,” the Auditor General's report says. It attempts to achieve this by keeping equipment nearby where it thinks it will eventually be used.
However, most equipment bought by the military is initial delivered to Canadian Armed Forces supply depots in Edmonton and Montreal. They then supply regional warehouses, which supply smaller localized military units. Materiel is transferred at units' requests, which are made in a number of ways, but are defined as being of one of three levels of priority — high priority, essential and routine.
“We found that National Defence's systems and processes often did not ensure the timely and efficient delivery of military supplies to the Canadians Armed Forces,” Hogan's report says.
Stock shortages caused delays, National Defence poorly managed priorities and costs for transportation were bungled.
Per it's report, the Auditor General made three recommendations.
It suggested that National Defence review its materiel forecasting to ensure it sufficiently stocks items at the correct locations, that it improve its oversight of high-priority requests so that the categorization is only used when necessary, and that it provide clear guidance on how to select the proper mode of transportation for items to ensure that decisions about shipments are based on fully understanding how much it'll cost.
In a statement released shortly after the Auditor General's report, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said he “welcome(s)” its findings and accepts all recommendations.
Similar concerns were raised a few years ago by the Auditor General's office about National Defence's equipment supply. In the fall of 2016, it raised issues with the military's ability to properly account for its inventory. The same fiscal year, National Defence announced a 10-year inventory management plan to address the Auditor General's concerns. The Trudeau government also released its multi-decade defence policy in the spring of 2017.
One of the focal points of Strong, Secure, Engaged was to ensure the military was properly equipped.
“Providing (the women and men of the Canadian Armed Forces) the training, equipment and care they deserve is the most important objective of this policy,” reads a line from the opening paragraph of Sajjan's opening message in more than 100-page policy.
Upon being re-elected, Sajjan was again reminded of his responsibility to “ensure the Canadian Armed Forces have the capabilities and equipment required to uphold their responsibilities,” in the mandate letter assigned to him by Trudeau.
In an emailed statement to iPolitics, Conservative Defence Critic James Bezan said “effective and efficient supply chains are crucial to the operating capability of the Canadian Armed Forces.”
“Our military heroes rely on these supply chains to defend Canadians at home and abroad. It is clear that more work needs to be done in order to make these supply chains better for our men and women and uniform,” Bezan said.
“The delivery of supplies must be timely so that materiel reaches military members when they need it,” Hogan's recently released report said.
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said in a statement Wednesday that the Canadian Armed Forces will enhance its data analytics capabilities and “rely on real data to ensure” the military has the right supply chain approach for its ever-evolving requirements and to help better anticipate future needs.
“These steps will make sure that we have the right equipment, in the right quantities, at the right places to meet the challenges we ask our members to face now and in the future,” he said.
19 décembre 2023 | Local, Aérospatial
In a statement, Bombardier said it remains “deeply disappointed” it was not allowed to bid on the contract, but will hold off on a court challenge.
16 octobre 2018 | Local, Aérospatial
CAE released today at the 2018 National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) convention and exhibition its 2018 CAE Airline and Business Jet Pilot Demand Outlook. This is an update to last year's report, which provides, for the first time, a business jet pilot demand forecast. The renewed 10-year view offers fleet operators key insights on the future need for professional pilots in both business and commercial aviation, building on the markets' key drivers, variables and trends. The report demonstrates that the active business jet pilot population will reach 65,000 by 2028, which represents an increase of 18%, with a turnover rate of almost 100%. More specifically, 10,000 new business jet pilots will be required to sustain growth and 40,000 new business jet pilots will be needed to support retirement attrition across the segment over the next decade. “The CAE Airline and Business Jet Pilot Demand is a one-of-a kind report. Our 2018 update builds on last year's analysis while introducing for the first time a business jet pilot forecast and shedding light on ways the aviation industry can cope with this demand,” said Marc Parent, CAE's President and Chief Executive Officer. “Today's soaring pilot demand is a reality that we must all face. As the leading training organization in the world, we are honoured to offer our partners the training solutions they need to face this rising demand.” The 2018 CAE Airline and Business Jet Pilot Demand Outlook is available for download at www.cae.com/civil-aviation. https://www.cae.com/news-events/press-releases/cae-releases-its-first-business-jet-pilot-demand-outlook-50000-new-business-jet-pilots-required-over-the-next-10-years
18 octobre 2018 | Local, Naval
OTTAWA — Canada's most expensive military project is entering a critical new phase as the government is on the verge of picking its top design for the country's $60-billion fleet of new warships. Defence insiders say the government wants to select a design by the end of the month from among three options submitted by several of the largest defence and shipbuilding companies in the world. After that the government and Halifax-based Irving Shipbuilding, which will actually build the 15 new warships, will sit down with the selected bidder to hammer out the final cost and other details. The stakes will be high for both sides, with hundreds of millions of dollars in play. There will also be pressure to make up for lost time on a project already running behind schedule even though whatever decisions are taken could have ramifications on the navy — and taxpayers — for decades to come. "That's part of the tension between moving quickly and making the right choice," said defence analyst David Perry of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. The new warships will replace the navy's 12 frigates and three destroyers, the latter of which have already been retired. They will be used for most of this century. Launched in late 2016, the design competition has been the subject of rampant lobbying and complaints by defence industry players, with numerous revisions to the original request for bids and several deadline extensions. That was despite defence officials and Irving having previously warned that time is of the essence when it comes to starting construction, and that they want to shave 18 to 24 months off the project. There have also been questions about Irving's role in the competition, and anger from some companies that British firm BAE was allowed to enter its Type 26 vessel despite the ship having never been built. BAE and U.S.-based defence giant Lockheed Martin partnered together to propose the Type 26 for the design competition, which is up against separate proposals from Dutch firm Alion and Spanish shipbuilder Navantia. A joint French-Italian design was disqualified because Paris-based Naval Group and Italian firm Fincantieri, who promised to build the warships faster and for less than anyone else, did not follow the established process for submitting proposals. One of the big questions heading into the negotiations will be how much the selected design needs to be changed to reflect the navy's needs and how much the navy will have to shift its requirements because changing the design will take more time and money. Irving has warned that it could be forced to lay off hundreds of employees because of a production gap if work on the warships isn't ready to start by the time it finishes building the navy's new Arctic patrol ships in 2021 or 2022. Government negotiators are also facing a battle over the amount of intellectual property that the top bidder will be required to hand over, which Ottawa wants so it can operate and maintain the vessels on its own after they are built. Companies had originally been told that the winner would be required to turn over the full blueprints, but after significant resistance, the two sides agreed that the matter would be negotiated before a contract is awarded. The government however warned that if the winning ship designer drives too hard a bargain on the intellectual property front they face the risk of officials pulling the plug on talks and moving on to the next company. Perry said that while there are many challenges ahead before a deal for a design is signed — and before any of the new warships actually get into the water — this is a critical step forward. "You can't dance until you pick a dance partner," he said. — Follow @leeberthiaume on Twitter. Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/news/canada/feds-aiming-to-select-preferred-design-for-60b-warships-by-end-of-month-250594/