Babcock BES gets IFS ERP for warship refitting

Babcock BES has implemented Swedish ERP vendor IFS’ materials and manufacturing management software alongside Primavera project planning for its warship refitting at the Rosyth dockyard. HMS Monmouth, one of the Royal Navy’s Type 23 anti-submarine frigates, is to be among the first to benefit. Configured initially to meet the requirements of the materials and manufacturing divisions, the software is also being actively used to provide improved control of material procurement and tracking of equipment as it is removed for refurbishment. Rosyth was bought by Babcock in 1997, following 10 years of management as a contractor-operated facility. Since then it’s been undergoing a programme of continuous improvement aimed at reducing costs and improving efficiency, and this is the culmination of a project which started with the formation of a steering group and software selection back in 1999. Says Alan Gilmour, project manager for Babcock BES, “a number of issues were identified within the materials, spares procurement and manufacturing areas in particular with access to information and inventory control.” The earlier system had become heavily customised and inflexible, and users were running from spread sheets, with the inevitable duplication of effort and poor information flows. “Although we started out just to replace the materials and manufacturing function, it soon became apparent that a component-based system would provide much greater potential benefit through integration and ultimately replacement of other existing legacy systems,” says Gilmour. These include a system called VETS, using bar codes for tracking equipment and material that has been removed from ships for inspection and refurbishment. The company also uses a separate system for managing refit breakdown structure. Babcock can now bring all these systems together within IFS and then link through to planning. Primavera’s project planning suite has also been implemented with a direct ‘plug-in’ to IFS so that planning draws on core data from IFS to schedule the plan, and links are seamless through to material requirements and the rest. Gilmour says the results are wider dissemination of information, available when it’s required. “Previously this information was limited because only a select few users had the ability to access the data,” he says. “The information is now more readily available; there is a single source of the actual status and priorities are easily understood. As a result we are anticipating savings on time previously spent in preparing for and attending project review meetings.” And he adds: “In financial terms we expect to see a reduction in inventory and in particular, better use of materials which can be carried forward to subsequent refit projects. Overall we have also benefited in being able to simplify our processes and procedures and our business managers can interrogate costs and trends for their own areas of responsibility. Furthermore our commercial department have better visibility which will assist in negotiating future refit contracts.”