Effective Cost Management Strategies Can Support the New Navy Fleet Standard
For the Department of Defense (DoD), continued support for building a larger fleet has led to questions on how to actually raise those numbers. Not only has a new budget been approved to increase financial support, the current administration has called “for the growth in several areas compared to the prior plan.” Most notably:
- 12 aircraft carriers instead of 11
- 104 large surface warships instead of 88
- 66 attack submarines instead of 48
Many have praised the increased government funding to the Navy’s budget, but this is a short-term solution to the Navy’s long-term fleet sized goals. A large portion of the Navy’s budget in recent years has gone towards maintaining the current vessels they already have. Many have found, “The money alone [has] not solved the Navy’s maintenance challenges.”
In an article from Federal News Radio, Vice Adm. Thomas Moore, the commander of Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) said that “with the new training methods that are available today, we’re looking to get people to the point where they can turn a wrench and do something useful on our ships in two to three years versus five years.” Significant changes to the training methods will help increase the productivity and efficiency of the Navy yards, which in turn will allocate funding to other efforts that need the money.
Increased productivity among maintenance workers is just as important as an increased budget. While the money provided by the government continues to fund the spending, efforts by Navy command indicate that thorough examination will take place across all shipyards in order to increase the work rate of its employees. Along with the oversight, Moore expressed concern about the “need to make sustained investments in its public yards”. The Navy’s 2016 Force Structure Assessment goal was to have 355 ships. The Navy yards themselves are out-of-date and cannot hold large sized vessels, which begs the question: How is the Navy supposed to expand its fleet to 355 without the proper docks to maintain them?
Making sure proper cost-saving business practices are applied to the Navy’s budget is very important to supporting the recommended standard fleet size proposed by the government. St. Michael’s is a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) who supports government agencies’ culture, challenges, and goals. Our priority is to meet and exceed the requirements of our customers to help them achieve their goals. St. Michael's excels in various areas from financial and accounting support to program management. As a part of the DoD community for the last eleven years, St. Michael’s has worked with multiple federal organizations to meet the standards brought on by the government.