Babcock was awarded the In Service Support contract for the Victoria Class Submarines in 2008
By Marie Bergsma
It’s made clear that the people who work at Babcock are passionate about Canada, as Matthew Crawley, Vice President of Commercial, talked excitedly about how they are able to leverage their “global expertise in order to support the development of made-in-Canada solutions”. They are also pleased to have worked in partnership the Royal Canadian Navy, the Federal Government and their private sector partners to grow and strengthen Canada’s strategic industrial capability for submarine sustainment.
Babcock was first awarded the Victoria In-Service Support Contract (VISSC) in 2008, and leveraging their extensive knowledge of submarine sustainment, are tasked with delivering Program Management, Records Support, Engineering Support, Materiel & Logistics Support and Maintenance Support Services. This contract has enabled Canada to transition from what was primarily an overseas support network for arguably one of the most complex assets in the world, to a strong and sustainable domestic capability that supports and maintains our own submarine fleet. Babcock has led this increase in Canadian content of VISSC from 40% to over 85%, and continues to foster and grow in-country support wherever possible.
Matthew Crawley is the Vice President of Commercial at Babcock Canada
In delivering VISSC, Babcock has supported contributions to the Canadian GDP of $1.8 billion. They help sustain over 2,000 direct and indirect Canadian jobs every year and have built a highly effective domestic supply chain with over 330 suppliers across the country. Here in Canada, Babcock also takes full advantage of its operations and capabilities providing support to 21 subsurface vessels around the world, enabling the Victoria Class Submarines to fully leverage Babcock’s unique depth & breadth of expertise in delivering complex submarine through-life support.
In looking to the future, Babcock are firm believers in working in partnership with organizations large and small, and believe operational success will be enabled in large part through collaboration with those having key skills and capabilities. They are an avid supporter of small businesses, entrepreneurs and academia, and are actively engaged with Indigenous communities. They also are an active member and supporter of the Canadian Council of Aboriginal Business, participating in the organization’s Progressive Aboriginal Relations program. One recent example of their community engagement is their support to the First Nations Technical Institute, a flight school in Tyendinaga that supports 175 First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities with skills development and pilot training.
Under VISSC’s Industrial Technological Benefits program and through the Babcock-sponsored Interaction Lab at Camosun College, Babcock has invested in and partnered with the “Camosun Innovates” program. This program provides access to a sophisticated suite of intellectual property, technology and manufacturing assets with the goal of driving innovation, creating effective business solutions and spearheading beneficial social advancements. Supporting this type of program is just one way Babcock hopes to aid the growth and enhancement of Canada’s industrial base. Under the Federal Government’s ITB Policy, almost 50 academic and research organizations benefit from innovation and skills development investment by defence contracted companies like Babcock.
In fulfilling their In Service Support contract for the RCN, Babcock sustains 2000 direct and indirect jobs across Canada
Of course, the fundamental requirement of VISSC is to support delivery of safe, capable platforms for Canada. HMCS Corner Brook will soon complete her Extended Docking Work Period (EDWP), where a number of significant upgrades and maintenance activities have been completed. Completion of this EDWP will deliver back to Canada one of the most capable conventional submarine platforms in the world. HMCS Chicoutimi is next in line to undergo a maintenance period. Babcock and its partners are already fully engaged in the planning phase in anticipation of the dry docking later this year.
The significant efforts of the entire sustainment enterprise in helping to maintain HMCS Chicoutimi since entering service with Canada is paying off and early indications suggest the upcoming maintenance period will be one of the most successful seen on the Victoria Class.
VISSC will soon evolve to a new contracting model, VISSC II, ensuring the Victoria Class Submarines take full advantage of the lessons and experiences under VISSC and are further enabled through to end of life. VISSC II will fall under the Defence Sustainment Initiative and will continue to focus on the key sustainment principles of performance, value for money, flexibility and economic benefits, ensuring Canada receives the best possible support solution.
When it comes to Innovation & Technology, Babcock has a significant legacy in developing and applying new techniques and technologies in support of its customers and business operations. Matthew Crawley highlighted iSupport360 for example; Babcock’s own approach to the integration of next level technology to create valuable information for the management of critical assets. By combining Babcock’s expertise with unique insights across the support enterprise, iSupport360 enables personnel from across the enterprise to see better visualize the effectiveness of any asset such as; a ship, a submarine or critical infrastructure. By processing significant amounts of data gathered from previously constrained sources such as onboard sensors, maintenance logs, and logistical information, iSupport360 enhances the ability of maintainers and operators to make informed decisions by delivering an improved understanding of asset performance and material condition and addresses key aspects of asset maintenance and engineering.
iSupport360 is already deployed in Canada in support of Babcock’s Canadian customers and in the coming months, further exciting advancements are planned to help deliver even greater decision-making support to those tasked with ensuring safe, capable delivery of critical and complex services.
Babcock is also involved in Canada’s aviation industry with plans to bid on the Future Aircrew Training Program
Babcock is also involved in supporting Canada’s aviation industry and is currently one of the qualified bidders for the Future Aircrew Training (FAcT) Program. The winning bid will be selected by the Federal Government in 2022. Babcock has a lot to bring to this program, with a large global experience in 14 different countries working with programs similar to FAcT. In France, the FOMEDEC flying program logs over 11,500 flying hours per year delivered by a domestic workforce. Similar to their VISSC program, Babcock’s work on FAcT would focus on supporting Indigenous and small business suppliers while developing a domestic supply chain.
Currently, Babcock is also involved in aerial firefighting and emergency medical services. In Manitoba, they were awarded the Wildfire Suppression Services Contract in November of 2018. They maintain and operate the province’s fleet of CL-215 and CL-415 water bombers, as well as their three Babcock-owned Twin Commander bird-dog aircraft. The bird-dog aircraft act as a mobile air traffic controllers, directing water bombers to sources of water, which they then use to attack and extinguish wildfires. During the wildfire season of 2019, Babcock completed 364 missions and dropped over 25 million litres of water on fires. They were able to maintain their aircraft at 99.7% availability. During the winter months, the aircraft undergo maintenance and repair at the Winnipeg centre of operations in preparation for the next firefighting season.
They also have a contract with Manitoba as of June 2019 to provide Critical Air Ambulance services, with 440 missions completed so far. They have also been granted an Approved Maintenance Organization Certification from Transport Canada, which enables them to provide end-to-end maintenance on specific types of aircraft, such as the Canadair CL-215 and CL-415.
