A Closer Look: Defence Materiel Organization, Canberra Australia

  PM Network  

Sometimes less is more - MORE—even at a massive organization with plenty of project management talent on deck.

“When you want to be innovative, sometimes a large team isn’t the way to get there,” says Kim Gillis, general manager systems at the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO). Part of the Australian Department of Defence, the Canberra-based group is responsible for acquiring and maintaining equipment for the country’s military.

The group put the “less is more” theory to the test on its project to replace the HMAS Westralia. In service for more than 30 years, the single-hull oil tanker was part of the Afloat Support Force, which provides operational backup for the Royal Australian Navy fleet by supplying fuel, provisions and ammunition to ships at sea. In 2001, the DMO began planning for the ship’s retirement. The goal was to build a new vessel for AUD$350 million to AUD$450 million by 2009.

But changing priorities and environmental concerns put the project on the fast track. In 2003, the DMO learned it had only 18 months and a reduced budget to purchase and retrofit a previously owned commercial vessel. And there would be five to seven people working on a project that Mr. Gillis estimates would normally have about 20 team members.

The project shifted in part due to the International Convention for the …

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