BlueZone Receives AIDN-WA Collaboration of the Year Award
BlueZone Receives AIDN-WA Collaboration of the Year Award
BlueZone Receives AIDN-WA Collaboration of the Year Award
At the AIDN-WA Christmas Party BlueZone Group was very pleased to be presented with the Collaboration of the Year Award.
Recognising Collaborations for SME Engagement with Defence
This award is designed to recognise outstanding Collaborations between Western Australian Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and other players in the Defence space. The current and emerging Defence market is focussed heavily on turn-key and low risk options that favour larger-scale solutions. Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) seeking to engage with Defence directly or indirectly, often need to pursue Collaboration, either with each other or with the larger organisations, to create market strength and position worthy of engagement with Defence. This Award is in recognition of a Collaboration that has benefitted Defence as the end user, and highlights the importance of Collaboration in the current Defence environment.
Collaboration for Wave Glider Support in Australia
In 2011 the RAN Maritime Signature Management & Target Services SPO acquired eight “Wave Glider” Unmanned Surface Vehicles for an innovative application associated with the maritime ranges used by Navy in the Western Australia Exercise Area (WAXA). Other organisations involved in the collaboration where L3 Oceania and the Maritime Signature Management & Target SPO.
Skills, Employment & Infrastructure
BlueZone Group supplied the Wave Glider fleet and undertook to establish a full support and engineering capability in Australia. Key BlueZone staff acquired new skills in robotics and autonomous vehicle engineering and operations following attendance at OEM training with Liquid Robotics in the USA.
Using experience gained from support of other maritime robotics systems for Navy, a full service and support capability infrastructure was established at the BlueZone Group facility in Bibra Lake, WA. The capability included establishment of specialised work areas for Wave Glider maintenance, repair and modification and the development of a complete maintenance programs for the Wave Glider fleet. Workshop Manager, engineering and technician skills were all upgraded through a program of internal training to ensure consistent delivery of high-quality service to Navy. Employment opportunities in highly-skilled technical roles were created.
The Maritime Signature Management & Target Services SPO identified a number of innovative applications for Wave Glider technology that required integration of new components and systems into the Wave Glider platform. L3 Oceania developed the concept of operations, requirements analysis, high level design, board manufacture, software, and the integration of sensors and communications links to support the new applications.
BlueZone Group supported Navy in operations and development of new operational methods for the new Wave Glider capability. This included the creation of new roles such as Wave Glider pilot to support operations on-site in the WAXA and remotely from BlueZone facilities.
In Service Support
In Service Support for the Wave Glider fleet was established through establishment of a Support Contract managed by BlueZone Group that provided for predictable maintenance costs and guaranteed availability for the Wave Glider vehicles. Navy operational requirements were addressed through development of components such as the Wave Glider Transport Container and Recovery Device to respond to local conditions for operating in the WAXA where the Leeuwin current exhibited a major impact on safe recovery operations at the time.
BlueZone Group in Offshore Oil & Gas
BlueZone Group is an established supplier to Defence and is also an active participant in the Offshore Oil & Gas industry as a provider for high-technology instruments, engineering and in-country support. The experience gained in the world-first engineering of autonomous Wave Glider technology has been used to propose solutions for Offshore Oil & Gas requirements. BlueZone will continue to service both Defence and Offshore Oil & Gas customers to provide leading-edge technology solutions to customers in Western Australia. Through innovative technology the Western Australia economy can benefit from increased efficiency and the ability to perform “dull, dangerous & dirty” tasks with robotic techniques. Other sections of the economy can also benefit including the significant research and oceanographic science market in Western Australia who can use Wave Gliders to safely and efficiently gather ocean data.
| Presentation of the AIDN-WA Collaboration of the Year Award by Senator Lynda Reynolds CSC with (LtoR): CTO Darren Burrowes, Technical Sales Manager Lynn Needham and General Manager Mark Musarra. |
