Submarine costs take a dive
PA delivered a programme of sustainable cost reductions across complex, highly regulated activities that are vital for the UK’s nuclear-powered submarine fleet.
Devonport Management Limited (DML) is a private company supporting the Royal Navy’s operations in Plymouth Naval Base. It refits nuclear-powered submarines, a technically demanding job that can take three years and is pivotal to the nation’s defence.
As a first step towards a better partnership between the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) and DML at Devonport, PA worked with both parties on a long-standing source of conflict and misunderstanding, the cost of providing nuclear facilities.
Without PA, DML and MOD would have been unable to:
• overcome conflicts to implement a joint-performance improvement programme
• deliver, within 12 months, sustainable annual cost savings of £12 million
• prepare a fundamentally new commercial and operating relationship for the naval base.
Critically, these benefits have been delivered without compromising nuclear safety.
As a result of PA’s work, the cost of nuclear facilities is projected to fall by around 30% – a saving of £60 million over five years – and the relationship between the organisations has been transformed. The assignment has spurred MOD and DML to progress towards a true partnering relationship and further efficiency gains, which should save a further £100 million over the next five years.
