The Rizzo Reform Program to improve Royal Australian Navy ship seaworthiness and sustainability has been concluded.

The joint RAN-Defence Materiel Organisation program was instigated in response to the ‘Plan to Reform Support Ship Repair and Management Practices’ authored by Paul Rizzo and released in July 2011. Mr Rizzo subsequently chaired the Rizzo Reform Implementation Committee, which held its last meeting on November 22, at which point only two of the report’s original 24 recommendations were still outstanding.

“The range of issues which the program was tasked to address was significant and crossed all areas of the sustainment business,” Program Head Commodore Robert Horsnell told Navy News. “Major areas of focus included asset and capability management, understanding and managing the total cost of platform ownership, addressing shortfalls in naval engineering and maintenance, integrated risk management and culture as well as the introduction of the Defence Seaworthiness Management System.”

Continued Commodore Horsnell: “Work will continue in areas such as lifecycle management, rebuilding engineering and seaworthiness. Monitoring of the Rizzo Reform outcomes will continue for at least two years.”