Navy Wins Gold, Productivity Doubles in Ten Years

New Zealand Defence Force
Te Ope Kaatua O Aotearoa

16 November 2009

The Royal New Zealand Navy has become the first public sector organisation in New Zealand, and only the third New Zealand business in 10 years, to win an internationally recognised Baldridge Gold Award from the New Zealand Business Excellence Foundation.

The award will be presented by His Excellency the Governor General, Sir Anand Satyanand this Friday at a ceremony in Auckland.

Chief of Navy, Rear Admiral Tony Parr is delighted at the Navy’s success.
“This award is both national and international recognition of the Royal New Zealand Navy as a world class organisation,” said Rear Admiral Parr. “It’s a significant milestone on our journey to achieving operational excellence and our vision of being the best small nation Navy in the world.”

The Baldridge Gold Award has only been won by two other New Zealand companies in the last decade; Vero Insurance and NZ Aluminium Smelters.

“The award recognises that the support organisation we have for our ships and people is as good as that of any business or enterprise. That organisation is essential for delivering the Navy’s operational capability by way of ships at sea,” said Admiral Parr.

“We are now twice as productive for every person at sea as we were ten years ago. We’ve taken delivery of new ships since 2007 and will soon be operating a fleet of 12 ships that deliver the full range of maritime military capability from combat and security missions to peacekeeping, border patrol and humanitarian and disaster relief.”

“To support a high operational tempo in a financial environment that is always constrained we had to focus on` continuous improvement in technology, business processes and the training and employment of our people. As a result of this work we have achieved a significant increase in the number of days ships are spending at sea.”

Rear Admiral Parr praised the work of Navy people over the period of involvement with the New Zealand Business Excellence Foundation.

“This award demonstrates that the Royal New Zealand Navy is receptive to change and new ways of doing business, and that our people are high achievers.

“It has been a journey of 10 years duration – a testament to the shared vision of successive Chiefs of Navy over that time, and indicative of an organisation that is responsive to change and achieving value for money for the Government and people of New Zealand.

“Operational excellence in the delivery of maritime military capability is our ultimate goal but we know that we can only achieve this if we have excellent business processes to keep our ships at sea and our people trained, competent and motivated. The award, and the rigorous evaluation process it involves, demonstrates that the Navy understands its business, understands how its resources are allocated and is disciplined about its strategic direction.”

ENDS

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