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