R8000 - Facilities Requirements for the New Air Combat Capability - Off Aircraft Maintenance Facility

Client name: Department of Defence – Estate and Infrastructure Group

Duration: November 2016 - August 2018

Location: RAAF Base Williamtown, NSW, Australia

Total project value: Part of the $1.47 Billion for R8000

Design challenges were overcome through delivery to provide a dedicated maintenance facility in support of sustaining operational aircraft capability

Close collaboration with all stakeholders delivered this complex facility

The Off Aircraft Maintenance Facility is a purpose built shared facility that will support efficient and effective off aircraft maintenance for F-35A Joint Strike Fighter aircraft, scheduled for delivery to RAAF Base Williamtown from late 2018.

As the Project Manager and Contract Administrator, our team worked closely with the client and led the Managing Contractor and their team of consultants through design and construction to successfully achieve the Commonwealth’s objectives.

Coordinating access throughout construction on an active Defence Base

To ensure there were no issues during this project, we worked closely with the client and Defence stakeholders to ensure all aspects of facility access were controlled.
This involved sequencing works to allow for the decant and demolition of an existing facility and active Aircraft Toway prior to commencement.

As the fitout of the facility commenced and various areas were approaching the final fitout stage, end users requested early access to these areas to use for the completion of Defence activities and for storage of various pieces of specialised equipment.

The project team went above and beyond, overcoming these unique challenges whilst maintaining the programme and ensuring a high level of safety and security compliance was achieved.

Overcoming an evolving design brief

During construction the project team faced various challenges in the implementation of the original design.

The team worked closely with numerous stakeholders to provide solutions to these challenges and at the same time successfully implemented progressed design parameters to better suit end user requirements.

At completion, a high quality standalone facility that satisfied our client's objectives was handed to the Commonwealth in line with the programme and budget expectation.