Defence Department aims to do better after delays in 10 procurement projects

The Department of National Defence is looking at ways to better predict and manage when new military equipment will be delivered after reporting fresh delays in 10 major procurement projects.

The schedule slippage is detailed in a new report to Parliament and runs the gamut from a minor snag in the final delivery of engineering vehicles for the army to years of delays in the planned delivery of naval vessels.

Many of the projects, such as the naval vessels and new transport trucks for the army, were already several years behind schedule, meaning they are now extra late.

The department’s head of pro- curement, Patrick Finn, tells The Canadian Press that the last year was actually one of the more successful in terms of getting new equipment to the Forces.

But Finn concedes that more must be done to address the scheduling problems, which represent the largest challenge to the beleaguered procurement system.

Finn says that is why the department, which recently changed the way it determines the expected cost of new equipment, is looking to do the same with schedules.

His comments come as the government is preparing to unveil the next leg of its defence policy, namely a plan detailing the investments it will make on new military equipment over the next five years.