JFIMS agreement

Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Greg Combet has announced that the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) and US Company Varec signed an agreement marking the acquisition of Defence’s Joint Fuels Information Management System (JFIMS).

Procuring the same fuel management system, FuelsManager Defence, which is utilised by the US and UK militaries, Mr Combet said JFIMS will provide the ADF with an enterprise-wide, web-based bulk fuel inventory management
system.

“This capability will collect data from Defence fuel facilities across Australia as well as tanker ships, fuel exchange with allies and commercial fuel suppliers,” Mr Combet said.

JFIMS will also upgrade the existing Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) terminals to modern, state-of-the-art systems to allow for fuel facility management and tank management for the maritime and aviation environments.

Additionally, it will provide the Joint Fuels and Lubricants Agency (JFLA) with an integrated tool to manage the supply cycle for bulk fuels.

By rationalising a range of smaller, ad-hoc systems, JFLA will have access to better quality data.

An existing system for management of ground fuel and fuel cards, ADO Fuel Management System, will also be integrated into JFIMS.

At a cost of $13.5 million, Mr Combet confirmed that “this project represents an investment in Australia, with Varec establishing a support centre based in Melbourne and employing Australian personnel to manage and operate the
venture.”

“Varec will also sub-contract the ground fuel components of the project to South Australian company Transponder Technology,” Mr Combet added.

This project is scheduled for completion in April 2010.