I am pleased to announce today the implementation of a new system for evaluating the performances of Defence Industry suppliers.
The company 'ScoreCard' system has been designed to provide a tool to monitor and report on Defence contractor performance.
Company ScoreCards will now be used for all tender evaluation and source selection decisions for capital equipment acquisition and in-service support contracts exceeding 10 million dollars, (and for all contracts which are operationally sensitive).
Company performance will be assessed against a number of vital categories including:
* Delivering the right product to meet our needs * Sticking to cost and schedules * Meeting the Australian Industry Involvement requirements * Providing a quality product
To ensure an easy and clear picture of each contractor is recorded, assessors will rate a company with a score in each category. Different colours will indicate different levels of compliance or non-compliance and highlight exemplary performance.
The Howard Government has committed 23 and a half billion dollars to Defence over the next decade to implement the White Paper recommendations. I am determined to see that every one of those taxpayer dollars is well spent and that we obtain value for money. This ScoreCard system will assist the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) to manage, in a transparent fashion, the enormously important purchases we will be making over the coming years.
The ScoreCards will benefit higher performing companies that are competing for contracts by formalising a method of recording excellent performance.
Following the release of the ScoreCards today, I invite industry to review and comment on their workability.
The ScoreCards will be marked as Commercial-In-Confidence and be available only to the company involved and relevant DMO staff.
DMO project teams will regularly monitor contractor performance through ScoreCard reports and have frank discussions with the companies they are assessing.
