H4MoD Problem Sponsor Interview: CPO Steven Reilly

We caught up with one of our Problem Sponsors, Chief Petty Officer Steven Reilly, who recently sponsored a problem at the Department of War Studies, King’s College London around how to speed up Royal Navy Repair efforts.  He explained how the student team he worked with devised a solution that will save maintenance engineers one to two hours each day.

H4MoD is a postgraduate programme in which teams of 4 to 5 students learn and apply lean start-up methodologies to understand and solve national security and defence problems. Each team is given a different problem and every problem has a government Problem Sponsor. The Sponsor is someone who understands and has experience of the problem.

What was the problem the student team worked on? 

It was to do with knowledge sharing across Royal Navy repair functions. The problem that I submitted to the team was: Royal Navy maintenance engineers need a quicker and more functional method of accessing equipment information in order to increase the availability of scarce resources. 

The way I had originally envisaged and understood the problem was that Navy maintainers needed quicker access to information, such as fault-finding diagrams and equipment defect history.  What the team discovered, however, was that the key pain point was not so much access to information as it was the availability of parts.  This was tied to the process for ordering parts which the team found was complex, overly bureaucratic, and could take maintainers up to one to two hours to complete. 

 Can you describe the solution they came to? 

 The team identified the need for a centralised software for quick orders and communication between the end user and procurement team. Their solution idea was a system called ‘Push Order’. Ordinarily, if a piece of kit breaks and you need to replace a part you can end up spending one to two hours having to identify the tracking number, finding this number in a non-electronic manual and so on.  Push Order is a system that scans the tracking number, recognises it, orders a new part, and lets you know the delivery date - all within minutes. 

What they came up with was really innovative. It was also very clear that their solution idea resonated with their end users.  For example, in their tests, they found that over 70% of their interviewees confirmed that ‘Push Order’ would significantly improve the ordering process.  Moreover, they came up with this solution idea without the benefit of years of experience of working in Navy repairs - which is very impressive.

Push Order is not yet a functioning system, but the team were able to demonstrate it using wireframes.  Namely, they demonstrated the early-stage design of their solution at a structural level and were able to show the layout and functionality of it.

What’s the potential impact of the Push Order system? 

The impact of implementing the team’s solution would be considerable.  Ordering parts is a lengthy process and so if we can employ this system, maintenance engineers could save one to two hours a day. If we aggregate that figure across the Royal Navy - that is a significant time saving and increases operational readiness.

Since completion of the course, I have actively been exploring options for this type of solution to be implemented by having conversations with Stratcom, DASA, the SDA and other stakeholders to identify the appetite for developing a solution in this space.  Personally, I intend to make every effort to implement solutions like this that relieve the pressures on the frontline. I also fully intend to remain engaged with the team, providing mentoring and support if they desire it, as they have recently formed a company called Advanced Defence Ltd.  They are also in conversations with DASA about funding and mentoring, and they are pitching their idea at Defence events. In sum, watch this space!

Could you tell us about why you decided to take part in Hacking for MoD? 

Having recently completed a Percy Hobart Fellowship in May 2020, I was looking for ways that I could drive a culture of innovation in my area of Defence.  It seemed to me that H4MoD was an ideal opportunity to bring new thinking and fresh ideas to an enduring problem.  

What attracted me to H4MoD, in particular, was the methodology used on the course, which employs tried and tested Silicon Valley methods in order to learn about, validate and potentially solve problems. 

Have you taken anything from the course that you are applying to your daily work? 

The team’s work centred on their Mission Model Canvas, the foundational tool used on H4MoD.  The Mission Model Canvas (MMC) is an adaptation of the Business Model Canvas, and the students update their MMC weekly.  Like the Business Model Canvas, it is made up of nine segments which equate with the core building blocks of a business.  The key difference in the Mission Model Canvas is that some of these nine segments have changed to better suit ‘mission’ driven organisations, such as Defence, who are not driven by revenue, but by budgets.

I found this Canvas a useful tool and a great way of collecting thoughts. I’m currently in the middle of setting up an innovation cell at HMNB Clyde, the aim of which is to source internal ideas and problem sets and provide a place where they can be explored and developed into workable solutions that eliminate pain points for the workforce. I’m planning to implement the use of the Mission Model Canvas within the cell - as it’s a great evidence-backed way to pitch projects to senior leadership. In addition, it is a great tool to help curate problems, identifying the benefits that a solution will provide as well as helping visualising the strategy required to implement it.   

What were some of the course highlights?

A key highlight for me was the engagement I got from my student team.  They enthusiastically took hold of the problem and they were not afraid to ask some very challenging questions.  One thing I can definitely say is that, as a problem sponsor, you are given new insights but you are also pushed out of your comfort zone. To my mind this was exactly what was needed - we can get so bogged down in our inherent hierarchies and we are unaware of how these can inhibit learning and innovation.  My team of students really did make me think about things in different ways.

Another highlight was the range of individuals that the team ended up speaking to. I had primarily focused on my peer group, but the team spoke to a wide range of people including: suppliers, the Fleet Air arm and the Royal Marines. This allowed them to get sight of, and ultimately validate, parts of the problem that I was unaware of.  In particular, they showed that the scale of the issue existed outside of the Submarine Service and was a pan-defence issue. They also reaffirmed the issues surrounding good internal communications practices between organisations.

As a testament to the team, their hard work and the methodology - they managed to hone in on elements of the problem that I only knew about as a result of being in the Forces for 20+ years, such as psychological safety.  The team had this figured out by week three of their course. 

CPO Steven Reilly joined the Royal Navy in 2000 as an OM(AW) before transferring to the Weapons engineering branch as an Artificer Apprentice. Over his 21 year career he has served on Trafalgar class (SSN) and Vanguard class (SSBN) supporting the nuclear deterrent. Specialising in Communications and Electronics Warfare, he has supported Engineering activities both directly as a maintainer at sea, but also in shore support roles including coordinating base maintenance periods as a babcock secondee and by training the future generation of maintainers during a period at the Submarine School. Currently back in a Shore Role at HMNB Clyde and following his placement on the Percy Hobart Fellowship, he is actively engaged in developing a new innovation cell, partnering with Babcock and other industry partners to drive bottom up innovation from both military and civilian staff. In his spare time he loves to learn and is currently working his way through the Jhub Coding Scheme and is looking to pursue a Msc in the near future.  Based in Stirling he spends much of his free time with his fiancée Julie, a lazy Bengal cat called Nala and the latest addition to the family an boisterous English Springer Spaniel Puppy named StanLee.