Navy innovation wins national award | Navy Daily

Editor’s Note: Please note that this activity took place before COVID-19 social distancing restrictions were put in place. Defence is currently following whole-of-government guidance from the Department of Health in relation to COVID-19. For more information on Defence’s response to COVID-19, visit https://news.defence.gov.au/national/defence-response-covid-19.

Navy’s innovative culture, challenging of norms, critical thought and agility in problem-solving throughout 2019 has been recognised with a major award.

Representatives from Warfare Innovation Navy Branch attended the Australian HR Institute (AHRI) Awards where Navy Innovation was successful in winning the AHRI Sir Ken Robinson Innovation and Creativity Award for 2019.

The Sir Ken Robinson Innovation and Creativity Award, within the AHRI Contemporary HR Award category, recognises the outstanding initiative or programs which support and create a culture which stimulates creativity and harnesses innovation.

The award criteria consisted of eight categories which each finalist was assessed against by an advisory panel of global leaders from HR and business.

Warfare Navy Innovation was recognised for its organisational development in creating a culture committed to achieving widespread innovation that would support the Navy mission to ‘fight and win at sea’.

This required the challenging of norms, critical thought and agility in problem-solving. Simply, this required Navy to ‘challenge and innovate’, which is a Navy signature behaviour.

Director General of Navy’s Warfare Innovation Branch, Captain Adam Allica, said it was a great honour to win the coveted award, and for Navy to have been recognised as having a “bleeding edge, contemporary innovation program that achieves real world outcomes”.

“The use of 3D printers at the Centre for Innovation (CFI) and on ships has helped spark innovative behaviour in our people by providing them with new technology and tools which enable the visualisation and realisation of innovative ideas,” Captain Allica said.

Through local Unit Innovation Coordinators and support from the CFIs, Commands have established their own Innovation Strategies and the printers have become the catalyst and focal point for creating the physical momentum for innovation.

“Innovation starts with an idea, usually sparked by some problem or issue around how we currently do something, do it poorly or not at all,” Captain Allica said.

“Often, new ideas evolve by combining existing ideas in new ways.

“Innovation is more than an idea though, it’s the implementation of creative ideas to improve the way we manage our people, processes or technologies and improve our war fighting capability,” he said.

The Warfare Innovation Navy Branch strives to discuss and research all innovation ideas that are received and encourages personnel, across all services and APS to put forward innovation ideas.

If you have an idea visit the Warfare Innovation Navy Branch web page on the DRN (for Defence members), or email [email protected].

Able Seaman Electronics Technician Jaydon Llanos makes 3D printed parts using a 3D printer on board HMAS Adelaide while at sea.