Navy News
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Engineering Technicians get tooled up
12 February 2016
No, this is not the title of the next British Gangster film starring Ray Winston, this is an article about the engineering technicians onboard HMS Kent who are helping to design and develop improved Personal Tools Kits (PTKs) for Royal Navy technicians.
In the same way that Programme Faraday is working to ensure that the RNs technicians are trained to meet the challenges of the 21st century Royal Navy, the Support Improvement Programme (SIP) is working to ensure that we recognise this in how the RN better authorises, enables and equips our technicians to enable them to deliver as operational engineers.
As part of the Programme’s work, HMS Kent was chosen to undertake a trial using PTKs and was provided with twelve of the first improved kits. Engineering Technicians were given the task of using them and assessing their effectiveness in order to help develop the kits. The kits have been a great hit onboard and have made routine maintenance and defect rectification much easier!
The overall standard of tools contained within the tool kit is high. There’s a good selection and great durability
POET(WE) Beadnall said “The overall standard of tools contained within the tool kit is high. There’s a good selection and great durability.”
The Navy’s intent to better equip our technicians hasn’t been lost on LET(ME) Taylor, who describes the toolkit as “a good piece of equipment, very well thought out,” while his colleagues agree that maintenance and repair are quicker and easier with these ready use tools.
Kent’s role in the development of PTKs is also to identify what a PTK needs to look like for ME and WE technicians across the Navy, from a brand new ET straight out of training, all the way to an experienced CPOET.
The development of improved PTKs is only a small (but important) aspect of the wider work being undertaken to ensure that RN technicians have the right authority and permissions to carry out their work and providing them with the right tools, spares, information, support and facilities at the right place and the right time.