LSC Group will be responsible for the overall systems integration of the Alliance SDE, including its design, implementation, and management. The SDE will be a web-based hosted service and will include Formtek / Orion-based Project Vault for all of the project's shared documents. Formtek's Project Vault will allow the Alliance members to manage the variety of documentation throughout the duration of the contract--easily and securely. The SDE will also include workflow technology to support the automation of alliance business processes, such as technical queries, design change, and configuration management.
"Formtek's participation in this Ministry of Defence project is a big step forward for our company," said Gary P. Mann, Formtek's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Over the years, our software has helped the defence industry collaborate on some very high-profile projects. We are delighted that our technology solutions will play a key role in the SDE."
The SDE was founded to create an IT environment that facilitates sharing of data and encourages collaboration between the Alliance Members. Any data that is created and held in systems managed by individual Members can be managed within the SDE and shared with authorized Members. This type of organized data sharing reduces data duplication by providing a single source of master data that can be securely accessed by all the Members. The structured workflow capabilities of the SDE provide a sophisticated mechanism for enforcing controlled execution of any project--as well as recording an audit trail of potentially complex processes such as technical query collection, review, and approval cycles.
The Chief Executive of the Warship Support Agency, on behalf of the UK Secretary of State for Defence, established the Design Support Alliance to cover design support activities for UK Royal Navy warships. Initially, the Alliance will support the following classes of ships: CVS Aircraft Carriers, HMS Ocean Assault Ship, Type 42 Destroyers, Hunt and Sandown Class Mine Countermeasures Vessels, LPD(R)s, LCU Mk10's, and LCVP Mk5's. There are numerous members of the Surface Ship Design Support Alliance that will use the SDE, including the five major defence suppliers: Devonport Royal Dockyard Limited, VT Group, Babcock Design and Technology Limited, Fleet Support Limited, and BAE Systems.
About LSC Group. LSC Group was founded over 15 years ago to offer consultancy support and software tools to the fast growing ILS community and today is the leading independent ILS dedicated company in Europe. LSC has extensive experience and a successful track record implementing and supporting complex asset management, logistics, information management and enterprise integration solutions in both the Defense and Commercial arenas. LSC Group consultants offer a depth of knowledge and originality, matched with a practical experience and cross-industry 'best practice' to deliver high quality results for our customers. LSC Group is located in Tamworth, Staffordshire, UK. For more information, please visit www.lsc.co.uk.
About Formtek. Formtek Inc. provides secure and scalable Enterprise Content Management software and implementation services to worldwide customers and partners in manufacturing, aerospace, defense, telecommunication, utility and government. Formtek software provides discriminating features in the areas of security, storage, scalability, and integration capability and is readily used for applications of engineering data management, document management, change management and collaboration. Formtek is headquartered in Washington DC, with offices in California and Pennsylvania. For more information, please visit www.formtek.com.
Contact:
Formtek Inc., Washington
Dennis M. Scanlon, 925-658-0922
or
Bernadine Bacon-Irwin, 202-452-6923