As a result of the 9/11 attacks in New York, the mission of the United States Coast Guard expanded significantly. This expansion necessitated a rapid modernization effort to its command structure, support systems, and business practices to ensure that it could continue to fulfill its traditional missions of maritime safety, search and rescue, and drug interdiction, while addressing emerging requirements such as maritime defense and port security.
In order to meet urgent priorities focused on defense and security, efforts to address support systems and business practices first focused on Coast Guard operational arms including the Surface and Aviation Forces Logistics Commands. When these efforts were substantially in place, focus shifted to mission support activities and delivery systems in support of modernizing its $14B portfolio of shore-based assets through the stand-up of twelve “Product and Asset Lines” such as base facilities, personnel housing, and training centers. Standardizing and integrating these activities and systems would improve the Coast Guard’s ability to support and fulfill its core missions, better maintain and utilize shore infrastructure assets, and apply its limited acquisition and maintenance funds most effectively.
In order to manage these assets effectively, a fundamental understanding of their inventories, current and future needs, physical conditions, ongoing costs, and maintenance requirements was required before substantive modernization efforts could proceed. Gaining this understanding would require a combination of facilitiesrelated subject matter expertise and the ability to analyze, interpret, and synthesize information from a wide variety of Coast Guard personnel, systems, and data repositories. The Coast Guard turned to Access Sciences, and our partner Cardno GS, to address this gap by applying both facilities and asset management experience, and the ability to leverage this experience to analyze and assess supporting information systems and repositories.
