LAND SYSTEMS REFERENCE CENTRE – NETWORKING SOLUTIONS
By Julian Nettlefold
BATTLESPACE was hosted by Dermot Cusack of Steria, Steria Head of the LSRC, during our visit
The British Army’s Land Systems Reference Centre (LSRC), is a state of the art test and reference facility that is playing a crucial role in the Command and Battlespace Management (Land) programme. The over-riding role of the LSRC, located at Blandford Camp Dorset, is to provide a risk-reduction facility offering the capability to undertake comprehensive testing of all aspects of military Communication Information Systems (CIS) and at all stages in their life cycle.
On November 1st 2007. Steria, a leading European end-to-end IT services provider, was selected by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to run the LSRC to begin in January 2008, under a contract valued at approximately £17m over five years. The five-year contract is run by a team with Steria, as Prime Systems Integrator, to carry out system tests and technical evaluation for the Joint and Land environments. These activities are scheduled for routine work and as a support activity to pre-deployment of systems, as required, helping to reduce risks, improve efficiencies and ultimately increase performance. Using ITIL-based service management, the Steria team provide a fast response to change and scalability to manage the increasing complexity of testing in an increasingly networked and joint operational environment. The Steria Team brings together best-in-class SME organisations, offering an innovative solution for the LSRC contract to meet the demands of new projects scheduled to enter service over the next five years. As Prime System Integrator, Steria is responsible for coordinating the team and managing delivery across the project. The team also manages the whole operation of the LSRC including the administration and security of the building itself. Since January 2008, Steria has continued to enhance the LSRC facility on behalf of MoD at the same time as conducting live testing and maintaining the IS09001 certification.
The members of the Steria team are:
SCS Ltd (SCS): Supplies 3 of the core posts within the LSRC delivery team and can be called upon for additional surge support as necessary. SCS is a leading independent supplier of technical services to private and public sector clients, primarily in the defence and security sector.
Aspire: Delivers the Integrated Logistics Support (ILS). It is an independent company that provides specialist support engineering, logistics and management skills, consultancy and training spanning the full spectrum of Supportability and Support Engineering.
Drumgrange Limited: Responsible for providing specialist test facility technical support. The Chertsey based systems engineering company has an established track record in designing, manufacturing, integrating, installing, and supporting reliable and cost effective electronic equipment and systems for the MoD.
Johnson Controls: Responsible for delivering facilities management support. It is the world’s largest provider of technical and facilities management services, predominantly in highly technical business critical areas.
The Application Service Team (AST) sustains Command and Battlespace Management (CBM) and Intelligence information solutions in support of current operations, and the delivery of enhanced capability for the future.
AST also manages a portfolio of 40 Command Support, Intelligence and information solution programmes and projects on a through-life basis. Its users include PJHQ, Fleet, HQ SOinC(A) and the Defence Intelligence Services.
Origins of the LSRC
The origins of the LSRC lie in the wish by the MoD in the 1990s to have a facility to promote the interoperability of Army Command Control, Communications and Information Systems (ACCCIS) coming into service. By late 1999 BT’s systems integration business, Syntegra, brought the LSRC into service under an eight year