Ministry of Defence HMS Sultan Utilisation and Modelling
The MoD provides the defence capability for the UK and acts as a specialist training supplier for service people across all of the three armed services. HMS Sultan is a Royal Navy Training Establishment located in Gosport, near Portsmouth, in Hampshire. It is the home of Defence School of Marine Engineering (DSMarE) and the Royal Naval Air Engineering and Survival School (RNAESS).
This utilisation study was undertaken to understand the use of built teaching assets at HMS Sultan to determine if these expensive estates were being utilised within benchmarked standards. The outcome was to inform the viability of the technical, and nuclear submarine training could be relocated from HMS Sultan to Collingwood.
The survey was undertaken over a course of a week, which was agreed as a ‘typical’ week in terms of training activity on site. Using the EventMAP Smarter Surveys methodology and audit software. Additional relevant data was also collected on how the space was being used with the assistance of stakeholders from HMS Sultan front-line staff.
The survey covered 79% of the area dedicated to teaching assets at HMS Sultan. It equates to approximately 17% of the site’s total built area.
This study highlighted that the built academic teaching rooms were being utilised well below benchmarked standards across all teaching room categories. When considering both average utilisation and three peak utilisation, over the surveyed period, the three peak average indicated that there is not significant fluctuation between peak period and periods of lower use. This indicated significant scope to increase activity across a week to improve overall utilisation.
EventMAP delivered a consistent output across various space types, and in the case of this training facility enabled the addition of subject matter expertise to be leveraged from EventMAP’s extensive work delivering utilisation surveys and supporting programmes of improvements based on the results found. The utilisation study provided baseline evidence for further resource planning and development plans to identify the most efficient use of facilities.
EventMAP recommended that with the installation of appropriate management tools to create more centralised control of resources, as the site had the capacity to increase provision considerably. We established that should more training be undertaken, then the amount of accommodation may require review and be increased.
Subsequent to the utilisation study exercise all onsite assets were factored into activity mapping, actual utilisation and the actual space needed for the indicative redistribution.
Images: Ministry of Defence (OGL)
