CAQA Sentinel Defence Support Services
CAQA Sentinel Defence Support Services is a defence industry contractor that keeps training establishments, ranges and equipment ready for use. The business stores, inspects and maintains explosive ordnance on behalf of the Commonwealth, runs bulk fuel and general stores warehouses, maintains flight and vehicle simulators, supports range control on two training areas, and delivers the financial administration behind several performance based contracts. Its customers are Defence establishments, prime contractors and allied training organisations who need work done to a written standard, on time and with a complete evidence trail. Every task the business performs is traceable to a contract deliverable, a procedure and a competent, cleared person.
The business is organised into six departments across four sites. Head office in the Wodonga region holds the executive, Contracts and Finance, and the main logistics depot. The Wide Bay facility holds licensed explosive storehouses and maintenance workshops and runs a day shift only, with strict limits on the number of people and the net explosive quantity in each building. The Rockhampton depot supports range activity on a seven day roster during exercise periods, and the Oakey workshop maintains simulators on a two shift pattern so that training slots are not lost. Site managers report to the general manager weekly and every site holds a Monday safety brief.
Sentinel operates a single integrated management system covering quality, work health and safety, security and environment. Explosives work follows the Defence explosive ordnance safety publications and the licence conditions of each facility, security follows the Defence Industry Security Program, and hazardous goods movements follow the Australian Dangerous Goods Code. Every procedure is a controlled document with an owner, a version and a review date, and every incident, near miss and non-conformance is entered in a register within one shift. Internal audits run to an annual schedule, and contract performance is reported monthly against agreed measures. The business holds itself to the same standard it is contracted to deliver.