Latest & Greatest
Recent Stories from Across Our Global Business
Our people are at the heart of everything we do, which is why we are dedicated to professional development and celebrating the successes of our workforce. Here are a few examples of the exciting achievements and new initiatives from across our business units that demonstrate KBR’s commitment to people, workplace environment and culture.
KBR-Built Commercial Cloud and Mission Service Platform Now Available on FedRAMP Marketplace
KBR’s innovative commercial cloud and mission service platform is now available on the U.S. Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) marketplace. Known as KBR Vaault℠, the integrated technology solution is one of only 370 government cloud products with a live FedRAMP marketplace designation.
KBR built the Vaault platform from the ground up to support U.S. federal government departments and agencies. The secure, cloud-based platform is an integrated, pre-approved system that allows for rapid deployment, custom configuration and authorization to operation (ATO) and provides U.S. government and commercial customers with a variety of domain-specific solutions including public safety digital evidence management.
Created using industry-leading commercial products, KBR Vaault for public safety provides end-to-end services for video evidence collection using in-car, vehicle-mounted dash cameras and mobile, body-worn cameras. The platform also facilitates the collection, consolidation, organization, review, retrieval, search, and distribution of video and audio surveillance data using cloud computing technologies.
As a part of this full life-cycle solution, KBR installs and provides all cameras, microphones and computer operations using a private secure network, cloud application, and data center services.
“Fast and secure mobile communications are key to any mission and bolstering those technologies is always one of our customer goals,” said Byron Bright, KBR Government Solutions president. “KBR Vaault enables reliable remote monitoring and incident management support to customers during any contingency that may arise. When it matters most, KBR Vaault is simply a product you can count on.”
KBR Contributes to Greener and Safer Road Network in Australia
KBR’s Infrastructure Services Australia business is an industry leader in designing sustainable transport infrastructure solutions. The company is proud to expand its presence in the Australian roads sector through a renewed partnership with Major Road Projects Victoria (MRPV), which plans and delivers essential road projects, building better connections for Victorians.
MRPV is part of Victoria’s Big Build, which is delivering the rail and road projects that will keep Victorians moving for decades to come. KBR was invited onto the MRPV Design Delivery Panel in 2020, where alongside Decmil, an Australian construction and engineering firm, we are delivering the northern package of the Barwon Heads Road Upgrade, an environmentally sensitive road duplication project for the coastal community 100 km (about 62 miles) south of Melbourne. KBR provides drainage, flooding, road geometry and alignment, and structural design solutions that minimize harm to biodiversity and safeguard the natural landscape within the local Jerringot Wetlands.
To further protect the environment for the future, KBR’s industry-leading sustainability subject matter experts are collaborating with Decmil to maximize the use of recycled and reused materials during construction and to reduce the project’s carbon footprint. This effort supports the Victorian government’s Recycled First Policy, which encourages the development of greener transport infrastructure.
“We’re proud of our continued partnership with MRPV to provide solutions critical to the prosperity of Victorian commuters and communities,” says Ray Mahony, director, Consulting Services, Infrastructure Services Australia. “We’re looking forward to continuing our reputation as industry leader in designing infrastructure that creates safer, more sustainable travel options for transport users across Victoria.”
KBR’s position on the Design Panel builds on our rapidly growing portfolio of projects in the Victorian transport sector, including the Western Roads Upgrade in 2017, where we helped improve eight main roads and strengthen seven structures across Melbourne’s west, and our ongoing success as part of the North Western Program Alliance (NWPA) to transform Victoria’s rail network.
KBR SEG Holds Inaugural Tech Day in Columbia, Maryland
KBR’s first-ever Digital Engineering and Cybersecurity Technology Day was hosted on April 6, 2022, in Columbia, Maryland, by the Defense Systems Engineering Group’s (SEG) Security Solutions division, led by vice president Derrick Nixon.
The focus of the Tech Day was to display SEG’s globally deployed cybersecurity, cloud and battlefield awareness solutions to the company’s government customers. The event featured two sessions, in which presenters highlighted six different technologies that KBR has developed and uses to increase mission productivity. There was also a classified session that highlighted KBR’s classified capabilities.
“This was the first event of its kind where we showcased our capabilities to our current and potential customers. This was a first step toward the end goal of holding annual events that highlight our capabilities as an entire company, beyond just cyber,” said Nixon. “We have amazing technologies that are used all throughout our company. This is a unique opportunity for us to show customers outside of our business, and even those within, what we do.”
If you’re interested in viewing the presentations from Tech Day, you can find them here.
Aspire Defence Capital Works Make Great Strides in Health and Safety
At the end of 2021, five years after construction of the new Army Basing Programme infrastructure under the Project Allenby Connaught (PAC) contract commenced, KBR’s Aspire Defence Capital Works celebrated 10 million work hours with a lost time incident rate of less than one percent.
Aspire Defence Capital Works (ADCW), which is part of KBR Aspire Defence, is a construction management business that was formed in 2006 as the building contractor responsible for delivering new and refurbished living and working accommodation for the UK army across Salisbury Plain and Aldershot. Since 2016, ADCW has delivered 250 new builds and refurbishments, 200 demolitions, and 2,600 new bed spaces for soldiers.
Achieving a lost time incident rate of 0.18, which stands well below an industry standard of 1.32, is an outstanding safety record and equates to Zero Harm for 99% of the time spent working on the site.
“Reaching 10 million work hours with less than 1% recorded incidents in five years’ time could only have been achieved through a collaborative effort. Every member of the team upholds the core value of ‘safety first’ through several initiatives aimed at encouraging staff, partners and customers to think about how they can protect their health and safety,” said capital projects director, Richard Tindal.
Speaking further on the impact of this mindset, Alan McDonald, head of health and safety for Aspire Defence Services, noted that the company’s health and safety approach is built around KBR’s Zero Harm 24/7 culture and the Courage to Care.
“It’s about engaging with our people to instill the belief that the goal of zero incidents is achievable. That begins by creating a culture that embeds the understanding that the bar can always be raised. Within our Zero Harm 24/7 approach, we go further than just policies by empowering our staff, contractors and customers to display the ‘Courage to Care’ approach, looking after one another. Systems and processes are one thing, but by adopting a positive safety culture day in, day out, we can proactively identify and minimize risk.”
KBR-Operated Bahrain Bluejacket Bistro Wins “History-Making” Food Service Award
The Naval Support Activity (NSA) Bahrain Bluejacket Bistro, operated by KBR, recently received the FY2022 Captain Edward F. Ney Memorial Award for outstanding food service excellence in the OCONUS General Mess category. While this is not the only galley that KBR operates, it is the only one that has ever won the prestigious Ney award. It is also the only contractor-operated galley to do so.
To even be eligible for this award — which has been likened to winning a Michelin star — the galley first had to receive two consecutive five-star accreditation ratings. What goes on behind the scenes is a critical part of the evaluation and accreditation process. According to project manager Sergio Garza, the award committee evaluated the galley’s financial records, Navy standard core menu, food preparation and service, subsistence management, facility upkeep, and training. The team accomplished all of this while also serving high-quality, nutritious meals that meet customers’ satisfaction. More than 1,200 diners come through the galley daily.
John Henton, the Bistro’s senior food service manager, has been working in galleys overseas for 16 years, spending time in Iraq before landing in Bahrain. The Bistro received its first five-star galley award after just one year of being in operation. It won its second the next year. To be eligible for and win the Ney award after only three years in operation is a tremendous feat and, according to John Duff, NSA Bahrain Installation Fleet and Family Readiness director, “nothing less than astonishing.”
Henton credits the hard work of his team as the reason behind their accomplishment and for their high level of customer satisfaction.
“We’re a perfect team and have worked together for so long. It was a great team effort from all of us,” he said.
He also leads by example:
“You don’t ever get anything out of something that’s easy,” he continued. “Do the hard work. Try to teach people what you know and treat people good and keep pushing and hope something good comes out of it. Just keep doing the right thing.”
Going Green in Saudi
The KBR-AMCDE joint venture team has been supporting efforts to tackle climate change in Saudi Arabia as part of the country’s Environment Week 2022.
In line with the Saudi Green initiative (SGI), KBR-AMCDE, alongside the Ministry of Environment and Water and Agriculture, conducted a week-long campaign in March 2022 to support green initiatives.
For KBR-AMCDE, the week of activities aligned with two SGI initiatives — afforestation of 10 billion trees and 30% of land and sea protection.
“KBR-AMCDE is delighted to sponsor and participate in Saudi Arabia’s Environment Week, focusing on the pillars of the Saudi Green Initiative,” said Aaron Fowler, vice president and managing director of KBR-AMCDE. “This week has brought colleagues, businesses and the community together to make real change in the race against climate change. Globally, KBR is focused on protecting our environment through our work and always ensuring Zero Harm is at the forefront of all we do.”
KBR Joint Venture, KBS Maritime, Attends Naming Ceremony for New Typhoon 3000 Jack-Up Barge
KBS Maritime recently joined the UK Royal Navy and Team Portsmouth partners for a naming ceremony of a new jack-up barge at HM Naval Base Portsmouth, attended by First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Ben Key. A joint venture between KBR and BAE Systems, KBS Maritime was created to deliver ambitious, modern and enduring change to the Portsmouth base infrastructure.
The jack-up barge was named Typhoon 3000 after the RMAS TYPHOON, a sea-going tug and the first vessel to depart the UK for the Falklands in 1982. The naming ceremony took place on the same day RMAS TYPHOON left Portland (April 4, 1982) ahead of the Task Force, which left the following day, and marked the occasion of its departure from the UK as a part of the Falklands 40-year anniversary.
Typhoon 3000 is managed and operated by KBS Maritime on behalf of the Royal Navy. Its principal purpose is lifting Royal Navy vessels from the water into (and out of) dry facilities in Portsmouth, improving operations and future-proofing the facility. Typhoon 3000 is also globally dynamic and can be moved anywhere in the world to support the Royal Navy, should need arise.
James Davis, managing director of KBS Maritime, said, “KBS Maritime is honored to attend the naming ceremony, alongside First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Ben Key and our Team Portsmouth partners. The addition of this asset is helping improve the way we work together on the base and the resilience of our operations, and it contributes to a more modern naval base that will support the Royal Navy and the UK in the decades ahead.”
