Fleet Readiness Center Southeast, TSRS Shop - The Shingo Prize

Fleet Readiness Center SoutheastTargeting, Surveillance and RADAR SystemsProgramNaval Air Station, Jacksonville, FloridaIntroductionFleet Readiness Center Southeast (FRCSE) providesdepot-level maintenance for multiple weapon systems,delivering cost-wise combat-ready products to theWarfighter. One of these products is the AN/AAS-44(V) Forward Looking Infra-Red (FLIR) Systemflown on the H-60 Helicopter. The Targeting,Surveillance and RADAR Systems (TSRS) productionshop began its Lean journey in 2004 by takingadvantage of a Greenfield opportunity andimplementing a cellular production line using Leansingle-piece flow methodology. The results have beensignificant reductions in cost and cycle time whilemaintaining a high degree of quality; thus enabling theTSRS shop to provide true cost-wise readiness to theWarfighter.Company ProfileFRCSE is located in northeast Florida along the banksof the St. Johns River and is an organic manufacturingand repair facility, responsible for providing depotlevelmaintenance support for multiple critical weaponsystems for United States Navy, Marine Corps, and AirForce. These weapon systems include the followingaircraft: F/A-18 Hornet, EA-6B Prowler, P-3 Orion,and H-60 Seahawk; and engines: J52, F404, F414,T56, T700, and TF34. Since its inception in 1940,FRCSE has played an important role in nationaldefense and remains a critical component of theOverseas Contingency Operations. FRCSE occupies70 buildings on 127 acres and is home to more than4,000 civilian, military, and contract employees, allworking together to provide superior cost-wisereadiness to our nation’s Warfighters.ProductThe TSRS production shop of the Industrial UniquePrograms Strategic Business Team (SBT) at FRCSEperforms maintenance, repair, and overhaul on theAN/AAS-44(V) FLIR system. The FLIR system is apassive method of determining bearing, course, andspeed of a target by viewing the scene as an infraredimage, regardless of weather conditions. Thiscapability is used to perform a variety of flightmissions including: night navigation, target detectionand recognition, search and rescue, avoidance ofhazards, long-range identification (terrain/object), andsurveillance. The AN/AAS-44(V) FLIR is comprisedof three Weapons Replaceable Assemblies (WRAs):the Turret Unit, which houses the infrared receiverassembly; the Electronic Unit, which is the controllerof the system; and the Hand Control Unit (HCU),which is the joy-stick the aircrew uses to select thetarget. The AN/AAS-44(V) FLIR increases situationalawareness, enhances aircraft survivability, andprovides a threat suppression capability for the H-60Helicopter. This system allows day and night targetingfor missile tracking of designated hostile targets.Title 10 U.S. Code requires the government tomaintain depot capability on Navy Core weaponssystems. Performance Based Logistics (PBLs) are asolution to balance current readiness with futurereadiness through a government-industry partnershipproviding integrated logistics support to the Warfighterat a reduced cost. PBLs unite the innovation andresponsiveness of industry with the expertise,capability, and capacity of the government to achievecost-wise readiness.FRCSE is leading the way in PBLs with the goal ofproviding increased readiness at reduced cost. For thissubmission FRCSE is in such a partnership withRaytheon Corporation to support Warfighter needswith the AN/AAS-44(V) FLIR program for the H-60weapons platform.ProcessFRCSE utilizes the Navy-wide sponsored AIRSpeedProgram as its main tenet for Continuous ProcessImprovement (CPI). Utilizing Lean and Six Sigma aswell as Theory of Constraints, the command hasinvested its future in a rigorously structured academicdevelopment and deployment of employee-drivenchange agents charged with driving continuousimprovement throughout the center.This umbrella of CPI has been the cornerstonemanagement approach for the Industrial UniquePrograms SBT and its TSRS production shop for wellover five years. During this timeframe, the TSRSproduction shop has achieved significantimprovements in its major performance measurementsto include cycle time reduction and increasedproduction quality, while at the same time reducingcost of doing business through both workloadstandards reduction and budgeted hourly ratereductions.An underlying goal of this approach is to ensure theTSRS shop has proper alignment with the strategicvision and goals of the FRCSE organization. Everyorganizational level within the SBT has a specificperformance and measurement plan. This approach

allows for the seamless integration of the Lean strategyat every level. The plan at each level has the followingcharacteristics in common: organizational alignment,definitive performance goals, and the use of Leanprinciples to pursue process improvements and tomeasure performance.PeopleThe TSRS shop of the Industrial Unique ProgramsSBT is comprised of 61 artisans, support personnel,and industry (Raytheon) partners. The commitment ofthe TSRS shop to Lean and CPI is evidenced by thecollaborative teamwork within the production shop, thesupport competencies, and the industry partner. Thisapproach consists of key representatives at the shoplevel performing weekly Wildly Important Goals(WIGs) sessions to gather commitments from eachmember to perform tasks that will help the teamimprove on the goal of delivery to schedule and atreduced cost. Many of these opportunities forimprovement are determined from the SBT drivenOperational Maturity process and the projects or “justdo-its”that result from the assessments. This sameteam construct happens at the weekly Level 1 SBTWIG session where barriers identified at the shop levelget elevated to more senior representatives forresolution along with any SBT related opportunities forimprovement. This multi-tier approach ensuresalignment of FRCSE command goals not only withinthe SBT but within each shop of the SBT as well. Tohelp achieve this and to ensure goal alignment, allmembers of the TSRS shop have been trained in Leanbasic with some receiving more advanced AIRSpeedtraining. Additionally, all members of the team havereceived training on The Four Disciplines ofExecution through Franklin-Covey.AchievementsThe TSRS shop began its PBL partnership in 2004 andsince then has accomplished many significant,measurable improvements. Lean principles and anenvironment of CPI have become a way of life for theTSRS shop which is committed to employing thesetools as it continues to pursue the goal of providingcost-wise readiness to its customers, as well asachieving corporate visions and goals.Accomplishments• Reduced repair Hours Per Unit (HPU) by 20%• Increased availability from 41% to 100%• Increased Mean Time Between UnscheduledRemoval (MTBUR) by 50%• Reduced repairs by 20%• Received Raytheon Six Sigma (R6S) PBLAward• Received Secretary of Defense PBL Award• Achieved 100% Defect Free ScoreProductivityThe success of this PBL partnership is evidenced bythe most recent achievement of delivering the 1,000thconsecutive depot level WRA on time to theWarfighter. This achievement is significant in that theAN/AAS-44(V) mission system is currently operatingin a high operational tempo environment specifically inthe Middle Eastern Theatre and the availability ofspare assets to support mission requirements isessential.QualityThe TSRS shop places a heavy emphasis on quality ofwork to ensure no sacrifices to quality are accepted inthe process of reducing cost and cycle time. This focuson quality is evidenced by the 100% first time yield(internal) of products produced and zero acceptedQuality Deficiency Reports (external) from fleetactivities. FRCSE is ISO 9001:2000, AS9100:2004Rev. B, and ISO 14001:2004 certified.CostReduction of costs and adding value for the customer isan essential element of the TSRS goal set. During theperformance of the PBL, depot productionmaintenance costs have been reduced by 20% whilefleet MTBUR has increased by 50%.SafetyProviding the workforce with a safe environment inwhich to work is of the utmost priority. Safetytraining, constantly provided to all employees, isreinforced vigorously by leadership and is included inour strategic planning as a measurable goal. The TSRSleadership ensures all artisans as well as supportpersonnel have the latest in personal safety protection.In the past several years, FRCSE has been one of themost recognized centers of safety excellence within theNavy. Safety mishaps within the TSRS shop havebeen zero.Customer SatisfactionAs part of the PBL partnership with RaytheonCorporation, FRCSE receives periodic Net PromoterScores (NPS). This scoring is a compilation of keymeasurements including cost, quality, turn-aroundtime,financial billing, and communication. FRCSEhas consistently received a NPS score of 9 or better(valued provider), indicating a provider of choice forRaytheon.For more information contact:Judy AlexanderDeputy Public Affairs OfficerFleet Readiness Center Southeast(904) 790-4835E-mail: judy.alexander@navy.mil