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Success Stories
Chelmsford, MA - In the ongoing military conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, the ability to have an "eye in the sky" observing enemy troops and equipment, and reporting back real-time data and video can be an invaluable tool.
Goodrich Corporation’s Surveillance and Reconnaissance Systems (Goodrich SRS) team based in Chelmsford, Massachusetts is providing many of the aerial cameras for American and British military aircraft flying reconnaissance missions in combat zones overseas.
Each surveillance system is made-to-order, engineered to meet the unique needs and specifications of its ultimate mission, so as demand for their product increased, executives at Goodrich recognized a need to meet demand without stressing its budget. The company called upon the Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MassMEP) to help them streamline their production process.
The MassMEP team worked with Goodrich to incorporate Time Wise® Principles of Lean Manufacturing in Goodrich’s Optical Electronic Assembly area. "As a result of the Lean training program, we've been able to dramatically reduce our cycle time and part of that is a reduction in the time it takes to set up a project," said Dan Nash, Goodrich director of operations for its SRS team. "We had a goal of cutting time in half, and the results have actually been closer to 85 percent."
With reduced cycle time, jobs flow more smoothly, speeding up the production process and reducing the amount of time between the start of a job and delivery to the customer. Active work orders were reduced from a matter of months, to just over a week.
As with any program aimed at improving productivity, the improvements are measured by its affect on the bottom line.
"There have been a lot of benefits," said Nash. "The changes have helped reduce our inventory levels and when that happens, the cost of building the product goes down."
Goodrich Corporation, a Fortune 500 company, is a leading global supplier of systems and services to the aerospace and defense industry. If there’s an aircraft in the sky - we’re on it. Goodrich technology is involved in making aircraft fly... helping them land... and keeping them safe. Serving a global customer base with significant worldwide manufacturing and service facilities, Goodrich is one of the largest aerospace companies in the world. For more information visit http://www.goodrich.com/.