harmonic convergence

Like a fine symphony, Anaheim blends people, programs and technologies to create the networked world of the future

BY DIANE STRATMAN

In 1959, an E-ticket ride called Submarine Voyage opened at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. As many as 38 guest riders could board a fictional Nautilus submarine (or one of seven sister submarines) for a fascinating and imaginary voyage through liquid space to probe seldom-seen depths and cross below the polar ice cap of the Arctic Ocean.

Just a year before, the real USS Nautilus, the world's first nuclear-powered submarine, completed an actual voyage below the ice cap as it silently and secretly became the first ship to cross the geographic North Pole.

Through subsequent decades, the Submarine Voyage ride has continued to attract long lines of guests to help make Disneyland--"The Happiest Place on Earth"--Anaheim's largest employer.

For more than 45 years, the Boeing facility where the navigation system for the real Nautilus was designed and built has thrived, to become Anaheim's second-largest employer, with 3,600 people. It's now a location of diverse talents, where people conduct work for four Boeing Integrated Defense Systems business units, as well as the Strategic Architecture organization.

The Boeing Anaheim site took root in 1959 when North American Aviation in Downey, Calif., purchased 80 acres of land in east Anaheim for use as a radar test facility. From that time on, the site grew rapidly, with employment exceeding 30,000 in peak years of production.

Wayne Hauptmeier, who recently celebrated his 45-year service anniversary with the company, was among the first handful of employees who transferred from the North American Aviation facility in Downey to Anaheim.

"When I left the site for a two-year stint in the U.S. Army, the Anaheim complex was quite small," he recalled. "There were a lot less cars honking and a lot more chickens clucking at nearby farms. When I returned, it was like a small city."

In its early years, the Anaheim site was known for its production of guidance and control systems for land-based Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles, as well as the navigation equipment that enabled the famed USS Nautilus voyage. In 1957, the Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik posed the possibility that nuclear weapons could be transported through space. Soon after Sputnik's orbit around the Earth, the U.S. Air Force selected North American Aviation to develop the guidance and control system for the Minuteman ICBM that promised to provide the United States and its allies with a viable deterrent against nuclear weapons.

Today, these businesses continue to thrive at Anaheim. The Minuteman remains the land-based segment of the U.S. strategic nuclear triad of land-based missiles, submarine-based missiles and long-range bombers. ICBM Systems, part of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, is replacing the missile's aging guidance system electronics to extend its service life through 2020. The organization also performs maintenance, repair and calibration work on the Minuteman.

Through the decades, the Anaheim site has continuously improved the navigation systems installed on the Nautilus and subsequent U.S. Navy atomic submarines. Today, the Boeing IDS Naval Electronics and Navigation business at Anaheim maintains its role as the leading supplier of navigation systems for the U.S. Navy's ballistic missile submarine fleet as well as British Royal Navy Trident submarines.

"Naval Electronics and Navigation and ICBM Systems have been solid foundational businesses at the Anaheim site for decades," said Jake Volkert, Boeing IDS vice president of Battle Management Command, Control and Communications and Strategic Systems and site executive host. "It is these healthy core businesses that have allowed the Anaheim site to capture new business in emerging markets." Indeed, Boeing in 2003 designated the Anaheim site as one of the company's Enterprise Capability Centers in BMC3.

One of the emerging markets that Volkert referred to is the Integrated Battlespace--an environment in which all platforms and subsystems (aircraft, ships, submarines, tanks, trucks, satellites, radios) and personnel from all levels and branches of the military will be connected through one common network to have near-real-time access to accurate, protected information. The resulting network will let military leaders make informed decisions faster than adversaries can respond.

Two Anaheim programs pivotal to this vision are the Joint Tactical Radio System and the Family of Advanced Beyond Line-of-Sight Terminals, both parts of BMC3 and Strategic Systems. JTRS is the world's first software-defined tactical radio and is part of the U.S. Department of Defense effort to upgrade and connect all of its various radio platforms. FAB-T technology will then connect JTRS links to satellite links for international connectivity.

A small but very key organization based at Anaheim is playing a major role in shaping the Boeing vision of network-centric operations. Boeing formed the Strategic Architecture organization in 2001 in anticipation of increased demand for networked systems. The organization is developing a strategic communications and information architecture intended to ensure interoperability across all Boeing systems. The ultimate objective: Create common architectural guidelines to let virtually any commercial or government client successfully network its people, computers and machines.

With so many cutting-edge technologies emerging from Anaheim, the challenge to Boeing IDS is to show potential customers how they could improve operations in a network-centric operating environment. Anaheim's Boeing Integration Center has achieved unparalleled success in demonstrating to potential government and commercial customers what a network-centric system could look like, and how an integrated battlespace can enhance military operations. In three years, more than 16,000 military, government, homeland security and commercial industry leaders have visited the BIC to see the before and after effects of having the right information at the right time.

Among the other Boeing businesses that Anaheim serves:

· Air and Missile Defense Systems. The organization's missile defense programs include production of the seeker for the PAC-3 missile, a high-velocity hit-to-kill missile that provides increased defense against advanced tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and hostile aircraft. A U.S. Army letter of commendation to A&MDS recently highlighted PAC-3's highly successful performance during recent operations. The letter reads in part: "Without your quality work, we could not have accomplished our mission during Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom ... There is no higher honor than serving in the Army with the quality equipment and technology you provide." The A&MDS team also recently rolled out the Standard Missile-3 Kinetic Warhead to bring the Missile Defense Agency a step closer to providing the United States with a sea-based defense against ballistic missile threats.

· Ground-based Missile Defense. The program is on a fast-track test and development schedule to deploy 10 interceptor missiles to Ft. Greely, Alaska, by September. A series of hit-to-kill interceptor flights is planned for the near term.

· Advanced Information Systems. The organization, which deals primarily with classified programs, is developing broadband information delivery systems, miniature low-power communications, and autonomous unmanned systems. Having doubled its size in the past two years, AIS is on the forefront of network technologies, knowledge management and information systems that serve key customers in the U.S. government. Its unmanned undersea vehicles are targeted at military and commercial missions that include covert mine reconnaissance, pipeline route survey and oil field geologic survey.

With such diversity of businesses, there's no lack of resources and talent at Anaheim. In fact, engineers comprise more than half of the employee population.

But business diversity also can create an environment in which groups function in isolation rather than operate cohesively. To ensure a collaborative environment that brings together and maximizes the unique talents and knowledge of employees, Anaheim leadership has launched an aggressive Employee Engagement program that brings diverse groups together to pool resources and knowledge. The ultimate aim is to appropriately engage employees in the decision-making process, so they feel they are part of something larger than their daily work assignments.

Among a number of Employee Engagement activities at Anaheim is the Fall Classic--an annual competition that allows work teams to showcase their process improvement ideas to the Anaheim executive leaders. Winning teams receive cash awards.

A prime example of a self-directed, high-performance work team is the Administrative Support Process Improvement Network team. Formed in 1994, the A-SPIN team aims to improve the skill set and value of office administrators.

In January of this year, A-SPIN team members shared their successes with 60 executives at the Boeing Leadership Center in St. Louis. A notable accomplishment was the creation of a 52-unit curriculum, in conjunction with California State University at Fullerton, for office administrators to enhance their skills and expertise. Thirty-five office administrators completed the program last July. The team also has been instrumental in setting up A-SPIN teams at six other Boeing sites across the country.

Another way to bring employees together and promote camaraderie is Employee Appreciation Day. During the past two years, 3,600 employees from all programs and functions have gathered for a catered lunch, live entertainment, and a big "thank you" from Anaheim site executives for their hard work.

The "thank you" from site executives each fall includes Anaheim employees' legacy of supporting neighboring communities that need a helping hand. Each year, volunteers provide holiday gifts for children and elders, supply backpacks for elementary school students, donate food for the hungry, paint houses for elderly residents, assist youth programs, plant trees, and clean parks in local neighborhoods.

In supporting four IDS business units--Air Force Systems, Naval Systems, Missile Defense Systems and Space and Intelligence Systems--and the Strategic Architecture organization, Anaheim is a diverse site. Boeing IDS President and CEO Jim Albaugh compared the management of a large diverse organization to conducting a symphony orchestra.

"It doesn't matter if you are winds, strings, percussion or the conductor--each of you is essential," he said. "On the other hand, you're only one part of the music. It takes the combined efforts of all the members playing from the same page to achieve the sounds of a seasoned symphony orchestra."

Albaugh's analogy fits the Anaheim site: Many diverse businesses and programs, many exciting technologies both old and new, and many levels of expertise among a culturally diverse population coming together to form what may not be "The Happiest Place on Earth," but certainly one of the most interesting places in the world of Boeing.

diane.l.stratman@boeing.com