F-15 electrician designs timesaving mock-up tool

At 5-foot-7 and 155 pounds (170 centimeters and 70 kilograms), David Shelton's size has put him in a tight spot on the F-15K line in St. Louis. "I'm one of the smallest guys here, so I guess the job fell to me, but it still gets real tight, real fast," said Shelton, referring to the Internal Communications Systems Bay on the F-15K.

Shelton, who twice hurt his back maneuvering around the 400 feet of cable in the bay, took it upon himself to do something about it. A 28-year Boeing veteran, Shelton designed a mock-up of the ICS Bay. Now, most of the work is done using the mock-up, outside the actual ICS Bay. When the mock-up work is finished, the only thing left to do in the bay is to clamp the wires and cables in place.

"What David did is a perfect example of what we encourage all of our employees to do," said Steve Coulter, Shelton's supervisor. "By working smarter, David created something that saves time, money and prevents injuries. It's a great piece of equipment."

Another successful year for Airplanes 101

Boeing Commercial Airplanes' Airplanes 101 training program for news media and industry officials graduated 144 students in five countries this year. In addition to the annual Seattle program, an elite team of instructors traveled to Beijing; London; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and Copenhagen, Denmark, to teach how safety is built into each step of the airplane creation process.

The class covers design, build, test, delivery and in-service support of commercial airliners. Since the class was launched in 1997, nearly 600 guests—journalists, industry representatives, regulators, government and airline people—have attended the program.

NASA Systems loses leader

Mike Mott, Boeing vice president and general manager of the NASA Systems business unit, passed away Nov. 19 after a battle with cancer.

"Mike will be remembered for his strong leadership, his patriotism and service to his country, his unfailing support of the U.S. space program, and his commitment to family, friends, co-workers and customers," said Jim Albaugh, president and CEO, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. "All of us at IDS are deeply saddened by his untimely death and offer our sympathy to his family and many friends around the world."

"What set Mike apart from others was his visionary leadership," said Steve Oswald, vice president and program manager of Boeing's Space Shuttle program. "He could see directions for organizations to go while most of us were head down, pedaling hard."

Before joining Boeing in 1998, Mott held prestigious positions including associate deputy administrator for NASA, chairman of the NASA Space Operations Management Council and the Space Transportation Council, and director for new initiatives and concept development for the Space Division of General Research Corp. Mott was also a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer who held a variety of posts.

IAM promotions
No promotions listed for periods ending Oct. 28, Nov. 4, 11, 18 and 25.

Ethics questions?

You can reach the Offi ce of Ethics & Business Conduct at 1-888-970-7171; Mail Code: 14-14; Fax: 1-888-970- 5330; TDD/TTY: 1-800-617-3384; e-mail: ethicsLine.ethics@boeing.com; Web site: http://ethics.whq.boeing.com (internal link only).