Listen, know, adapt, thrive

The recent Integrated Defense Systems reorganization reflects how the business is following the "focus areas" laid out for 2006 by Jim Albaugh, IDS president and CEO. In particular, the changes tie into the leadership and customer focus areas. In addition to the reorganization, IDS has selected four focus areas for 2006 designed to significantly improve execution and productivity. (These are program management best practices, systems engineering, cost structure, and supplier management and quality.)

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Image-ine that

It sounds like a plot from a science fiction movie: Take a contraption you've created, meld it with someone else's invention, tweak the object to do something new, and—voila, you've created something magical.

That isn't exactly what sensor imagery exploitation is, but the technology Boeing has pulled together will take existing systems from the customer, Boeing, suppliers and even the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) to produce sensor-targeting information that is extremely detailed, accurate and ready to act on. And the work that produces these images will be done not by the pilot, but by the computer aboard an F/A-18E/F Super Hornet—making an already formidable aircraft even more valuable for Boeing customers.

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Plug a leak, save big bucks

The old adage that "nobody is perfect" applies to every product and process. So when workers get together and look at their processes, major savings can result.

In the case of KC-135 tanker aircraft undergoing Programmed Depot Maintenance at Boeing Support Systems, San Antonio, it took workers only about a week to fix a problem with fuel leaks in the wing. That fix is saving about 300 to 400 hours of rework on each plane.

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