November 24, 1986

PROPOSED ARTICLE

TITLE: Quality and Productivity Drive Innovation and

Improvement at United Technologies Aerospace

Operations, Inc.

AUTHOR: Dr. L. G. Jamar, PE

PUBLICATION: Upon clearance, will seek publication in

"Industrial Engineering," published monthly

by the Institute of Industrial Engineers

May also seek publication in other

appropriate periodicals

PHOTOS: Paper copies will be replaced with color

photos for publication

COMPANY NAME: The new company name will be used when it has

been selected and approved

C<KflSA-CR-1829'J<n QUALITY AKt•tECCUCTIVITI

BBIVE IBHOTIAIIOK AMD lEPBCVEtltl Al UNITED

1ICHNCLOG1ES lEEOSFACE QF£EA11CKS, INC.

V."t«d J.cta.1.,1.. Corp., 19 F CSC, ,» ^ Oncla^

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Quality and Productivity Drive Innovation' and Improvement at United

Technologies Aerospace Operations, Inc. ~

Quality and innovation have long been hallmarks of this nation's space

program. In programs that preceded the Shuttle Program (Space

Transportation System) the emphasis has been on meeting the risks and

technical challenges of space with safety, quality, reliability, and success.

This emphasis has been redoubled in the Shuttle Program with an added

emphasis on productivity to respond to the added dimensions of the program.

The Shuttle Program is a long term production type program which

accommodates payload delivery requirements with a limited quantity of

reuseable resources. This dictates that the reuseable Solid Rocket Boosters

and Orbiters must be turned around by a relatively small but highly quality

and productivity motivated work force.

This is the backdrop against which NASA and their prime contractors for the

Shuttle Program must perform as they move into the mainstream of the

operations phase of the program. They must have the motivated work force,

excellent facilities and equipment, and effective management systems to turn

each item of program critical flight hardware around with highest quality, in

the required time, and at a competitive cost per flight. With limited

quantities of major (and costly) hardware components and a production

process constrained at both ends, the challenge quickly becomes a battle to

assure the ultimate success of the program.

At United Technologies Aerospace Operations, Inc. (UTAO), the prime

contractor for the non-motor parts of the Solid Rocket Boosters, the battle

has developed along four primary fronts. These fronts include programs to

motivate and reward people, development and construction of. new optimized

processes and facilities, implementation of specifically tailored management

systems, and the application of appropriate measurement and control systems.

Each of these initiatives will be described in the following paragraphs.

However, to put this quality and productivity program in perspective, UTAO

and its role in the Shuttle Program will be described first.

United Technologies Aerospace Operations, Inc.

UTAO is a United Technologies Corporation (UTC) company. Organizationally,

it is assigned to Space Transportation Systems under the UTC Defense &

Space Systems Group. UTAO's predecessor company, USBI was originally

formed in December, 1976 under the Chemical Systems Division specifically to

compete for the Solid Rocket Booster contract, a part of NASA's Shuttle

Program. Starting with a cadre of seventeen Chemical Systems Division

people, the company has developed and grown dramatically. Winning a recent

recompetition of the contract, the production company was broken out in

January 1985 as USBI-BPC with approximately 1,000 employees at four

locations: the Kennedy Space Center in Florida; Huntsville, Alabama;

Vandenberg Air Force Base, California; and Slidell, Louisiana. Effective

January 1, 1987, USBI-BPC became United Technologies Aerospace

Operations, Inc. (UTAO), reflecting the company's broadening role in the

aerospace industry. '•* .|

. - • - ?* s '•

. ORIGINAL'FAGS'rs " ~

 r

OS JBOOR- .QUALITY
UTAOV Role in the Shuttle Program >

UTAO is currently under contract with the NASA Marshall Space Flight

Center to provide assembly and refurbishment of major solid rocket boostercomponents. Essentially, UTAO operates a doubly constrained recycling

production process for NASA to provide solid rocket boosters for shuttle

launches. The process is doubly constrained by a firm launch schedule on

one end and the recovery of expended boosters on the other end. After

retrieval, the expended boosters are refurbished for reuse in follow-on

launches. The recycling of the boosters over time produces what can be

described as a spiral production process.

Each cycle of the spiral process starts with a building or rebuilding,

(refurbishing) of the major components of the solid rocket boosters. A set of

two boosters is required for each launch. Each booster consists of a nose

cap, frustum, forward skirt, four solid rocket motor segments, and an aft

skirt. UTAO has primary responsibility for all of these structures except the

motor segments. For a new build, there are about 50,000 piece parts that

must be assembled into the major structures, not including the motor

segments. About 5,000 of the parts are serialized and require careful

tracking of very complete histories for the life of the part. The overall

system is designed to last for twenty launches, but many sub-components

have different lives in terms of time or cycles. Since this is a man-rated and

expensive system, strict configuration control is exercised and extensive

testing and checkout are required. In addition to the major structures for

the two boosters, parts kits are also produced for stacking booster segments,

mating the boosters to the mobile launch platform, and mating the Shuttle's

external tank to the boosters.

At the completion of the assembly/refurbishment effort, the aft skirts and

forward assemblies (nose cone, frustum, and forward skirt), complete with

separation and recovery systems, are transferred to NASA and their single

processing contractor with the parts kits for stacking. The boosters are

then assembled; integrated with" the mobile launch platform, external tank and

shuttle; thoroughly tested and checked out; transferred to the launch pad

where further integration and testing occurs; and launched.

About two minutes after launch, at an altitude of around 30 miles and

approximately 130 miles down range, the solid rocket boosters separate from

the orbiter and its external tank and begin their descent into the Atlantic

Ocean. Once they splash down in the Atlantic, all major booster components

are picked up by two USBI-designed and built retrieval ships and brought

back to company-operated facilities for refurbishment. :•

In addition to the challenges inherent in the processes described above,

additional challenges are added by exposure of the hardware to salt-water

during retrieval, handling and integration of ordnance, and the handling of^

hazardous materials. Each of these, along with the relatively low projected

production volume (ultimately 24 flight sets per year), must be considered

carefully in designing an effective quality and productivity program. The

Solid Rocket Booster program is also part of the larger Shuttle program, and

SRB quality enhancement and productivity improvement effort must be

integrated with and complement the efforts of other contractors and^ the

customer, NASA. , '.' - -"'" |,

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The Solid Rocket Booster Quality Enhancement and Productivity Improvement

Plan

~~~ *

The company's Quality Enhancement and Productivity Improvement Plan is the

primary management tool used to assure appropriate program definition,

development, execution, and tracking. It helps to assure that the program is

integrated across functional lines and within the NASA and Shuttle contractor

community. It also provides the baseline for judging the adequacy of

progress and a catalog of past, present, and anticipated efforts.

The plan defines the philosophy behind the company's program and how it will

be conducted. It includes sections labeled Forward, Purpose, Objectives,

Scope, Organization, and Approach. Programs and Projects are broken down

into three main categories: UTAO, Joint UTC/UTAO, and Joint NASA/UTAO.

Within these categories, there are further sub-categories (People, Processes,

etc.), and each project and program is described on a one-page data sheet.

Data sheets name and describe the program/project, identify the organization

and person responsible for accomplishment, define the objective, and break

out specific time-phased milestones.

Following this section, there is a master schedule which shows the timephasing of all active projects and sections which define tracking and

reporting requirements and describe meetings and dissemination channels

related to the program. The final section provides information on completed

projects.

The program is tracked at several levels. There are internal management

reviews and periodic meetings which address particular programs and projects

as the need arises. There are also frequent NASA MSFC project office

program reviews and quarterly joint contractor reviews which are hosted by

MSFC or a different contractor each time. All of these meetings are used to

disseminate and collect information and ideas as well as track progress against

the plan.

The Quality Enhancement and Productivity Improvement Plan includes projects

and actions which address essentially every facet of Solid Rocket Booster

assembly and refurbishment operations: people, organization, equipment,

tooling, facilities, documentation, parts, and materials. A sampling of

current projects is described in the next three sections.

*

People and Organization

UTAO has a number of programs which are designed to motivate quality and

productivity in activities at all levels of the company. Specific programs

address managers, employees, and teams, and the company participates in

NASA programs as well as those operated internally or within the JJnited

Technologies Corporation family.

Perhaps the most innovative program is the Group Motivational Incentive

Program. It provides for 50-50 sharing between the company and employees

of specific profits which will be derived from under-running the first block of

the Booster Assembly Contract. This program is a first for space programs

and within this segment of the industry. ... • *
The company's VISIONS program is designed to stimulate and reward the

generation of innovative ideas of all kinds, not just those that contribute to

quality, efficiency, or dollar targets. It is complemented by a cost reduction

program which considers ideas that will reduce costs or increase profits and

provides monetary rewards which are proportional to the savings or profits.

UTAO also participates in NASA's motivational programs for individuals and

groups. Silver Snoopy awards are presented to individuals by astronauts to

recognize their achievements and contributions'. Individuals are recognized as

Launch Honorees at pre-launch activities participated in by NASA and

contractor leadership as well as astronauts. The NASA Center Director also

presents team awards periodically for significant team accomplishments. These

NASA programs are complemented by. internal programs such as employee

recognition dinners and other company and corporate awards and recognition.

The company has a well developed and expanding Quality Circles program.

This initiative is extended and enhanced by the use of multi-disciplinary

Productivity Work Teams or ad hoc teams designed to address specific longterm opportunities or short-term problems.

UTAO also provides a wide variety of skills and management training for

people at all levels of the organization. This includes in-house training,

seminars by outside professionals, university short courses, corporatesponsored courses and seminars and,, of course, tuition assistance for

associates, bachelor's, and advanced degree programs.

At the beginning of 1985, UTAO reorganized into a production-oriented

structure, designed to accommodate transition from the development phase of

operations into production. It should be remembered that this is the first

manned space program to be placed on an extended run, production type

footing. Since the program will have the longevity and rate to be considered

a production program, appropriate optimization of facilities, processes, and

equipment is economically justified. .

Facilities, Processes, and Equipment

UTAO has been working with NASA since 1981 to define and build new

production facilities optimized for solid rocket booster assembly and

refurbishment. The plant resulting from these efforts was completed in

August 1986 and is currently being prepared* for production at the Kennedy

Space Center in Florida. There are a number of interesting features in the

plant and process equipment that will give some indication of the innovative

thought that went into the development of the facility. In anticipation of the

new plant, build-up of large structures (aft skirt, etc.) was moved a couple

of years ago from fixed work stands to mobile air bearing work stands,

greatly improving flexibility and productivity, and reducing the number of

crane lifts by 30 percent. This also allowed the plant to be designed with a

nice clean, efficient flow pattern. Flow-through spray and cure cells are

included in the thermal protection system application area to avoid back

tracking.

Automation and robotics have been applied to enhance quality and save labor

as the rate increases and to minimize exposure of employees to less desirable

jobs. A gantry robot will be used to sand'.and solvent clean the exterior
surfaces of major structures in preparation* for thermal protection systems

application. A new thermal protection system has been developed in

conjunction with NASA (Marshall Sprayable Ablator 2). A gantry robot will

also be used to spray on ablator and topcoat on the exterior surfaces of the

large structures and protective foam on the interior of the Aft Skirt. A

vision and smart system will be used to control wet film thickness during

robotic spraying operations, and another smart vision system will be used for

inspection of prepared and sprayed surfaces.

A new automated checkout system has been developed and is being installed

at the new facility. This third generation solid rocket booster checkout

system will provide automated post assembly systems tests for all subsystems

just prior to transfer for stacking.

An earlier application of automation in the solid rocket booster assembly

process is the automated bending of titanium and stainless steel tubes used in

Aft Skirt buildup.

Even though initial refurbishment operations will remain in existing facilities

on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, considerable attention has been given to

these processes. (It should be remembered that this is the first space launch

system where hardware is recovered after launch, refurbished, and reused.)

A new gantry robot system has been developed to direct the high pressure

water stream used to remove the thermal protection system from flown

hardware. It will also allow automated removal of protective foam from the

interior of the Aft Skirt. In addition, the entire parts refurbishment

operation has been reorganized into a flow line and automated cleaning

equipment added to eliminate much of the labor intensive hand cleaning.

All solid rocket booster processes were subjected to considerable analysis as

part of the effort to determine the need for, develop, and optimize the new

facility. Techniques applied include process flow charting, activity

relationship analysis, simulation, and layout comparisons. These analyses

produced greatly" improved process flows, layouts, tooling, and work paper.

This extra attention to processes is expected to yield dividends in quality and

productivity.

Management Systems

UTAO began "productionizing" management systems long before the production

stage of the program was reached and before improved production facilities

were developed. One of the very first systems to be worked was the

Integrated Production Control System. This system was built from a modern,

closed-loop Manufacturing Requirements Planning (MRP-II) system extensively

modified to accommodate the aerospace environment (configuration control,

time & cycle tracking, etc.) and interface with other technical management

systems then under development (Automated Restriction Tracking, etc.).

This system is currently in the final stages of implementation.

Objective "should cost" engineered labor standards have also been developed

specifically for solid rocket booster assembly and refurbishment operations.

These standards are complemented by a labor collection system which allows

performance tracking and assessment of the effectiveness of management

adjustments. The standards also provide the basis for routing times for the
Integrated Production Control System and the labor collection system is an

integral part of the shop floor control module of the IPCS.

Learning curves are used to set manhours targets for accomplishing the touch

labor activities of thermal protection system application, assembly, test, and

refurbishment. Variable support activities, such as production engineering,

are derived from the touch requirements and are generally driven by the

learning curves also.

i

The "what if" capabilities of the Integrated Production Control System, the

automated labor standards system, and other management systems allow

simulation of various conditions, scenarios, and decisions to pre-test the

effectiveness of management responses before selecting and implementing a

particular course of action. We also have a manufacturing simulation software

package that allows pre-implementation evaluation of changes in production

operations. Impacts on characteristics such as throughput, support

equipment requirements, and plant capacity can all be assessed with excellent

reliability.

Bar coding is being evaluated for inventory and tool management applications.

During tests it helped to improve both the accuracy and efficiency of

inventory management, cycle counting, and tool control.

Personal computers which double as main frame computer terminals are helping

to improve management and office productivity. This approach places local

computing power in the hands of our managers, engineers, and administrative

people. At the same time, they have access to the main frame data base and

computing power through the terminal capabilities available through these

PC's. Word processing and graphics capabilities are also included at

appropriate work stations.

Other goal-oriented processes such as Management by Objectives are also

integral parts of our management processes. Some of these, like MBO and

productivity measures also extend up to corporate levels, assuring that the

broadest corporate resources are focused on eliminating impediments and

achieving goals.

Our contract also includes a highly motivating feature: a 50/50 share line on

under-runs and over-runs. With the goal-oriented management systems

described above and a 50/50 share line * incentive, there is plenty of

motivation to carefully measure and control performance and progress.

Measurement and Control

Measurement and control systems are a well established part of large projects,

especially those operating under government auspices. These systems

definitely promote good management, and when they are applied with the

proper perspective, they can also promote operational excellence and

increased productivity. Three systems of this type being applied to the Solid

Rocket Booster program include the performance measurement system,

productivity measures, and management indicators. ;
The performance measurement system is a- project management cost and

scheduled control tool which conforms to NASA and DOD requirements. It

budgets and controls dollars and manhours by organizational element and work

breakdown structure category. By comparing actual expenditures and work

accomplished with budgeted/scheduled quantities, cost and schedule problems

can be detected early, isolated to particular organizational elements, and

incisively analyzed. This allows early corrective measures to be implemented

to assure ultimate achievement of budget and schedule goals. Since manhour

budgets have learning curves and other improvement factors built in, the

system also provides rough, preliminary measures of organizational

productivity.

A productivity measures program similar to one undergoing test and

implementation in the Air Force is in the early stages of development and

implementation for the Solid Rocket Booster program. In this program, a

variant of the nominal group techniques is used to develop and integrate

section, branch, and departmental level productivity measures. Since these

measures are developed by the people from each of these levels and they are

integrated upward, they reflect productivity as viewed from the perspective

of the people charged with the job and have better grass roots support.

A system of management indicators is also maintained within program

management. These include a variety of indicators, including some from the

performance measurement system, some from the integrated production control

system, progress on key projects, and others. This system focuses on

overall company performance, with a strong emphasis on effectiveness (doing

the right thing) and secondarily on productivity (only when the proper

heading is ascertained).

Going to Work in Space

From the description above, it should be clear that everything possible is

being done to produce highest quality Solid Rocket Booster hardware and

make the program as technically successful, 'effective, and efficient as

possible. UTAO has some seventy quality and productivity initiatives under

way, from the tried and true to the latest technology, in virtually every facet

of our operations. These efforts are fully coordinated with and supportive of

the NASA program and the efforts of other Shuttle program element

contractors. Many of the initiatives in this program are pioneering efforts

for the nations' space program.

In recognition of productivity strides made in 1985, particularly in driving

touch labor costs down a very rapid learning curve, United Technologies

Corporation presented UTAO with the Arther E. Smith Award for excellence

in productivity achievements. Previous winners of this annual award were

Pratt and Whitney and Sikorsky Aircraft.

The Space Shuttle and Space Station represent man's first enthusiastic steps

toward going to work in space. The initiatives described above represent

some of the first vigorous efforts to ensure that those steps proceed with

quality and productivity.
LAUNCH OF THE SPACE SHUTTLE FROM THE KENNEDY SPACE CENTER IN FLORIDA

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STACKING THE SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS ON THE MOBILE LAUNCH PLATFORMj

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THE SPACE SHUTTLE BEING PREPARED FOR LAUNCH AT PAD 39A AT THE

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER

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NASA's NEW SOLID ROCKET BOOSTER ASSEMBLY AND REFURBISHMENT FACILITY AT THE

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER. THIS NEW FACILITY WAS DESIGNED AND DEVELOPED AND IS

.OPERATED BY UNITED TECHNOLOGIES AEROSPACE OPERATIONS, INC.
ORIGINAL PAGE IS

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LAYOUT OF THE NEW ASSEMBLY AND REFURBISHMENT FACILITY
THIS LARGE GANTRY ROBOT SANDS, CLEANS, APPLIES THE THERMAL PROTECTION SYSTEM TO

AND INSPECTS THE SURFACE OF THE MAIN SOLID ROCKET BOOSTER STRUCTURES.
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THIS ROBOT END EFFECTOR INCLUDES A SPRAY NOZZLE, LIGHT SOURCE, AND A CLOSED

CIRCUIT VIDEO CAMERA. IT IS USED TO SPRAY PROTECTIVE FOAM IN THE AFT SKIRT

AND FRUSTUM STRUCTURES FOR THE SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS.
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THIS SOLID ROCKET BOOSTER FRUSTUM IS INSTALLED ON AN AIR BEARING WORK STAND. THE WORK

STAND ELIMINATED 30% OF THE REQUIRED CRANE LIFTS, ALLOWS EASY MOVEMENT DURING PROCESSING,

AND WAS THE KEY FACTOR IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN EFFICIENT, PRODUCTIONIZED FLOW SHOP PROCESS.
A SOLID ROCKET BOOSTER AFT SKIRT INSTALLED ON AN AIR BEARING WORK STAND.
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THIS CLOSED LOOP AEROSPACE MATERIAL REQUIREMENTS PLANNING

PRODUCTION CONTROL SYSTEM IS THE HEART OF. UNITED TECHNOLOGIES

AEROSPACE OPERATIONS' PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT APPROACH.
THE SPACE SHUTTLE IS THE FIRST PROGRAM OF ITS KIND TO USE FLIGHT HARDWARE

THAT HAS BEEN RECOVERED AFTER LAUNCH AND REFURBISHED FOR USE IN SUBSEQUENT

FLIGHTS.