IMPROVING THE CAPABILITY SET FIELDING PROCESS
set and type of equipment to ensure that it can function as intended for its specific role. Tis meant
that a critical
func-
tion of SoSE&I was to ensure that each vehicle (for example, that of the brigade’s operations officers) received its correlated set of unique equipment. If this is not done thoroughly or is done incorrectly, the brigade can be negatively impacted indefinitely as it waits to have the correct roles and components properly matched and installed. Matching the right vehicle with the right CS components proved to be one of the most critical tasks during the CS fielding process.
Ideally, a CS integration would be very similar to a Toyota manufacturing plant employing the “just in time” (JIT) manufacturing concept, which looks to eliminate waste in the production pro- cess. Units would supply their vehicles in the exact number that could be integrated daily, exactly when they are needed, so that the integrators would never have to sit idle while waiting for the right vehicle or part. However, when dealing with opera- tional units whose primary mission is not CS integration, this concept isn’t feasible.
During the CS integration, the BCT’s operational requirements could not be put on hold so that the CS fielding could be completed. Tis required the integrations to be carefully managed and balanced with the unit’s many operational events during the fielding. Determining when and where a vehicle was needed became the crux of why the JIT method could not be employed.
IDENTIFYING AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT Coordinating delivery and integrations for more than 500 of the unit’s vehicles proved to be challenging for all stake- holders. When vehicles in demand for other purposes did not arrive at the
70
QUALITY CONTROL
Workers at the Fort Bragg, NC, Integration Facility check the installation of new CS 15 equipment onto a unit’s vehicle. This station was one of several stations that each vehicle moved through as workers upgraded a multitude of parts in different configurations. (Photo by CPT Keith Jordan, SoSE&I Directorate)
integration site as scheduled, the inte- grators would sit idle and work often came to a halt. Tis was a clear signal to SoSE&I that there were problems in the process. Understanding why these work stoppages were occurring and put- ting controls in place to mitigate them became the focus of the LSS project.
Work stoppages are stressful times for everyone during a tightly scheduled inte- gration event. Te integrators wanted to work so they could finish the job and return home; the government was spending money on labor and travel; the unit was not getting its equipment mod- ernized as scheduled; facilities were tied up longer than they should have been; and the fielding lasted weeks longer than necessary. As we observed the process, it became clear that full employment of the integrators is the metric that is most crucial to determining if the plan
is functioning as it should. To reach full employment, we had to identify the root causes of the work stoppages and miti- gate them as much as possible.
Fortunately, during the fielding we kept good statistics on when the vehi- cles came to the integration site and, if they didn’t arrive as scheduled, why. Tis data—along with interviews from participating
parties—provided the
necessary material to conduct the LSS project, which was titled “Lower Tac- tical Internet
Fielding Cycle Time
Improvement.” Te lessons learned from this LSS project would then be imple- mented during the next CS fielding event in 2015.
ROOTING OUT DELAYS When doing the same thing over and over again, it’s easy to study a process and identify differences from one event
Army AL&T Magazine October-December 2015
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