Original Date: 02/28/2000
Revision Date: 01/18/2007

Crane Army Ammunition Activity (CAAA) is an installation within the U.S. Army Industrial Operations Command, a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Materiel Command. The Activity is one of three government owned/government operated ammunition production facilities within the Department of Defense and was activated on October 1, 1977 in response to Department of Defense’s implementation of the Single Manager for Conventional Ammunition concept, which gave the Army the task of providing conventional ammunition/production/storage services to all branches of the military. The Activity’s mission is to produce and renovate conventional ammunition and ammunition-related components; perform manufacturing, engineering, and product assurance in support of production; and store, ship, and/or demilitarize and dispose of conventional ammunition and related items.

CAAA, a tenant activity at Crane Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center, is located on a 62,473-acre (a 100-square mile) site approximately thirty miles south of Bloomington, Indiana. This vast area includes 209 administrative and production buildings, 177 warehouses to store inert material, and 1,600 explosive magazines. The local infrastructure includes 168 miles of rail and 407 miles of road. The production, handling, and storage of munitions require specialized equipment and related facilities. The Activity maintains the only operational white phosphorous demilitarization conversion plant in North America. The technology contained in this plant allows the Activity to extract deadly white phosphorous from old munitions and convert it into relatively harmless phosphoric acid that may ultimately be used in carbonated beverages and fertilizer. X-ray equipment is used in the nondestructive, real time testing of items such as 40mm mortar rounds to ensure quality products to the warfighter. A variety of special lifting devices allows workers to easily handle objects as large as 1,000-pound bombs.

The Activity’s manufacturing capabilities include the ability to produce finished items as diverse as detonators weighing only 20 grams to 40,000-pound cast shock test charges. The Activity has extensive renovation and maintenance capabilities for conventional munitions, and is the recognized center of technical expertise in the production of pyrotechnic devices including signal smoke, illuminating and infrared flares, and distress signals. The Activity is one of four Tier 1 Ammunition Storage Sites within the Department of Defense which stores war reserve ammunition to meet initial ammunition needs in the first 30 days of a conflict.

CAAA’s organizational structure includes four major directorates, one center, and five staff offices, which directly support the organization. For many years, quality at the Activity was achieved through a formal quality assurance program. In early 1997, however, a new approach to quality was undertaken. A Total Quality Office was established with a charter to focus on quality improvements within the organization. A formal Quality Council was established to oversee the efforts to improve quality throughout the entire organization. An activity based costing study was completed in October 1997 identifying the Activity’s entire core and supporting processes. Process improvement opportunities are chosen from this list of processes and pursued by process action teams chartered by the Quality Council. In July 1998, the Activity became one of only a handful of organizations within the Federal Government to be ISO-9002 certified by a third-party registrar. Efforts continue to integrate Activity Based Management within a structured ISO-9002 environment by seeking to improve the processes which define the Activity and ensure quality products to the customer. CAAA operates in a highly competitive environment, and the decision to seek ISO-9002 certification was made in order to partner with ISO-certified civilian contractors who would prefer, or in many cases be required, to only subcontract work to ISO-9000 certified organizations. In the time since becoming certified, the Activity has already won several contracts as a result of this strategy. For example, it recently won a five-year demilitarization contract with Parsons Brinckerhoff worth more than $50 million.

CAAA’s ultimate customers are the warfighters in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard who use the products. The Activity’s defect rate in the area of manufacturing is closely monitored to ensure that only quality goods are shipped. The Activity’s record for the delivery of munitions to the field is exceptional with a 99% on-time delivery rate. The Activity consistently strives to be the best in the business of producing and supplying ordnance material to U.S. fighting forces, and the high volume of repeat business is an important indicator of its high level of customer satisfaction.

To partner with local businesses, CAAA and its host, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division developed the Crane Regional Economic Development Organization. The Activity’s management holds two positions on the board. The purpose of this organization is for the Activity to team with local businesses on projects that will aid both public and private industry. In addition, it has joined with the Indiana Department of Commerce, area chambers of commerce, and Indiana Business Modernization and Technology Corporation, to develop and expand the state’s economy.

C-4 is an explosive compound used in certain munitions. The Activity recently acquired a C-4 extruder from the Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant, which now gives it the ability to re-use C-4 from existing munitions with an estimated cost savings of more than $67 million to the U.S. Marine Corps. The Activity’s surveillance test area modernization will be completed in this calendar year. This facility will be used by surveillance inspectors to test and certify munitions stored at the Activity. The Activity’s container transfer process has also been enhanced with the construction of new facilities. This will increase the efficiency with which it is able to ship or receive munitions by increasing out-load capabilities from 95 containers per day to 310 containers per day an increase of 200%.

During FY99, CAAA established an internal record by logging approximately 670,000 work-hours without a lost workday case. During the last fiscal year, the Activity received the Army Materiel Command’s Fire Prevention and Protection Award in addition to Honorable Mention for the Indiana Governor’s Award for Excellence in Pollution Prevention. The can-do attitude and the employee work ethic were readily apparent to the BMP survey team. When faced with developing new tools or facilities to perform new work or improve the manufacturing processes, the CAAA team has the ability to make the best use of all resources at its disposal. The close working relationship between the Activity and Crane Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center provides a synergistic environment that fosters the ability to take on complex tasks beyond the capabilities of each alone. The BMP survey team considers the practices in this report to be among the best in industry and government.

TABLE OF ACRONYMS:
The following acronyms were used in this report:

For more information see the Point of Contact for this survey.