Original Date: 07/21/2003
Revision Date: 01/18/2007

Electric Boat Corporation, Quonset Point Facility’s Manufacturing and Production Engineering Program is similar to an internal research and development program. The program’s major focus is the transfer of practices to current or near-future improvements in safety, productivity, quality, and/or cost savings. Within these four areas, projects are proposed, evaluated, and awarded in the major disciplines of manufacturing and production engineering.

Electric Boat Corporation, Quonset Point Facility’s (EBQP’s) Manufacturing and Production Engineering Program is a continuous improvement activity of development and/or implementation of technologies that ultimately lead to safer, more productive work practices or result in higher product quality, lower cost, or faster delivery. Previously, EBQP used a “stove-pipe” process where many of the projects for product or process improvement were a function of individual departments acting independently from other departments. This process often led to redundant efforts and conflicting objectives between departments where budgets for more widespread improvements were in competition.

EBQP’s new process ensures centralized authority for determining project relevancy and potential benefit across multiple departments. The program manager has the authority to ensure that all proposed projects support the objectives of the corporation overall. The new practice also ensures a process for individual management with oversight by central authority. The operation is organized by group areas, which aids in the prioritizing of budget allocation and accountability to the sponsors. Principal investigators are internal people responsible for proposing and ensuring execution of project plans, but outside expert support may be sought where internal competencies are not available. Currently, EBQP is using this new system in projects that include areas of material control (reduced movement), work content identification (laser marking), and machine tool control (direct data input).

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