Original Date: 02/26/2001
Revision Date: 01/18/2007

In 1998, General Dynamics Armament Systems established an Intranet Web Site that provides employees with easy and quick accessibility to company policies, procedures, forms, calendar-of-events, bulletins, internal news, and special announcements. Designed with the user in mind, this on-line system is now integrated into the workforce environment as a single-source information and communication tool.

In the past, General Dynamics Armament Systems (GDAS) used a variety of multi-media sources to provide employees with accessibility to policies, procedures, forms, calendar-of-events, bulletins, internal news, and special announcements. Although the information was well maintained and distributed, cost became an issue for supporting the multi-media sources and multiple distribution points. GDAS also wanted a more efficient way to keep employees informed. In 1998, the company established its Intranet Web Site as a single-point resource for information and communication among the workforce. This on-line system was designed to be flexible, relevant, responsive, and competitive against other types of media.

Since its introduction, the Intranet Web Site has evolved into a first-class information and communications tool. Its design focuses on sound architecture and easy navigation. The on-line system is geared toward the user’s needs so that information (e.g., policies, procedures, training sessions, telephone numbers) and services (e.g., search engine) can be quickly and easily located. The Intranet Web Site provides the latest information relevant to the company’s business and obtains collaborative input from the workforce on improvements. Key features include a calendar of upcoming events; the eSummit newsletter and archives; on-line tools; feature stories that are updated daily; and a toolbar at the top of every page that remains unchanged as the user navigates the site. The system is supported internally by a web manager, an Internet specialist, and the collaborative efforts and input of the workforce. Web hosting is performed by Computer Sciences Corporation. A GDAS Web Council addresses web issues, distributes workload, provides guidance for internal web initiatives, and encourages optimum utilization of the Intranet for information sharing and communications.

GDAS’ Intranet Web Site continues to evolve to reflect improvements in web technology and changes in the company’s business. There are approximately 2,500 potential users at seven major locations throughout the United States. For the hourly manufacturing employees, web kiosks have been installed in break rooms to give this constituency access to this internal web resource. The system is now the single distribution source of all policies, procedures, forms, calendar-of-events, bulletins, internal news, and special announcements. The multiple publication and distribution resources and time delays have been virtually eliminated. GDAS uses WebTrends software to track its Intranet usage statistics, which shows an average per day usage of more than 31,000 hits.

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