Original Date: 04/20/1998
Revision Date: 01/18/2007

ITT Aerospace/Communications Division’s (A/CD’s) Manufacturing for Design (MFD) initiative places special emphasis on developing critical manufacturing and test technologies for current and future programs. The MFD mission requires Operations Engineering to provide proven, enabling technologies to the product development team prior to the start of detailed designing. This approach allows product designs to be done in a reliable, robust, and cost-effective manner over a shorter period of time and at the best value.

Over the years, ITT A/CD’s product development model evolved from an over-the-wall approach to one focused on Integrated Product Development (IPD); integrated process and product design; concurrent engineering; and colocated resources. MFD further augmented this development model by addressing new challenges set by ITT Aerospace/ Communications Division’s customers. These challenges included reduced cycle time, aggressive cost reductions, and reliability improvement goals. The company’s cycle time requirements (program kick-off to product delivery) have steadily decreased from three years to one year. Product cost is also being driven down by competition, and higher product reliability is a direct requirement of the customer.

The MFD initiative requires an excellent understanding of operations and design capabilities, and a knowledge of major design and manufacturing technology advances that impact equipment, facilities, and techniques for product fabrication. MFD’s objectives include establishing proven advanced manufacturing technologies at the start of the program; contributing to low risk/short cycle time advanced product development; minimizing the chance of program restarts; and implementing planning, cost-effective investment, and feedback control. ITT Aerospace/ Communications Division uses the MFD initiative to understand the company’s needs, direction, and vision over the next five to ten years; envision its technology maturity and direction on a global scale; and emphasize the development of a short/long term operation plan. The company’s Technology Roadmap works as an integrated master plan to track the critical manufacturing and test technology needs for current and future programs relative to the MFD initiative.

All technologies pursued by Operations Engineering receive support from ITT A/CD’s functional groups and are tied to the company’s business initiative. In 1998, ITT Aerospace/ Communications Division increased its allocation of critical operations independent research and development (IR&D) funding by 50%. As a result of the MFD initiative, Operations Engineering brings its manufacturing and test technologies to production at the right time and at the best value.

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