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Original Date: 04/28/1995
Revision Date: 01/18/2007
Best Practice : Best Practices Program
Lockheed Martin Electronics and Missiles (E&M) has instituted a company-wide Best Practices program that focuses on the quality of the process as well as the product. The approach provides broad coverage of representative Department of Defense (DOD) and other customer thrusts such as the Army's Contractor Performance Certification Program (CP2), the Air Force’s Manufacturing Development Initiative, ISO 9000, and Agile Manufacturing, and incorporates them into 12 Best Practices. Each of the Best Practices is clearly defined and supported by a vice- president-level, executive advocate and a management implementation team.
Lockheed Martin’s Best Practices program was a response to major forces such as changes in the defense market, downsizing, and decreased funding levels for defense-related programs. The multi-faceted objective of the program is to increase market share and profitability by continually benchmarking customer, industry, and E&M improvement initiatives; integrating them into a coherent set of focused practices and metrics; coordinating the implementation plan for these practices; publishing and marketing the Best Practices; and continuously measuring, assessing and re- evaluating.
Under the leadership of the executive advocate for each Best Practice area, the implementation team identifies initiatives and develops plans and milestones for implementation. The plans cover 18 months, include key elements, identify responsible individuals, and specify metrics. Each of the Best Practice areas designates a continuing series of “Silver Bullets,” each an initiative targeted for that practice for completion in the current year across all active programs.
The Best Practices Program at Lockheed Martin is a highly effective, company-wide process that enables the company to operate proactively within the environment of rapid and constant change in the defense marketplace. The program increases credibility of proposals, is effective in opening new markets, and proliferates the processes and tools, and is updated annually to meet quality, cost, schedule, and performance commitments.
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