Original Date: 10/10/2005
Revision Date: / /

Raytheon’s Andover Integrated Air Defense Center facility used Labview, a commercial-off-the-shelf software, to collect meaningful data tailored to specific dashboards for operators and operations managers that affect the common goal metrics that management reviews. This common set of measures drives a uniform behavior and focus on a common set of corporate measures.

Engineering employes at Raytheon’s Andover Integrated Air Defense Center (IADC) facility developed the Virtual Business System (VBS) using Labview, a COTS package, to produce a unique method for collecting and displaying meaningful manufacturing data. Tailored area-specific dashboards for operators and operation managers are located throughout the facility for management review that display real-time data updated every 10 minutes. VBS detects and assesses defects, enabling reaction to manufacturing faults within the same day and even within minutes of occurrence. Real-time data provides instant access to strategically chosen common measures. Real-time metrics provided by VBS enable immediate problem solution to common goal metrics that management reviews. Business area performance is continuously monitored with the VBS system. Management time and floor time previously spent on data collection is now used to solve problems that impact real-time metrics.

This common set of measures was established in every area to drive uniform behavior and focus. Anyone touring the IADC can view the dashboards, with data reflecting performance current up to the last 10 minutes of work. The data collection process is embedded in the operator’s existing Shop Floor Data Management (SFDM) process and has existed since 1999. Not until early 2005 was the data used from a central database to be stored on a local server at the IADC, enabling the data needed to derive the common metrics in real time with a refresh rate of 10 minutes. This provides a common set of metrics on everything that has goals. Top ranges and low ranges of goals are an indicator of how well the business is running across the board.

IADC selected operations personnel, subject matter experts (SMEs) on the floor, and managers with experience in process metrics to design and choose the metrics for collection. Employees then develop the interfaces through authorware, enabling the IADC to expand the skill set of its workers and realize significant savings by not having technical personnel develop the software. This drives change from a bottom-up approach and enables sustainment and continuous improvement through rapid turnover on customization of these metrics.

The open architecture design of the VBS can be expanded, customized, and modified to enable long-term use of this very customizable tool. Raytheon attempts to avoid “paralysis by analysis” by limiting bureaucratic involvement and encouraging employee involvement in the process of updating daily metrics.

Common core measures are gathered and developed through a closed-loop Raytheon Six Sigma™ (R6 σ ) VBS development process (Figure 2-2) that includes a description of each measure and what the measure compares. These include: