The Special Thing About Special Ops December 1, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in culture, leadership, military, strategy, workforce.Tags: culture, leadership, military, strategy, workforce
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Less than 200 American Special Forces troops, working hand-in-hand with the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan, rooted up and expelled 100,000 Al-Qaeda terrorists and Taliban militants in the autumn of 2001. It was a stunning victory. Often, the same focus and discipline employed in the military is also employed in the business world. But besides focus and discipline, what else can business owners and managers borrow from the United States Armed Forces? After all, what business wouldn’t love to do so much with so little?
In an article at Strategy+Business, Andrew Sobel explains what the business world can learn from the battlefield. It is the “carefully designed and comprehensive system of recruiting, training, infrastructure support, leadership, and organizational culture” that make Special Forces so effective. The appeal of being a member of a select elite (of being the best and the brightest); thorough training and continually seeking out new, qualified talent; and the understanding of loyalty and teamwork are all military tactics that can be deployed in the private sector with great success –and great fun.
Check out the article here.
The Special Thing About Special Ops December 1, 2009
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in culture, leadership, military, strategy, workforce.Tags: culture, leadership, military, strategy, workforce
add a comment
Less than 200 American Special Forces troops, working hand-in-hand with the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan, rooted up and expelled 100,000 Al-Qaeda terrorists and Taliban militants in the autumn of 2001. It was a stunning victory. Often, the same focus and discipline employed in the military is also employed in the business world. But besides focus and discipline, what else can business owners and managers borrow from the United States Armed Forces? After all, what business wouldn’t love to do so much with so little?
In an article at Strategy+Business, Andrew Sobel explains what the business world can learn from the battlefield. It is the “carefully designed and comprehensive system of recruiting, training, infrastructure support, leadership, and organizational culture” that make Special Forces so effective. The appeal of being a member of a select elite (of being the best and the brightest); thorough training and continually seeking out new, qualified talent; and the understanding of loyalty and teamwork are all military tactics that can be deployed in the private sector with great success –and great fun.
Check out the article here.
Lean Manufacturing Used in Boeing F/A-18 Hornet Production November 16, 2008
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in Lean Thinking, manufacturing, military.Tags: lean, manufacturing, military
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St. Louis Commerce Magazine provides a glimpse of Boeing’s production line for F/A-18 Super Hornets. The company’s manufacturing facility near Lambert Airport in St. Louis illustrates how the company is saving millions of dollars by using lean manufacturing techniques. Some of the techniques used to manufacture the Super Hornet include optimized installation sequences, automated drilling and installation, and laser measurements.
Boeing uses a pulse-line process for assembling, moving through pulse positions. With pulsing, the aircraft does the moving, not the workers. All of the tools are right where they are needed at each station. Two workers are able to shove the plane down the line, whereas in years past it would have taken dozens of cranes to perform the task.
The lean manufacturing process at Boeing has taken the cost of each Super Hornet down from around $85 million to around $50 million, over the life of the program, says Bob Gower, vice president of the F/A-18 and EA-18 programs. The Navy has calculated that lean improvements to Boeing’s F/A-18 program has saved the taxpayer $1.7 billion.
Read the full article here.
Lean Manufacturing Used in Boeing F/A-18 Hornet Production November 16, 2008
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in Lean Thinking, manufacturing, military.Tags: lean, manufacturing, military
add a comment
St. Louis Commerce Magazine provides a glimpse of Boeing’s production line for F/A-18 Super Hornets. The company’s manufacturing facility near Lambert Airport in St. Louis illustrates how the company is saving millions of dollars by using lean manufacturing techniques. Some of the techniques used to manufacture the Super Hornet include optimized installation sequences, automated drilling and installation, and laser measurements.
Boeing uses a pulse-line process for assembling, moving through pulse positions. With pulsing, the aircraft does the moving, not the workers. All of the tools are right where they are needed at each station. Two workers are able to shove the plane down the line, whereas in years past it would have taken dozens of cranes to perform the task.
The lean manufacturing process at Boeing has taken the cost of each Super Hornet down from around $85 million to around $50 million, over the life of the program, says Bob Gower, vice president of the F/A-18 and EA-18 programs. The Navy has calculated that lean improvements to Boeing’s F/A-18 program has saved the taxpayer $1.7 billion.
Read the full article here.
Air Force Base Manages Hazardous Waste with Lean November 16, 2008
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in green business, Lean Thinking.Tags: green, lean, military
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Robins Air Force Base continues to benefit from efforts started nearly a decade ago when it began applying lean techniques to its hazardous waste management processes to reduce the lead time for collecting and hauling away hazardous wastes. The Warner Robins Air Logistics Center is responsible for depot-level repairs for the Air Force’s F-15 fighter aircraft and the C-5 and C-130 transport aircraft. It provides support for 11 types of cargo and utility aircraft, four series of helicopters, three types of remotely piloted vehicles, and eight missile systems. After examining the non-value added time in its process, Robins AFB instituted a new system for collecting and transporting hazardous wastes; this system eliminated process steps, saved 1,500 hours of time handling wastes, and reduced the frequency that waste drums were handled (decreasing the number of times waste drums were touched by workers by 70 percent). Robins AFB also reorganized its hazardous waste management facility using 5S and visual controls to control inventory and work in process as well as improve flow. This made it easier to monitor the waste management processes and reduced the likelihood of accidents and spills.
Read the full article here.
Air Force Base Manages Hazardous Waste with Lean November 16, 2008
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in green business, Lean Thinking.Tags: green, lean, military
add a comment
Robins Air Force Base continues to benefit from efforts started nearly a decade ago when it began applying lean techniques to its hazardous waste management processes to reduce the lead time for collecting and hauling away hazardous wastes. The Warner Robins Air Logistics Center is responsible for depot-level repairs for the Air Force’s F-15 fighter aircraft and the C-5 and C-130 transport aircraft. It provides support for 11 types of cargo and utility aircraft, four series of helicopters, three types of remotely piloted vehicles, and eight missile systems. After examining the non-value added time in its process, Robins AFB instituted a new system for collecting and transporting hazardous wastes; this system eliminated process steps, saved 1,500 hours of time handling wastes, and reduced the frequency that waste drums were handled (decreasing the number of times waste drums were touched by workers by 70 percent). Robins AFB also reorganized its hazardous waste management facility using 5S and visual controls to control inventory and work in process as well as improve flow. This made it easier to monitor the waste management processes and reduced the likelihood of accidents and spills.
Read the full article here.
