Chambersburg, Pa-- "Colonel Cheri Provancha, Letterkenny Commander, informed the workforce on Tuesday, August 9, 2011 that the Aviation Ground Power Unit (AGPU) rebuild program was selected to receive the Shingo prize for Excellence in Manufacturing, Bronze Medallion.
Col. Provancha visited various buildings across the depot and personally thanked and congratulated the employees that had a direct hand in bringing the prestigious recognition to the depot.
“You guys did it. You pulled it off,” she said. “The one thing they [Shingo auditors] walked away with was the heart and soul that was demonstrated down here.”
The award is the first Shingo prize in which the cost center owned the entire process. Employees briefed the review team about their role in AGPU’s continuous improvement process.
James Ehrenreich, Electrical Equipment Repairer, demonstrated the AGPU harness test in Building 51.
“This test used to take four to five hours to run,” Ehrenreich said. “Now the entire process is completed in less than three minutes.”
The AGPU Rebuild program was established in 2005 and has undergone various improvements and transitions to meet increasing production numbers.
Jeremy Crouse, Power Support System Mechanic Leader said the AGPU line has undergone restructuring approximately six times in order to accommodate production at the current area of 23,374 sq. ft.
The auditors’ were impressed by LEAD employees’ alignment with the Soldier, the flexibility and adaptability of the workforce and the workforce’s pride in workmanship.
“What an amazing commitment at all levels. Very impressive,” Paul Terry, Shingo examiner, said.
Col. Provancha commended the employees on a job well done and encouraged them to go for a gold in the future.
The audit to examine the depot’s AGPU submission was conducted on July 26-27. Four individuals from Utah State University’s Jon M. Huntsman School of Business evaluated the depot on criteria such as proving a lean business systems model with an emphasis on customer satisfaction and profitability; quality, cost and delivery; lean core operations as well as leadership and empowerment enablers.
The Shingo prize was established in 1988 to educate, assess and recognize world-class organizations for creating a culture of continuous improvement through employee-empowerment and effective leadership.
LEAD has received six Shingos in the past, the Silver Shingo in 2005 for the Patriot Missile, the Silver Shingo in 2006 for the HMMWV Recap, the Bronze Shingo in 2007 for Power Generation and a Silver Shingo for HMMWV, a Bronze Shingo in 2008 for Biological Integrated Detection Systems and a Bronze Shingo in 2010 for the PATRIOT Missile.
A ceremony for the AGPU Bronze Shingo is scheduled for September 9, 2011.
Social Sharing