Components continues to “go Lean” at NAVAIR North Island

By Bill Bartkus

CORONADO, Calif. – “Lean is all about alignment with our mission statement. Lean is more about quality. Lean is about speed – doing things faster – but Lean is about ensuring quality products,” said Capt. James Woolway, NAVAIR Depot North Island commanding officer at the Lean rollout meeting for the Depot’s Components Program.

“Lean is about eliminating waste and waste is non-compliance with proven, established, dictated procedures and doctrines that tell us how to do things the right way, more efficiently and effectively,” Woolway said.

Aircraft Services Lean Team members heard the commanding officer say that many people were arguing about having to change methods of operation after they had been in place for many years. “Humans are adverse to change, but this change to Lean is a change for the better and will improve fleet readiness,” said Woolway.

“You control your destiny right there on the shop floor, and that’s what I like about Lean,” said Capt. Tim Trainer, Depot executive officer. “Lean is your ballgame to become more efficient, and we have to do that.” He told the supervisors that the Depot must remain competitive with other commercial industries to survive.

“Although the supply chain has obvious flaws, there are a lot of times that our own inefficiencies detract from out ability to deliver a product,” said Dustan Sandoval, Components Division head. “There is a fleet customer out there who wants a product quickly and it isn’t getting delivered. The customer then becomes irritated because of the non-delivery, and this is the reason for change.”

Sandoval said that another reason for change is that older aircraft will be eliminated from the Navy’s inventory coupled with a reduction in the flying hour budget. “The Navy is very serious about retiring the S-3 Viking and the F-14 Tomcat,” Sandoval stated. “So when the F-14 is retired and the work goes away, if we don’t become more competitive, I can’t say what work will replace the F-14.”

Sandoval noted that there are many companies competing for aircraft work. “In my opinion, if we don’t take the time to get some investments in and make Lean work at the Depot, this new work will not come here. This means that there might be fewer people employed at the Depot.”

Sandoval said that he believes in the greatness of the Depot and its ability to solve complex problems through the use of cross-functional teams, a concept that Lean is heavily dependent upon. “The reason for Lean and change is to satisfy our customer,” he said. “If we don’t change, the work will go away and there just won’t be any work behind it. Lean is the future.”