Point of Contact: Nancy L. Crook, Public Affairs Division Director Release No. 07-11
(904) 542-3168, extension 161
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 29, 2007

FRCSE recognized for EWIS project
By Frank Taormina, Public Affairs Specialist

At a ceremony on March 1, Fleet Readiness Center, Southeast (FRCSE) was presented the Defense Manufacturing Excellence Award for calendar year 2006. Representatives from the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) visited the Command to present the award. Rebecca Taylor, senior vice president and Chuck Ryan, vice president, technology presented a plaque and Letter of Appreciation (LOA) to Capt. Tim Matthews, executive officer, FRCSE. Also receiving LOAs were team members Carl Britt, Steve Denny, Laura Gorgus, Adrian Gray, Mike Haghani, Eddie Landron, Dana Lundquist, Andres Marquez, and Mark Morey, all of FRCSE and Andrew Yang of Fleet Readiness Center, Mid-Atlantic.

The award recognizes project teams in the defense manufacturing community that have significantly contributed to the understanding, development, or application of manufacturing techniques, processes, methods, practices, or management throughout the nation. FRCSE was recognized for its support of the Enhanced Wiring Integrity Systems (EWIS) project. The EWIS project was a four-year joint services collaborative project formed to address electrical wiring issues based on end user input. FRCSE’s application of EWIS was the test and repair of circuit breaker panels on 24 EA-6B aircraft which resulted in savings of more than $950,000. “This project will result in significant future savings for the Navy by minimizing wiring problems. The effort will help keep the EA-6Bs flying,” said FRCSE’s Capt. Matthews. He also praised the team for its diligence during the four years of this project.

The most significant new technology used by the project team is the standing wave reflectometer (SWR), which is based on a NASA patent licensed to Eclypse International (Corona, California), an NCMS member company. This technology is embedded in an easy-to-use hand held meter that an operator can use to rapidly connect, detect, and find hard faults in wiring assemblies. The data is then downloaded to a personal computer where SWR software is used to detect and find wiring faults within inches. “The EWIS project is a great example of how NCMS member companies deliver quantifiable benefits to the military,” said NCMS’s Ryan. “Our cross industry collaborative projects deliver new technology that improves materiel readiness and reduces cost for the Department of Defense.”

NCMS is the largest cross-industry collaborative research and development consortium in North America and is the only consortia effort in the U.S. devoted exclusively to manufacturing technologies, processes, and practices. NCMS has 20 years of experience in the formation and management of complex, multi-partner collaborative research and development programs, and is backed by corporate members representing virtually every manufacturing sector.

FRCSE, Naval Air Station Patuxent River (Maryland), Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (Kittery, Maine), Seymour Johnson Air Force Base (North Carolina), Fleet Readiness Center, Southwest (San Diego, California), Tobyhanna Army Depot (Pennsylvania), and the Ogden Air Logistics Center (Utah) collaborated with NCMS member companies Eclypse International and Sikorsky Aircraft Company (Stratford, Connecticut) to make this project successful.