Operations Research and Project Management Papers
Cycle Down to Launch: Streamlining Production at Lockheed
Martin
Dave Jennings (Lockheed Martin) and Radhika Kulkarni, SUGI Proceedings, 2001.
Abstract
Lockheed Martin’s Astronautics Division uses the SAS R System’s scheduling and project management capabilities as the foundation for several Web-based solutions that monitor the performance of their missile production systems. These solutions have proven invaluable in helping Lockheed Martin personnel keep tabs on the work completed and work remaining for these launch vehicles. Recently, Lockheed Martin Astronautics has undertaken an ambitious program to dramatically reduce its cycle time, the elapsed time between starting construction of a missile and delivering it for launch. Again, the SAS System plays a central role by providing flexible scheduling methods that make it easy to test the effects of changes in the product structure and details. We present a brief overview of these solutions and describe some of the methods used in the Cycle Time Reduction project.
