For more than a decade, the Navy's Best Manufacturing Practices (BMP) survey
process has been a primary avenue for industry and government to present
individual and distinctive success stories in management and manufacturing
disciplines. For those organizations seeking to advance their overall
manufacturing performance, the BMP program has provided validated and documented
best practices. These practices, verified on-site by BMP survey team members,
have served as a model for improvement in business and industry and as a tool to
promote teaming.
In 1995, industry and government representatives discussed the idea of
broadening the BMP program's scope to incorporate success stories submitted by
industry. The objective was to find an efficient, cost-effective way to share a
greater volume of information on the latest technology and business
developments. Since the BMP program had a proven approach for sharing success
stories, this seemed to be a logical expansion.
The practices in this report were submitted to the BMP Center of Excellence
by Defense Contract Management Command, located in Forth Belvoir, Virginia as an
example of some of the latest developments in the environmental area. They are
considered to be best practices or success stories, however, they were not
validated by an on-site BMP survey team. Our goal is to help industry and
government keep pace with the rapid changes taking place in the business,
manufacturing, and environmental communities.
TABLE OF ACRONYMS:
The following acronyms were used in this report:
DCMC | Defense Contract Management Command | |
DOD | Department of Defense | |
JG-APP | Joint Group on Acquisition Pollution Prevention | |
JLC | Joint Logistics Commanders | |
JPPAB | JG-APP Advisory Board | |
JTP | Joint Test Protocol | |
TI | Texas Instruments | |
VOC | Volatile Organic Compound |
The Challenge: Eliminating hazardous
materials from DOD contracts and weapons systems by promoting partnerships among
the Services and their Contractors.
Historically, recommendations by contractors
for using alternatives to hazardous materials on government contracts resulted
in repeated testing by individual defense and contractor program managers, so
all parties could gain their own confidence in the performance of the
alternatives being considered. More often than not, alternatives were never
accepted or agreed upon by the parties involved using this approach. As a
result, DOD and the industrial base duplicated efforts and paid multiple times
for qualification of the same alternatives for commonly shared processes, with
little or no success to show for it. Then in early 1994, defense industry
contractors, weapons systems program mangers, and various DOD/Industry
conference attendees (CEOs and Corporate Presidents) expressed a need for 'jointness
to address common pollution prevention issues. Toward that enda Secretary
ofDefense Memorandumdated August 111994set requirements for cooperation the
Military Departments Agenciesand industry work in unison reduce duplication
effort addressing opportunities. All were facing same pressure change.> Methods:
The JG-APP began methodology validation with selection of seven pilot sites
having multi-service, multi-program manufacturing processes. Participating in
the initiatives are McDonnell Douglas, Lockheed Martin, Pratt & Whitney,
Texas Instruments-Defense Group, Hughes Missile Systems, Boeing Defense Systems,
and General Electric Aircraft Engines. The methodology consists of 16 steps:
identify players, list potential contractors, determine interest in the program,
develop teaming agreements, identify target chemical/processes, identify
alternatives, down-select alternatives, define Joint Test Protocol, implement
JTP elements, formulate contractor implementation plan, conduct pilot tasks and
estimate funding requirements, develop a business strategy, conduct and pay for
validation testing, analyze data and implement, report on validation process,
use report to create a Concept Paper for SPI (Acquisition Reform initiatives),
and assure continuous process improvement. Products developed using JG-APP
methodology are made available for use by government and industry. The tenant of
the joint service partnership with industry is quite simple: there are no
proprietary interests with respect to pollution prevention opportunities once an
agreement is reached regarding the qualifications of alternatives. Technology
transfer throughout Government and industry, even among competitors, is
accomplished in this manner (also see http://www.jgapp.com).
Results (Current Status and Benefits):
JG-APP has seen big successes in 1996. Using the JG-APP methodology, Texas
Instruments (TI) was the first pilot site to achieve a Block Change (April)
through the SPI phase. This success at TI reduces annual VOC emissions by
40-80%, or 2,880 fewer pounds of VOCs, 3,000 fewer pounds of waste solvent and
paint, and 300 fewer gallons of paint thinner; and at McDonnell Douglas, a cost
avoidance of $6.25M from the reduction in the duplication of alternative
qualification testing has been realized. As of April 1996, the initiative has
documented a total of $12M in cost avoidance in qualification testing and
alternative implementation. At the other pilot sites, JG-APP is seeing
alternative testing to substitute various hazardous materials used in various
systems. At Boeing, the emphasis is on replacing chrome, nickel, and cadmium.
Unlike the other pilot sites, Boeing is focusing on pollution prevention across
its entire industrial base and not just the immediate contractor site (Seattle
in this case). At General Electric, where they have facilitated the Propulsion
Environmental Working Group (includes Pratt & Whitney, Allison, Williams,
Allied Signal, et al power plant manufacturers), the use of lead as a dry-film
lubricant for jet engines is being explored. At Pratt & Whitney, chromated
primer replacements were chosen for study. At Lockheed Martin, three pollution
prevention opportunities were selected: replacement of zinc chromate primers;
reduction of high VOC topcoats; and elimination of ink stenciling. The first two
are being leveraged at two other pilot sites, TI and Hughes. At Hughes, the
tests focus on eliminating chromium as used in conversion coating. At TI, low/no
VOC primers and topcoats to replace high VOC counterparts is the emphasis.
McDonnell Douglas is testing chromate primers used on the aircraft exterior
surfaces. The testing at McDonnell Douglas will extend over two years, to
include lab and field phases. In contrast, when field testing is not required,
the total test period may be concluded in as few as four months.
Overall Costs: The JG-APP Advisory Board
(JPPAB) has invested approximately 3.4 man years into the pilot phase of the
initiative during 1995 and 1996, plus $1.885 million for engineering and
technical support provided by the National Defense Center for Environmental
Excellence, and approximately $200,000 over two years for temporary duty
assignment expenses (travel, per diem, etc.). The service and contractor
participants, together, spent an average $275-300,000 per site to test the
various alternatives.
JG-APP Organization: Representatives
from each of the services plus Defense Contract Management Command (DCMC). JG-APP
principal/JPPAB counterpart (below).
USAF: BG Clyde M. Bolton Jr, Chairman JG-APP
Robert Hill, Chairman JPPAB
USA: MG Roy E. Beauchamp
Luis Garcia-Baco
USN: RADM L.F. Schriefer
David Asiello
USMC: MG Williams
George Georgeadis
DCMC: MG Robert W. Drewes
A. Ken Siler
Debra Rodriguez |