Cost Reduction
Lean Six Sigma Methodologies were used to drive cost reduction across a portfolio of projects, creating transformational results for the entire Naval shipbuilding enterprise.
Over four years, Sensei On Demand CEO Jennifer Ralston oversaw this effort to comply with Congress’ mandate to trim money from a massive budget. Working at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., as program manager, Mrs. Ralston directed training and coaching exercises designed to help the Navy identify opportunities for process improvement.
Key Outcomes
New Standards
The process improvement standards implemented are now being applied to other areas of the military, including NAVAIR and Maritime.
$2 Billion Saved
Ship production costs were reduced from $13.341 billion to $11.341.
Background:
Having just built CVN-78 (the Gerald R. Ford), the Navy assembled a team to take a critical look at the construction of that ship. Over four years, Sensei On Demand CEO, Jennifer Ralston oversaw this effort to comply with Congress’ mandate to trim money from a massive budget on an end product to protect the freedom of the United States. Working at the Navy Yard in Washington, DC as program manager, Mrs. Ralston directed training and coaching exercises designed to help the Navy identify opportunities for process improvement. She ran multiple process improvement projects to look at how each part of CVN-78 could be built more efficiently.
“When you approach construction of an aircraft carrier that is massive in size and budget, the only way to determine where and if you can streamline the process is to look at the component parts before you access the whole.”
- Sensei On Demand
The Challenge:
One of the main challenges when building a ship of this size and complexity is that it takes years to complete. During that time, technology advances, thereby rendering systems obsolete. Mrs. Ralston and her team discovered that systems were being tested too early, so that by the time the ship was assembled, those systems had to be replaced. Testing these systems was slow and redundant when the system was tested again once the ship was assembled. In addition to overhauling the testing process, improvements had to be made to the actual way the ship was constructed. Again, breaking down the ship to its component parts was key.
KEY CHALLENGES
Testing systems too early in construction, which allowed for technological advances to happen and render systems obsolete.
Slow and redundant testing systems that delayed workflow.
Problems arising once a ship was already assembled, requiring the time-intensive process of taking it apart and reassembling it.
The Solution:
“We had to have some real discussions with the Navy about how they approached testing during construction,” Mrs. Ralston said. “Why not wait and test the systems closer to when the ship is ready so that you are only testing once?”
In addition to overhauling the testing process, improvements had to be made to the actual way the ship was constructed. This was achieved by outfitting ship modules before they were stacked together to form the ship. Digital ship renderings allowed for a greater understanding of the inner workings of the ship before piecing it together. Shifting work earlier in the build process allowed for many changes to be made early on. Additionally, the Navy also found ways to order materials and parts quickly and economically, saving both time and money.
”Front-loading the work ensured that once it came time to assemble the ship, all that remained was getting it in the water.
- Sensei On Demand
The Future:
In the end, Jennifer Ralston’s leadership helped the Navy comply with the congressional mandate to find $2 billion savings on the building of CVN-79 and eventually CVN-80 (the Enterprise). The ship cost $11.341 billion rather than $13.341 billion. Additionally, the process improvement standards are now being applied to other areas of the military including NAVAIR and Maritime.
Mrs. Ralston together with Chief Operating Officer Nekol Tseklenis and a team of Lean Six Sigma Experts are uniquely positioned to take experiences like this one and apply the learnings to today’s unique process improvement needs. Now more than ever, it is important to not overlook the small, incremental changes that can make a big impact. Sensei On Demand’s Lean Six Sigma Experts bring over 150 years of combined experience and industry resources to a variety of complex environments and with that comes time-earned excellence in every aspect of their work.
