Managing Director, Michael Ward, recently presented the RMI Raytheon Six Sigma™ (R6s) project team their award certificates in Nowra. The team won an IDS Presidents Award and a CEO Choice Award at an awards night held in Boston USA earlier this year. 

The awards were recognition of the collaborative work done by the team to engage with customer and suppliers to turn around program performance and deliver mission critical helicopter availability to the Royal Australian Navy. The project team used R6s methodology to deliver the following:

• Mission Assurance: Raytheon meeting the customer’s flying requirements through a 57% reduction in unscheduled maintenance, 35% reduction in supply lead times and a 15% increase in aircraft availability.
• E2C2 improved: Key overseas supplier tailored a spares delivery process for Australia to deliver an improved spares pipeline.
• Cultural change: New collaborative sortie and maintenance planning process and KPI measurement system developed with customer and embedded through contract change.
• Growth: Risk to contract extensions and AU$1 billion future opportunities mitigated; increase in project sales, profit and cash through a 98% KPI (from 52%) and a 98% award fee (from 70%).
• Lessons Leaned: A number of key lessons learnt and transferable elements identified that are currently being used on other pursuits and projects.

The team was made up of Del Brinsley, Dave Cunningham, Mark Cooper (lead), Geoff Gillespie (sponsor) and Rob Paice. Also awarded was Kathryn Krenn, a R6s Master Expert from Raytheon Company, who acted as project mentor.

As Michael Ward said “this is an excellent example of R6s helping drive change and deliver solutions. It’s a credit to the team that this project was recognised at the highest levels in the company.”