Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division (NSWC Crane) was recognized for their outstanding accomplishments by receiving three awards during the Department of Defense (DoD) Value Engineering (VE) Awards ceremony on June 27, 2012 at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
Each year, DoD presents VE awards to project teams, organizations, individuals, and contractors in the Services and Agencies. Value engineering is a systematic process of analyzing and identifying actions that will increase the value proposition of a system and improve quality and mission capabilities. Awards recognize initiatives that have reduced costs, enhanced a system’s effectiveness and increased overall efficiency throughout the DoD.
Mr. Frank Kendall, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology & Logistics presented both awards to NSWC Crane leaders and team members. The three awards were presented to the Platform and Launch Systems Division, the SPS-48E Linear Slat Engineering Team and members of the Micro/Microminiature Electronic Repair and Module Test and Repair Program team (2M MTR Gold Disk Program). Among the audience were senior military officials from across the DoD, congressional representatives and NSWC Crane team members.
“It is an honor to receive Value Engineering awards. It is a testimony to the hard work and cost conscious efforts of the people at NSWC Crane for continuously striving for the best quality and best value to better support our Warfighters,” said NSWC Crane Commanding Officer, Colonel Alan M. Pratt.
The Platform and Launch Systems Division at NSWC Crane received an award for their extensive work on the TR-333 Hydrophone Analysis. The Factory Acceptance Testing of TR-333 Hydrophone production unit beam width parameter showed a trend toward the specification limits. Investigation discovered the trend and root cause(s) providing an opportunity for improving the manufacturing processes. The improvement produced a yield up above 97% and the cumulative savings through 2018 is expected to be over $8 Million.
NSWC Crane’s SPS-48E Linear Slat Engineering Team received their award for reducing the lifecycle sustainment costs on SPS-48E radar antennas while improving functionality. The team vertically integrated an array tuning process as a specification upgrade for the competitively bid contract to manufacture and paint arrays to achieve a replacement slat that could integrate into the existing configuration. The 6 year return on investment is expected to be 33 to 1.
NSWC Crane 2M MTR Gold Disk Program Team, part of a team consisting of NAVSEA, USMC and USCG members, received the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) Joint Service award. They were recognized for applying methodologies through the study of functions and analysis of alternatives for more than 10,000 repairs annually, correcting or averting more than 500 Casualty Reports in return generates a cost avoidance of more than $40 Million per year.
NSWC Crane is a Naval laboratory and a field activity of Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) with focus areas in Special Mission, Strategic Missions and Electronic Warfare/Information Operations. The Warfare Center’s research and development efforts support the Warfighter by providing capabilities and resources to advance technologies for the military.
