differentiator for them. They have great business sense and energy.” The unexpected liquidation of a key Boeing subcontractor in 2012 created one of the first big tests of Smithfield’s responsiveness and capability. The liquidation immediately jeopardized two longtime programs within Electronic & Information Solutions—CSEL and the Gigabit Ethernet Data Multiplex System, or GEDMS, a shipboard network that manages data from multiple systems on all U.S. Navy destroyers as well as other U.S. and non-U.S. naval vessels. The subcontractor’s impending closure threatened to trap extensive stocks of raw materials, tooling and work-in-progress inside a shuttered factory. Boeing had to act fast. Three months later, repair and production lines for both programs were up and running at Smithfield. “For CSEL, we had to develop an entirely new and more efficient work-flow process, transform our material requirements planning system to accommodate the larger 32 Frontiers September 2014 volume of CSEL radios, and retrain every individual on the CSEL program,” said Elliot Galand, the site’s CSEL program manager. Today, site employees proudly retell the story of how CSEL and GEDMS got started in Smithfield. “One of the things that makes everyone here more diligent in their jobs is the knowledge that these radios are used by soldiers
Frontiers September 2014 Issue
To see the actual publication please follow the link above