Strategic Plan Analysis

Having worked on both sides of the track, military and civilian sector, working for Pratt & Whitney (subsidiary under the United Technologies (UTC) Flag, I have experience a culture that firmly believes in their style of Total Quality Management (TQM) that they have adopted.

Pratt & Whitney's or UTC's quality vision is one that upheld and easy to adapt:

Ð'* A quality-first mindset governs all UTC employee actions.

Ð'* External and internal customers receive innovative products and services that completely satisfy life cycle requirements.

Ð'* Quality improvement is the job of every UTC employee.

This is accomplished by a TQM style or operating system called ACE (Achieving Competitive Excellence). ACE is UTC's proprietary operating system to ensure world-class quality in their products and processes. Its relentless focus on increasing efficiency and reducing waste, ACE is integral to the company's performance model. Facilities worldwide are using the operating system to improve quality and customer satisfaction while lowering cost. "Only by offering superior value to both customers and investors will our company continue to grow and prosper. Therefore, our quest for competitive excellence has no end." -ACE mission statement

UTC is committed to ACE and has continued to build on its three main elements:

Ð'* A philosophy based on the teaching of the late Yuzuru Ito, the company's advisor on quality methodologies. This is institutionalized in Ito University, a weeklong training session run continuously at each business unit.

Ð'* A system that helps the organization identifies and solves problems, improve processes and assist with strategic thinking.

Ð'* The competence, commitment and involvement of the entire organization.

UTC maintains its reputation by implementing ACE on the micro level, with employees who are trained and empowered to implement the standard processes across the company. This is accomplished through a rigorous, data-driven process assessed by internal auditors, employees and their organizations progress through the qualifying, bronze, silver and gold levels of ACE.

Each manager selected, will attend "Ito University" an internal "university" that teaches the fundamentals of improving the quality of UTC products, services and business processes.

Ito University plays an integral role in UTC's drive to create the most educated workforce on the planet. These training sessions allow employees to pursue continuous education in areas that affect UTC's performance. Ito University, along with UTC's Employee Scholar Program and our executive education program at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, is another example of the importance we place on personal development for all employees.

ACE proficiency is developed over four stages, commencing at a 'qualifying' level during which period personnel become familiar with, and learn how to use, the 11 tools that form the basis of ACE strategy. These include:

 process;

 certification;

 total productive maintenance;

 market feedback analysis;

 relentless root cause analysis;

 set-up reduction;

 passport process for new product development; and

 Mistake proofing.

An excellent example of the ACE toolbox is the disciplined problem solving process, DIVE Ð'- Define, Investigate, Verify and Ensure. The DIVE process ensures problems are analyzed in a structured and consistent manner, true root causes identified and sustainable corrective actions implemented.

One such corrective action is the certification of a key process, such as machining. The process certification tool uses statistical process control (SPC) to reduce variation. The benefits realized include the consistent production of quality products and the acceleration of process development for new products.

The ACE operating system is powered by the disciplined application of all of the tools, which are accessible to everyone in the organization. These are used as required to impact business results. Baselines are set and goals established at the 'qualifying' level. These goals are in the areas of:

 customer satisfaction;

 employee cross training;

 TAT/lead times;

 financial performance; and

 internal rework.

Mission statement " We Pioneer, We Build, We Serve"

One visible improvement made possible through the use of ACE, following numerous customer complaints, has been an improvement in spare part delivery.