Raytheon Continues Shingo Streak

Raytheon Missile Systems’ (RMS) Louisville, KY facility has captured a prestigious Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing, marking the 4th consecutive year that Raytheon facilities have won. The main RMS facility in Tucson, AZ facility won in 2004, the Integrated Air Defense Center in Andover, MA won in 2005 and 2006, and Raytheon IDS’ Maritime Mission Center in Portsmouth, RI also picked up a 2006 award. See all 2007 winners, and also all DID coverage of Shingo Prize awards.

The Louisville plant manufactures and overhauls the Phalanx Close-In Weapon System, and its derivative Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM)/SeaRAM Guided Missile Launching System. A work force of 350 aligned into integrated product teams has achieved operational efficiency improvements of more than 15% over the last 2 years alone, and in 2006, 20 site processes were selected as best practices by the US Office of Naval Research’s Best Manufacturing Practices Center of Excellence. All this has occurred amidst a 135% increase in sales, 230% increase in bookings, and 100% on-time delivery rate during the last 6-7 years.