Rockwell Collins Inc. is in a race with global suppliers to expand into emerging markets, such as Russia, China, India and Brazil. Diversifying into new markets has never been more important for the aviation electronics and communication equipment manufacturer, with the United States and Europe clamping down on defense budgets.
In late 2010 Rockwell made several announcements regarding agreements the company signed with China's state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China to provide systems for Comac's C919 aircraft. The company also is working with Russia's Irkut Corp. to build the MS-21 commercial aircraft and is competing to provide technology for Brazil's next-generation tanker platform, says Nan Mattai, Rockwell's senior vice president of engineering and technology.
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| Nan Mattai: "We standardize our processes into what I call a technical-consistent process. We standardize the major tools we utilize." |
The global expansion means aerospace manufacturers must make improving time-to-market a priority. One of the ways Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based Rockwell Collins has hastened the product-development process is through lean engineering. The company began its lean engineering initiative in the 2001-2002 timeframe. Rockwell adopted lean techniques being applied to its plant floors to standardize the engineering process.
"We standardize our processes into what I call a technical-consistent process," Mattai says. "We standardize the major tools we utilize." The company's lean engineering system is called Core Process Optimization and includes an upstream and downstream approach. That means the company focuses on its pursuit and order-capture processes as well as how the design and development processes transition to manufacturing, Mattai says.
