02 Dec 2005
The winners of the BAE Systems 2005 Gold Chairmans Awards were announced last night at a ceremony held at the Natural History Museum in London, UK. This is the first full year that the scheme has run under the Chairmanship of Dick Olver and the award categories reflect his priorities and aspirations for the Company going forward. The awards were attended by senior leaders of BAE Systems, as well as representatives from the Department of Trade and Industry, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) and academia.
The Chairmans Awards scheme recognises BAE Systems employees, colleagues and industry partners for the outstanding new and innovative ways in which they shape BAE Systems and contribute towards its global success. Over 1,000 awards were made in total, comprising 6 Gold, 48 Silver and more than 1,000 Bronze. The winners were selected from over 3,000 nominations from across the Company.
Dick Olver, BAE Systems Chairman, said: The winners of the 2005 Chairmans Awards are a tribute to the accomplishments of BAE Systems brightest and best and to the success of our partnerships with our customers and peers in the industry.
The awards are given in three categories of Innovation, Transferring Best Practice and Enhancing Customer Performance. They were presented by Chairman Dick Olver alongside TV Science presenters Adam Hart-Davies and Hermione Cockburn.
The Gold Awards for Innovation:
- Autonomous Imagery (BAE Systems Air Systems, Warton, UK) A low-cost system to transmit battlefield imagery at high speed, making efficient use of bandwidth.
- Waveguide Optic Technology (BAE Systems Electronics and Integrated Solutions, Rochester, UK) Revolutionary display technology based on holographic waveguides developed with Cambridge University with potential application to helmet-mounted and vehicle-mounted displays.
The Gold Awards for Enhancing Customer Performance:
- Joint Upgrade and Maintenance Programme (JUMP) (BAE Systems CS&S, in partnership with the MODs Defence Logistics Organisation and the Royal Air Force) This team and their project, the Joint Upgrade and Maintenance Programme (JUMP), has established a pulse-line upgrade and maintenance facility at the customers front line station RAF Cottesmore thereby improving the availability of the Harrier aircraft to the front line at significantly reduced cost.
- Analytical Support to the Iraq Survey Group
(BAE Systems Customer Solutions, McLean, Virginia, USA) This team supported the Iraq Survey Group, delivering vital IT analysis work to the US Government.
The Gold Awards for Transferring Best Practice:
- Laser-Cut Masking Stencil Process (BAE Systems Electronics and Integrated Solutions, Wayne, New Jersey, USA) This team developed a new labour-saving technology for the production of printed circuit boards and ensured that it was shared across the company.
- Transfer of Typhoon Maturity Methodology
(BAE Systems Air Systems, Warton, UK) This team developed Management by Maturity - a step change in programme management and transferred it to the Hawk programme, ensuring it achieved a record first-flight maturity rating.
About BAE SYSTEMS
BAE Systems is an international company engaged in the development, delivery, and support of advanced defence and aerospace systems in the air, on land, at sea, and in space. The Company designs, manufactures, and supports military aircraft, combat vehicles, surface ships, submarines, radar, avionics, communications, electronics, and guided weapon systems. It is a pioneer in technology with a heritage stretching back hundreds of years and is at the forefront of innovation, working to develop the next generation of intelligent defence systems. BAE Systems has major operations across five continents and customers in some 130 countries. The Company employs over 90,000 people and generates annual sales of approximately 14.8 billion through its wholly owned and joint-venture operations.
For further information, please contact:
Lisa Hillary-Tee, BAE Systems
Tel: +44 (0) 1252 384934
lisa.hillary-tee@baesystems.com
Notes to Editors:
Details of the 2005 Gold Chairmans Awards winners are included below:
The Gold Awards for Innovation:
Autonomous Imagery (BAE Systems Air Systems, Warton, UK) - This team has developed a low-cost system, based on commercial-off-the-shelf components which allow for rapid collation and transmission of high-quality images without consuming vast amounts of bandwidth. The advantages of high quality imagery of enemy installations on the hi-tech modern battlefield are vital, giving real front-line advantage. The team has succeeded in changing the way images are captured and viewed, taking the programme from a blank sheet of paper to a successful flight test in just seven months. This outstanding technology has key applications across all of BAE Systems capabilities, including civil applications, from homeland security to disaster relief.
Waveguide Optic Technology (BAE Systems Electronics & Integrated Solutions, Rochester, UK) - A team using UK technology and expertise has worked with researchers at Cambridge University to develop a revolutionary new display technology, based on holographic waveguides. The new technology allows for a reduction of 70% in mass compared with current optics, with a 75% reduction in associated costs. This work has ensured that warfighters using helmet-mounted displays will have better situational awareness, with more comfortable and easy to use equipment. The technology is also applicable to future Head-Up Display (HUD) systems in aircraft and land vehicles.
The Gold Awards for Enhancing Customer Performance:
Joint Upgrade and Maintenance Programme (JUMP) (BAE Systems CS&S, Warton, UK) -This team and their product, the Joint Upgrade and Maintenance Programme (JUMP), have re-invented the support environment, improving the availability of the Harrier aircraft to the front line at significantly reduced cost. As well as handling a complex regular maintenance programme for the Harrier in record time, JUMP is also responsible for upgrading the Harrier from its current GR7 version to the new GR9 standard. This includes new smart weapons, new Identification Friend or Foe technology, new warning systems, and marinisation for prolonged carrier operations. The UK MoD, JUMPs customer, has called it a most impressive success story. JUMP is a prime example of the joint BAE Systems and MoD transformation strategy in action, as it is a combined partnership between the Company, Strike Command and the UK Harrier MoD Integrated Project Team (IPT).
Analytical Support to Iraq Survey Group
(BAE Systems Customer Solutions, McLean, Virginia, USA) - This team worked with the Iraq Survey Group (ISG), the fact-finding team consisting of US, British, and Australian service personnel, sent by the coalition into Iraq after the 2003 invasion. A team from BAE Systems IT supported the ISG in Baghdad. They specialised in particular fields of IT analysis otherwise difficult for the government to perform. Their efforts represented a groundbreaking integration of Government and contractor analysts working in a hostile, deployed environment and underlined BAE Systems expertise in supporting the customer in the field.
The Gold Awards for Transferring Best Practice:
Laser-Cut Masking Stencil Process (BAE Systems Electronics and Integrated Solutions, Wayne, New Jersey, USA) - This team developed a brand-new technology which applies to a common component across the company - printed circuit boards. It involves the application of disposable laser-cut stencils to mask delicate and intricate areas of the circuit boards during the production process. This has allowed the elimination of tedious hand masking, speeding up the process and delivering an immediate cost and quality benefit. By rapidly sharing the laser-cut stencil masking process with other sites across BAE Systems that produce circuit board assemblies, this team has provided significant benefits in terms of savings, efficiencies and raised quality standards.
Transfer of Typhoon Maturity Methodology
(BAE Systems Air Systems, Warton, UK) - This team identified the need to recognise, understand and communicate the level of maturity of a product early in the development and production cycle, key to getting the most mature product to the client in the fastest possible time. The team developed Management by Maturity - a step change in programme management reducing uncertainty and risk, helping to deliver exceptional project management and thus increasing customer confidence and trust in programme plans. When the Typhoon team transferred it to the Hawk programme and trained the team there, Hawk achieved a record first-flight maturity rating.
