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CHAIRMAN’S AWARDSTHE PRIDE AND THE PASSION OF OUR PEOPLE

STRATEGY IN ACTIONUNWAVERING COMMITMENT TO DELIVER

InFocus

SPECIAL EDITION

Essential reading for BAE Systems people // QUARTER 4 2013

A YEAR OF INSPIRED WORKTHE STORIES BEHIND THE SUCCESSES OF 2013

BAE Systems In Focus

2 • UPFRONT

CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S WELCOME>

Inside >

Disclaimer The publishers, authors and printers cannot accept liability for any errors or omissions. In Focus is produced by BAE Systems corporate and business unit internal communications teams. Editor, Jenny Evans, Employee Engagement Manager, Corporate Communications. Please send any comments and feedback to [email protected] or leave a message on +44 (0) 7525 081682. Articles or opinions expressed in this publication may not reflect company policy. All rights reserved. On no account may any part of this publication be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the copyright holder, application for which should be made to [email protected] Designed and produced by Connect Publications Ltd. www.connectcommunications.co.uk© BAE Systems plc 2013.

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Highlights 04 LIMPET HANGS

ON FOR GLORY 06 SOLUTION DELIVERED

RIGHT ON CUE 08 HITTING BACK AT

HURRICANE SANDY 12 A STICK-ON SUCCESS

FOR F-35 TEAM 14 SAUDI ARABIA, A

KHAIRING SOCIETY 16 MAKING LIFE EASIER

BELOW DECKS 22 THE WORLD’S OUR

STAGE FOR BUSINESS 24 COMMUNITY SPIRIT

BEHIND ARTFUL 26 NOW TRENDING –

BAE SYSTEMS 28 .ON THE COVER.

AUSTRALIA CATCHES A TIGER BY THE TAIL

32 SERIOUS FUN AT BOARD LEVEL

READ IAN KING’S BLOG THROUGH THE HOME PAGE ON THE GLOBAL INTRANET

Motivation and inspiration in a changing world

As 2013 draws to a close, it is time to reflect on the key challenges and successes we have faced this year. As I have spent time across the business, I am constantly heartened by the commitment shown by our employees in all that we do, especially during times of stress and challenge.

This end-of-year edition of In Focus highlights many examples of talented employees being focused, finding solutions and going the extra mile for our customers, colleagues and the company.

Chairman’s Awards stories, such as the team who found a simple solution to a demanding problem and invented “The Limpet” (pages 4-5), demonstrate that each and every one of us has a role to play in delivering our strategy.

One of our key strategic actions is to grow our

international business, and the success of our campaigns and programmes have indicated that we are succeeding in this objective. Our exhibitions team is often on the front-line of these relationships and they share some of their experiences with us on pages 22-23.

The progress with the Oman programme along with many business development activities in the Gulf Region provide encouragement and set aspirations for the future. We must sustain the momentum and drive our business forward.

While we are all proud of our success and progress, we must also support those colleagues across our business who are experiencing difficult times.

In November, the company began consultation on its proposals for restructuring the UK Maritime – Naval Ships business. This is not a matter we take lightly; the impact on our people matters to me personally, and to the team. We are now focused on driving mitigation hard in partnership with the trade unions. The company has a strong track record of mitigation and you can read more about this on pages 38-39.

We have built strong momentum in delivering on our strategy this year, and it’s important that we continue to sustain this as we go forward. During this year we have also laid the foundations of Inspired Work – not just what we do, how we do it but why we do it.

We will build on this in 2014 by celebrating the pride, skills, talent and commitment our employees bring every day to deliver work that truly matters.

Thank you for your support in 2013.

UPFRONT • 3

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INSPIRED WORK> In this end-of-year special, In Focus looks back on 2013. In the front section, we reflect with pride on the achievements of some of our Chairman’s Awards winners. The second section focuses on examples of how our people are helping to deliver our strategy around the globe

When the BAE Systems Chairman’s Awards were launched in 1996, the employee recognition programme attracted approximately 300 nominations. They were competing in a single category to recognise innovations that had helped to improve the company’s business performance.

Now, the global programme regularly attracts more than 3,000 nominations each year, and has expanded to include four categories, reflecting the range of ideas, actions and people who support the company’s strategy.

The nominations are forwarded by fellow employees in the areas of Innovation, Transferring Best Practice, Enhancing Customer

Performance and Supporting Our Total Performance Culture.

The nominations are pared down through the levels of Bronze and Silver awards, until the final eight are revealed as the Gold winners.

As Chairman’s Awards Campaign Manager, Louise Laughton heads up the team that has the formidable task of co-ordinating all of the entries and managing the process that leads to selecting the final winners. It is a position she has held for the past six years – and as far as she is concerned, it could not be any more rewarding.

“I can honestly say it’s a dream job,” said Louise. “I get to encounter amazing people from across BAE Systems who I normally wouldn’t have the chance to meet, and I’m

How the Chairman’s Awards nurture the unique and innovative talent of our people

Stage is set for more great achievements

blown away every year because there’s always something new coming through, something I had no idea the company was involved in.”

Louise is assisted by a global network of volunteer co-ordinators who help to gather and process the nominations. Anyone from across BAE Systems can apply to volunteer, and Louise manages the team which is formed from across the world.

“It excites me to see people learning from their experience on the Chairman’s Awards,” she said. “Our volunteers can really develop their skills on the project – they have to plan and deliver to set timescales, they have to be able to manage stakeholder engagement including the judging panels, and they have to converse and meet people at all levels, so it’s a great development tool.”

Louise is also full of praise for the outgoing Chairman Sir Richard Olver, who hands the baton to Sir Roger Carr in the first quarter of 2014.

“When the Chairman first joined the company, he was immediately supportive. He has always been directly involved and keen to make sure the awards align with the company strategy.”

Now entering their 19th year, the Chairman’s Awards have grown and developed, but Louise says the key driver remains the same.

“Nothing inspires people more than getting a pat on the back for a job well done, and feeling valued,” she said. “And I tell you, if you sit at one of our ceremonies, you can’t help but feel inspired by what you see and hear.”

For more information, contact [email protected]

“NOTHING INSPIRES PEOPLE MORE THAN GETTING A PAT ON THE BACK FOR A JOB WELL DONE, AND FEELING VALUED”

ABOVE: CHAIRMAN’S AWARDS CAMPAIGN MANAGER LOUISE LAUGHTON IS EXCITED TO SEE PEOPLE LEARNING FROM THEIR EXPERIENCE IN THE AWARDS SCHEME TOP: BAE SYSTEMS CHAIRMAN DICK OLVER HOSTING THE 2012 CHAIRMAN’S AWARDS GOLD CEREMONY IN WASHINGTON D.C.

4 • CHAIRMAN’S AWARDS 2013


LIMPET HANGS ON FOR GLORY

Innovative team turns a plastic bottle into an award-winning, cost-saving vacuum attachment

bit.ly/BAE-In-Focus

The Limpet Vacuum Attachment Military Air & Information

Silver Chairman’s Award for Innovation

CHAIRMAN’S AWARDS 2013 • 5

When an innovative quartet from BAE Systems at Warton in Lancashire developed an

idea out of thin air, they knew they were on to a winner. Their simple concept is already helping the company make big savings and has the potential to be applied across the industry.

The Limpet, which has won a Silver award in the 2013 Chairman’s Awards, is a vacuum attachment that allows a single operator to carry out tasks that previously required two people.

One of those involved, mechanical fitter Michael Dobson, explained: “Our job involves connecting different pieces of fuselage together. Invariably that means drilling, which creates dust, bringing foreign object debris issues, among others. In the past, when one person was drilling, another had to be standing alongside with a vacuum hose, instantly sucking up the dust and filings.”

The team identified this as an area where improvements could be made and put their minds to finding a solution. One member, Richard Llevo (now retired), realised that a simple plastic bottle, which happened to fit neatly over the head of the vacuum hose, could be adapted to create an attachment.

Over one weekend in his garage, he fashioned the bottle, adding a seal made of rubber tubing, and created the first “limpet”. He brought it to work on Monday and, hey presto, it worked right away.

In essence, the Limpet attaches itself to the fuselage where drilling is taking place and sucks up dust and filings. It completely removes the need for a second person to carry out that task.

Another member of the foursome, Andy Salter, added: “We realised that Richard’s prototype, although it worked well, would need some refining, and eventually we were able to take advantage of a 3D printer that is on site to create a more sophisticated version of the original, as well as adaptations that could be used for other types of job.”

As with any innovation, there was a teething problem, but that was soon overcome.

Andy explained: “The vacuum hose is heavy and, on occasion, it was dragging the limpet away from where it was needed. However, we came up with the idea of a suction pad and loop that can be attached to the fuselage – it holds the hose in place while you work.”

The simple but clever design

makes the Limpet very adaptable. The seal helps it stick to the fuselage no matter the curvature, and there is the possibility of creating different shapes so that it fits in all sorts of places.

“At the moment we have ten kits and they’re all in demand,” said Andy. “Everyone who sees it in action wants one. It’s already a money saver. We originally designed it for one specific fuselage connection and it’s estimated that the saving there will be approximately £24,000 a year – and there are dozens of similar jobs it could be used for.”

For more information, contact: [email protected]

ABOVE: ANDY SALTER, LEFT, AND MICHAEL DOBSON ARE PART OF THE QUARTET WHO USED THEIR EXPERTISE TO CREATE THE AWARD-WINNING LIMPET BELOW: A 3D PRINTER HELPED TO TRANSFORM THE PLASTIC BOTTLE INTO THE LIMPET VACUUM ATTACHMENT

“AT THE MOMENT WE HAVE TEN KITS AND THEY’RE ALL IN DEMAND. EVERYONE WHO SEES IT IN ACTION WANTS ONE”



SOLUTION RIGHT ON CUE

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When Boeing approached BAE Systems’ Electronic Systems (ES) sector to

implement tactile cuing on the CH-47F and MH-47G variants of the US Army’s Chinook helicopter, ES’s Active Inceptor System team was keen to accept the challenge.

BAE Systems pioneered active inceptor systems, but the product was previously only applicable to expensive, full fly-by-wire systems.

The team took ES’s fifth-generation civil active inceptor and developed a tactile cuing system for Boeing’s Active Parallel Actuator Subsystem (APAS).

APAS is a cockpit flight control device which brings a significant amount of benefits, including improved task accuracy, force-feedback and tactile cuing to non-fly-by-wire aircraft, while continuing the tradition of innovation within this area of the business. It works by back-driving the existing mechanics within the airframe to provide the tactile cues to the pilot through the feel of the controls sticks.

This alerts the pilot to potential limits, significantly reducing the demands on them and enabling them to achieve maximum performance from the aircraft, flying at the edge of the flight envelope.

The team found a way to provide a solution for a fraction of the fly-by-wire cost by reusing designs and software from recent civil active inceptor system (AIS) programmes to minimise the development cost, schedule and risk required for flight safety-critical controls development.

“The team’s idea was embraced by the Army, and was funded via several routes across development projects,” said Adam Taylor, Director of ES’s Advanced Inceptor product line. “Without this support the project would have been impossible to come to fruition.”

The team demonstrated the feasibility of the system by building prototypes and using a very limited internal investment and existing helicopter mechanical control runs from the simulator area at ES’s site at Rochester in the UK.

Electronic Systems engineers apply sector’s commercial fly-by-wire components to provide US Army with cost-effective active inceptor system for the Chinook helicopter

“We collaborated, listened to the customer and knew the typical fly-by-wire solution was going to be too expensive for the CH-47 airframe,” Adam explained.

The team worked closely with Boeing and conducted trade studies that outlined several approaches to achieve tactical cuing without having to implement a full fly-by-wire solution.

“Customers used to have to choose between the high-cost/capability of fly-by-wire, or the low-cost/capability of mechanical flight controls,” Adam added. “Not anymore – our solution provides 80 per cent of the benefit of fly-by-wire technology for 20 per cent of the cost.”

Feedback from Boeing included: “BAE Systems is a great partner in this endeavour. They supported our meeting with a strong team that showed significant progress and professional enthusiasm for this demonstration project. We have an opportunity to bring significant capability with the success of this project.”

Last year, the team received a development contract to finalise the design and supply the hardware for flight testing for the next phase of the programme. The team will demonstrate tactile cuing under a flight demonstration in early 2015, and, through these tactile cues, the production solution will provide additional lift capability for the heavy-lift CH-47 aircraft. The tactile cues will also substantially reduce the amount of engine maintenance required by reducing the amount of overstressing the aircraft sees in service.

APAS extends the life of the platform to which it is fitted by protecting the airframe from over-stressing and fatigue.

SOLUTION RIGHT ON CUE

“OUR SOLUTION PROVIDES 80 PER CENT OF THE BENEFIT OF FLY-BY-WIRE TECHNOLOGY FOR 20 PER CENT OF THE COST”


Tactile Cueing without the cost of Fly-by-wire

Electronic Systems



Superstorm Sandy was the largest Atlantic hurricane on record, with winds spanning

1,100 miles. When Sandy struck Long Island, New York, on 29 October 2012, it caused massive property and infrastructure damage and cut power to 90 per cent of the densely populated island.

With communications severely limited, a team of employees left their personal issues behind to secure BAE Systems property in the path of the storm and minimise the impact on the business.

Extraordinary efforts were made by the Facilities team at Electronic Systems’ Greenlawn site before the storm hit to prevent critical equipment failures, decrease downtime and ensure the facility was prepared.In the storm’s wake, the team planned and executed a transition of many manufacturing functions to the one operable Greenlawn building in a day.

Several team members were called in during the peak of the storm, leaving their families, in order to restore power to life safety and critical electrical loads. When power was out, Facilities, Security and IT worked tirelessly to restore power, and facilities kept the back-up generators going.

The company also distributed blankets, flashlights, bottled water,

firewood, and gasoline cans to affected employees. This collective response to the epic storm was a defining moment in the journey toward a “great workplace”.

The days after the storm proved trying for employees at Greenlawn. Many spent more than a week without power. The site rallied to help employees and their families – opening the campus’s doors as a warming station and cell phone-charging area.

“I was touched to see the way our employees responded to Hurricane Sandy,” said Leslie Jelalian, Vice

President and General Manager of ISR Solutions. “It was a privilege to watch the site team in Greenlawn come together to address both business and employee needs.”

Long Island wasn’t the only area to be hit hard. An hour and a half away, the employees at Wayne, New Jersey, struggled with a similar scenario. Sandy hit the Jersey Shore hard, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands and leaving devastation in its path.

“I live on a hill,” said employee Ed Collins. “My home was spared, but out of 1,100 homes in my community, 485 were badly damaged and 103 were declared uninhabitable.”

Though life has returned to normal for most employees in these areas, a handful have lost everything. Their homes, on the south shore of Long Island and on the Jersey Shore, could not be saved.

The company helped its communities to recover. A group of employees headed to one of the hardest-hit areas – the Rockaways – with a truck full of supplies. Water, food, batteries, blankets and more were donated to Rockaway WISH, a group which helped affected families.

The generosity of colleagues during the crisis was overwhelming.

Collective response hits back at hurricane

Silver Chairman’s Award for Supporting our Total Performance

Culture

Hurricane Sandy Team Electronic Systems

ABOVE AND BELOW: SUPERSTORM SANDY DEVASTATED SWATHES OF COASTLINE COMMUNITIES IN NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY. BAE SYSTEMS EMPLOYEES RESPONDED IN FORCE TO KEEP BAE SYSTEMS BUSINESS GOING AND TO HELP VICTIMS OF THE HURRICANE

COMMUNITY


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Customer

When Lesa Waring, Louise Pearce and Lynda Reed made short secondments to Saudi Arabia they started a process that led to greater mutual understanding and a deeper relationship between BAE Systems and a very important customer.

Lesa was first to enter Taif Air Base in Mecca Province last summer, and she paved the way for Lynda and Louise to follow in her footsteps.

The visits not only opened up new possibilities for women working on the base, they also provided the chance to work alongside colleagues who were normally at the other end of an email connection. That allowed a new level of trust to develop and the relationship with the Saudi customer to become stronger.

In their day-to-day jobs, Lesa, Louise and Lynda are supply chain specialists who source parts for Typhoon. Simply put, they help to make sure that any assets required by the Royal Saudi Air Force are where they need to be, when they need to be.

Louise explained how the opportunity to make a little bit of history came about. “Taif Air Base was under-resourced and required support. It was felt that someone with our knowledge and expertise should visit to assess what was required.”

An initial list of 40 volunteers was whittled down and Lesa was selected as the first to go. “I guess one of the reasons I was chosen was that I’ve worked with the Saudi customer for 13 years,” she said. “I have worked for eight years on the Tornado project for Saudi Arabia and the last two years supporting the Typhoon.”

All three women agree that Hugh Macaulay, Head of Supply Chain Operations, was critical in making the visits happen. “Hugh has been an advocate of sending women to the Kingdom for several years,” said Lesa. “The company had previously seconded women, but only to work in the BAE Systems offices. Hugh wanted to push that a little further.”

While more women are visiting Saudi Arabia, this is only possible when the proper visas are granted by the authorities, which is by no means guaranteed.

Louise believes the visits have had very positive spin-offs. “The key thing is that we have enhanced the existing relationship.

“Every day since we got back there has been continued correspondence between us; emailing, asking questions, problem solving together – all of which is very good news. The fact that they can now put a face to a name, and know that we are always willing to answer any questions, can only benefit us all. For me, that was a big thing to come out of it.”

Lesa agrees that the visits have helped both sides understand the pressures that they face. She said: “I think it showed us that while we feel the pain from them, they feel it far greater because the customer is in the room with them. Until now, we hadn’t seen first-hand just how on the spot they can be.”

The trio are convinced they’ve helped to make a breakthrough that has the potential for long-lasting impact.

And they have their own personal memories which will stay with them. In Lesa’s case, it’s not the social or cultural difference that’s uppermost. She said: “For me the special moment was being able to stand next to Typhoon in the hangar. Getting up close with the plane is what it’s all about.”

Womens’ Saudi visits make a big difference and a little bit of history

“EVERY DAY SINCE WE GOT BACK THERE HAS BEEN CONTINUED CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN US, WHICH IS VERY GOOD NEWS”

Bronze Chairman’s Award for Supporting

Our Total Performance Culture

Women in Saudi Arabian Industry Military Air & Information

ABOVE: LOUISE PEARCE (LEFT) AND LESA WARING WHO, TOGETHER WITH THEIR COLLEAGUE LYNDA REED, BROKE NEW GROUND IN SAUDI ARABIA FOR WOMEN EMPLOYEES



In October, BAE Systems Detica announced that the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)

had signed a framework contract for the company to manage all of the FCO’s IT suppliers around the world – improving and maintaining critical IT systems while reducing costs by up to 40 per cent.

The contract, the direct result of a BAE Systems Shared Services service integration project called Atlantis, is the first to be awarded under a new IT services procurement framework from the FCO.

It is a significant milestone in the company’s plans to establish itself as a leading IT service integrator, not least because the winning bidder may also be used by other public bodies. Detica forecasts the public sector market to

be worth about £150m a year.Martin Sutherland, Managing

Director of BAE Systems Detica, said: “We are drawing on the wider capability within BAE Systems, combining Detica’s proven delivery management and security expertise with the large-scale integrated service management processes of Shared Services.”

Project Atlantis was established in response to a request for a service integration capability from the company’s Executive Committee in 2011, and in its own right has delivered £8m in IT savings for the company.

In delivering its objectives – a more efficient, flexible and integrated IT service – the project also created a templated business architecture, which is transferable and applicable

to any form of service provision, not just IT.

Visitors to Enterprise IT Services (EITS) in Preston, including the CIO from the FCO and senior IT delivery staff from Department of Transport and Transport for London, have been impressed by the focus on customer service and continuous improvement.

EITS employees are now working within the FCO. Paul Goodens, Head of Service Operations for EITS, said that the Atlantis project is really showing dividends for the customer in its teams.

“We’re more than a year on from bringing in people from CSC – they understand how to operate IT processes and the BAE Systems people know how to manage customers. It makes for a really good mix for the FCO.”

Silver Chairman’s Award for Transferring

Best Practice

Atlantis Service Integration

Shared Services

ABOVE: DETICA MANAGING DIRECTOR MARTIN SUTHERLAND

ATLANTIS RISES TO CHALLENGE Success of project to deliver an IT service integration capability opens up business opportunities around the globe

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY


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Even before it won a Silver Chairman’s Award, a team from BAE Systems Electronic Systems

at Rochester in Kent was a double gold winner.

Rochester has been delivering primary flight computers (PFC) for the Boeing 777 since it entered service in 1995. Boeing continuously monitors supplier performance for on-time delivery and quality, and the Rochester team has been “gold,” achieving 100 per cent on time delivery, for the past five years.

Achieving 100 per cent quality, however, has proved to be more elusive. Then, for the first time in 18 years of continuous production of the PFC, the team hit gold standard in January of this year. Gold quality represents 12 months performance, 280 units, with absolutely no defects.

This was a remarkable turnaround on four years ago when it was accepted that the team would never achieve gold quality because there were always up to five returns in the system.

The push for perfection came from within the team, which includes original members who had worked on the development programme in the early 1990s. The team recognised that every issue highlighted during manufacture needed to be analysed and understood to provide and implement robust corrective action to remove the chance of the problem happening again.

In pursuit of perfection

programmes for the PFC.It’s a constant drive for perfection.

The Rochester team now has to maintain the performance level and continuous improvement continues on a daily basis. Excellent work with suppliers helps to capture and eradicate potential issues before they can leave the factory. The whole team works together to maintain the gold status.

Double gold recognition by Boeing allows the team to bid for future programmes with confidence. Its performance with the 777 PFC has played a key role in gaining the company access to other aircraft manufacturers, such as Embraer in Brazil and Bombardier in Canada.

Silver Chairman’s Award for Supporting


Double Gold Boeing 777 PFCElectronics Systems

Electronics Systems team delivers “double gold” to keep the world’s Boeing 777s flying

BELOW: THE BOEING 777. MORE THAN 3,400 PRIMARY FLIGHT COMPUTERS FROM ROCHESTER ARE SUPPORTING BOEING AND ITS CUSTOMERS AROUND THE WORLD

The Primary Flight Computer is the only fault-tolerant flight control computer in service. It remains innovative after 18 years of operation, providing fly-by-wire control of ailerons,

elevators, rudder, flaperons, spoilers and horizontal stabilisers. Rochester has now delivered 3,400 PFCs which are supporting Boeing and its customers worldwide.

Flying by wire for 18 years

By instilling a positive attitude in the team and through the application of continuous improvement, failures have been reduced to zero.

The long-term effort involved many disciplines within the business, including inwards goods, stores, procurement, production, quality, engineering, programme management, dispatch, export and the Seattle on-site office in the US.

Some of the actions taken were bold and involved returning to problem areas which had been previously investigated to see if the analysis was correct or if it could be improved even further. The introduction of an automated power supply test has saved time and reduced failures during equipment level testing.

Another initiative has been to challenge the vibration level used during environmental stress screening which has been used since 1995. Analysis determined that this may be causing one of the components to fail.

Innovative refresh solutions have embraced “design re-use” – adapting existing circuitry from other



Every idea has its day, and one developed about 20 years ago by the manufacturing engineering

team at BAE Systems at Salmesbury in Lancashire has now come into its own. Combined with a new process known as adaptive machining, the result will be a saving of £21m over the life of the F-35 programme.

The concept is known as “sticky fixtures” and, as Bob Greenhalgh, Manufacturing Engineering Manager Fabrications, explained, it is a simple way of holding a component in place while it is machined.

“The idea is a forest of posts of different heights on which a component sits,” said Bob. “We weren’t able to take advantage of it

until the advent of the nozzle bay door on the F-35, which is a piece that must be held in neutral (free state) while it is being machined. We apply an adhesive to the top of each post to keep the door in place and then we orientate a machining program to it.”

Previously, components such as the nozzle bay door were held in place by a vacuum fixture that used suction. However, the pressure involved carried the risk of deforming the component.

“Sticky fixture keeps everything in its free state so whatever the shape of the component it’s simply a case of orienting the program,” said Bob.

The sticky fixture concept was first developed about 20 years ago by Bob’s colleague, manufacturing engineer

A STICK-ON SUCCESS

New fixture will save £21m over the life of the F-35 programme

ABOVE: STICKY FIXTURE IS AN ADHESIVE APPLIED TO THE TOP OF EACH POST WHICH KEEPS THE NOZZLE BAY DOOR OF THE F-35 IN PLACE WHILE IT IS BEING MACHINED OPPOSITE PAGE: THE TEAM WITH THE “FOREST” OF POSTS, THE CHAMFERED EDGE OF THE NOZZLE BAY DOOR WHICH NO LONGER NEEDS TO BE FINISHED BY HAND, AND THE F-35

Malcolm Blount, who has since retired. Its existence also allowed the

concept of adaptive machining to be developed. One challenge the engineering team faced was the creation of a chamfer on the nozzle bay door. This has to be machined to a tolerance of plus or minus 0.125 mm (the door is plus or minus 0.5 mm).

“We had to come up with a solution that would take this into account,” said Bob. “The only thing we could think of was to morph the machining program according to the shape of the door.”

That was easier said than done until Dave Hiles, a fabrications manufacturing engineer, devised a system to make it work. “Malcolm, Dave, and the manufacturing

INNOVATIVE ENGINEERING

bit.ly/BAE-In-Focus


Silver Chairman’s Award for Innovation and Gold nomination

Adaptive Machining on Sticky Fixture

Military Air & Information

engineering team worked with an external partner, MSP, to develop the whole process,” added Bob.

Using the previous system – called bagpipe tools – it took up to two weeks to load and position the door, and a minimum of one fitter and an inspector to make sure it was the right shape. Meanwhile, before adaptive machining, the chamfer had to be finished off by hand filing, another time-consuming job.

Bob said: “The sticky fixture and adaptive machining bring numerous benefits. The automation has done away with the need for an inspector to oversee the process, there’s no need for a fitter to be involved with a hazardous activity – the chamfer edge is extremely sharp – and we’ve estimated that the time saving is 256 hours per door. The investment required in the necessary bagpipe tool system was £1m, but the sticky fixtures

are much more cost-effective and allow us to realise a saving of £840,000. Meanwhile, the 256 hours equates to around £21m saved over the life of the F-35 programme.”

Given the exciting potential of the sticky fixture and adaptive machining, the team has already raised three patent applications on the process, and Bob is exploring how it can be applied to different products and areas.

He said: “Inside the company, we can look at carbon fibre panels, and machining of certain features that are difficult to manufacture at the moment. There are external possibilities, too. For example, Formula 1 racing is one area where we see potential.”

Although it was held on the starting grid for several years, it seems that new conditions have combined to fire up the sticky fixture concept and it’s all set to motor ahead.

“THERE ARE EXTERNAL POSSIBILITIES, TOO. FORMULA 1 RACING IS ONE AREA WHERE WE SEE POTENTIAL”


INNOVATIVE ENGINEERING



Unlike his usual self, A.M. arrived for work trying to put on a smile and greet his

colleagues with the kindness and compassion that they had become accustomed to.

But it was hard for him. Worries about the financial hardship he was experiencing were upsetting A.M.’s daily routine, and distracting him from enjoying his work where he usually approached his job with creativity and innovation.

Around the world, people like A.M. are going through, or have gone through, a similar situation. All are dealing with their problems in their own unique way. For A.M., it meant having to tackle his hardship with all the means at his disposal until he was able to enjoy his life and work again.

However, help is now at hand for A.M. and others like him. BAE Systems Saudi Arabia has taken notice of the difficulties being experienced by some of its employees, and is offering them support through

the social solidarity fund, Khair. Khair started as an idea suggested

by some employees who felt the need to have a social fund in place to help to solve some of the problems that their colleagues were facing. Despite the idea being simple and modest, it soon grew in scale and popularity. As the programme expanded, two groups emerged with differing points of view. The first group saw charitable support work as an important and noble endeavour, especially when providing assistance for colleagues with whom they spent much of their day.

The other group, however, believed that this approach might create and encourage a culture of dependency on others by asking for help with financial matters. The idea swung between the opposing groups, who came from different backgrounds and cultures, but both agreed on the need for a culture of humanitarianism within the company.

The ball continued to roll between the two groups, and soon made its way to the company’s senior management, which blessed the idea and underscored that it was one of the foundations of working at BAE Systems Saudi Arabia.

The management formed a committee to establish a charity fund, and the members of the committee were cherry-picked from the two opposing groups so that they could examine how to present the idea in a way that was consistent with the company’s environment and the

culture of its employees. Following meetings and discussions with, and among, employees, the first draft was drawn

up, followed by a second and

then a third, until the

committee was able to settle on a number of goals.

These included the development of the principle of social solidarity, helping those employees in need of assistance to help meet their financial demands and providing employees with the opportunity to help each other within and outside the work environment.

The company launched the programme, which is funded partly by BAE Systems with the help of employee donations, to aid colleagues such as A.M. so they are able to provide for themselves and their families. This hopefully will allow them to return to work with peace of mind.

Participating in the Khair fund creates a family environment that fosters co-operation and camaraderie among its employees, encouraging them to participate in charity work.

BAE Systems Saudi Arabia takes pride in its pioneering and ongoing roles in the field of social responsibility. The company strives to maintain the spirit of taking the initiative and fostering co-operation that all employees enjoy.

A KHAIRING SOCIETYDr Abdullateef Al-Sheikh, Head of the Office of the CEO, Chief of Staff BAE Systems Saudi Arabia, and Head of Social Fund, explains how an idea to help troubled employees grew into a pioneering social solidarity initiative

What is Khair? The Employee Social Fund (Khair) provides financial support to employees who encounter difficulties through no fault of their own.

Khair will provide interest-free loans for non-executive employees based in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

DR ABDULLATEEF AL-SHEIKH



Employee Social Fund (Khair)BAE Systems Saudi Arabia

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

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Keeping the past afloat



Alma DoepelBAE Systems Australia

Heritage

The Alma Doepel is the last remaining Australian-built three-masted wooden coastal trading vessel, with more than a hundred years of history behind her. Built in 1903, she was used to sail around the Australian coast carrying goods such as timber, wheat and jam.

The ship, which is listed on the Australia Register of Heritage Vessels, is now undergoing major restoration to return her to a seaworthy condition so she can deliver sail training opportunities to young people.

That she will be able to do so has been made possible by a team of volunteers from BAE Systems Australia’s Williamstown shipyard in Melbourne and an “audacious” feat of engineering.

The schooner needed to be raised out of the water for extensive repairs to her wooden hull planking, and a barge/dock was purpose built for this operation. However, there were problems and a number of attempts to raise the vessel were unsuccessful.

The vessel’s owner, Sail & Adventure Limited, a not-for-profit company which has an extremely limited budget, could not afford a commercial docking, so an Alma Doepel volunteer approached

BAE Systems to request the use of Williamstown’s Alfred Graving Dock, itself heritage-listed, to “marry” the vessel and barge.

The BAE Systems team members were all volunteers who applied their skills to the difficult task of developing and implementing a practicable docking solution.

Nothing about this project had anything to do with the “day job”. The circumstances were absolutely unique and the technical challenges quite different from a routine commercial or defence docking. The barge/vessel combination gave many challenges, requiring initiative and ingenuity from the whole team before they were successful in floating the hull onto the barge.

ABOVE: WITH MORE THAN 100 YEARS OF TRADING ON THE HIGH SEAS BEHIND HER, THE ALMA DOEPEL IS GETTING A NEW LEASE OF LIFE AS A SAIL TRAINING VESSEL BELOW: THE HULL OF THE SCHOONER IN WILLIAMSTOWN’S ALBERT GRAVING DOCK, WAITING TO BE FLOATED ONTO ITS BARGE

When the ship was towed back to her restoration site in Melbourne’s Docklands, she was greeted by the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Robert Doyle, who said: “The City of Melbourne is proud to be supporting the restoration of the Alma Doepel and we are particularly proud of the audacious feat achieved today.

“A team of dedicated volunteers and maritime engineering experts spent the weekend preparing for what can only be described a monster move of a precious part of our country’s maritime history.”

In a note of appreciation to BAE Systems, Peter Harris, Alma Doepel Restoration Director, said: “Sail & Adventure Limited and all of the Alma Doepel crew and supporters have unreserved praise for the careful and professional way in which the ship docking was achieved.”

BAE Systems Australia assists in historic schooner’s restoration project



It should be no surprise that, on a structure as vast as the new Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier

under construction in Rosyth in Scotland, finding your way around ship can present a significant challenge.

As the biggest warship ever built for the Royal Navy, the carrier has more than 3,000 compartments spread out over 16,000 square metres – but, as a work in progress, there are no signposts to point you in the right

direction when you first board the ship. And with nine levels below the flight deck, as soon as you’re inside a metal box, you lose any possible access to a conventional GPS network.

That can quickly lead to confusion for finding your way around – with a subsequent loss in productivity if engineers and staff can’t locate their workplace.

Steve Brown, QEC Mission System Integration Manager, found out

FINDING THE RIGHT LEVEL

the scale of the problem when he and his boss were asked to go and examine a particular piece of electrical equipment.

“I wasn’t familiar with that particular place, so we grabbed an electrical engineer who’d been working there for three months and asked if he could show us,” said Steve. “We walked on board, but after 25 minutes we walked back off, not having been able to find that space, because the route

Revolutionary hand-held navigation system uses Quick Response code technology to help visitors navigate their way quickly and safely around the huge QE Class aircraft carrier

ABOVE: WITH NINE LEVELS BELOW THE FLIGHT DECK, FINDING YOUR WAY AROUND THE VAST AIRCRAFT CARRIER CAN BE CHALLENGING OPPOSITE: STEVE BROWN AND PHIL APPLEGATE USE A MOBILE PHONE WITH THEIR INNOVATIVE ROUTE-FINDING APPLICATION TO SCAN A QR CODE TO PINPOINT THEIR POSITION

DIGITAL INNOVATION

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the engineer had been using for the past four months had been blocked.

“It became painfully obvious that not only did this adversely affect our own team, but any of the suppliers who needed to go on board.”

The experience prompted Steve to think about a solution to help navigate more effectively on the aircraft carrier.

Although there was a deck layout map book in production which could be handed out in paper form, it still didn’t ensure you knew exactly where you were at any given point, or how to find the most efficient route between two areas.

Steve gave a verbal briefing to Phil Applegate, at that time on a graduate placement with BAE Systems having completed a BSc in IT at university. Phil set about developing a portable route-finding tool which could navigate around the ship, and soon came up with a system which uses Quick Response, or QR codes, located at key points within the ship to establish your current location. With some more development, the BAE Systems Platform Navigation system was born.

“The system uses a mobile phone handset to scan one of the QR codes to establish your current position, then you enter the required destination,” explained Phil, who is now QEC Infrastructure Integration Engineer. “Then the system uses route-finding logic based upon the ship’s deck layouts to establish safe pathways to your requested destination, navigating up and down stairs to other decks as required.”

The identified route is displayed on the handset and, if you lose your way again, then scanning the nearest QR code re-establishes your location and identifies the correct route.

BAE Systems Platform Navigation is especially useful in showing safe routes that avoid potentially hazardous areas, for example those which are under construction or prone to vehicle movements. The base-station allows the safe areas to be updated regularly, ensuring that each hand-held unit always has the best routes.

The application has the potential not only to improve navigation around a complex structure, but can also include functionality such as access to documentation relating to specific areas of the ship, or the ability to take photographs or notes relating to work in a specific location or on a piece of equipment.

Another example of a potential

BAE Systems Platform Navigation for the QEC Programme Maritime – Naval Ships


application that has already been identified is in the emergency service navigation of underground tunnel systems. They currently use sensitive GPS receivers which work up to two storeys below ground level, but have to rely on paper maps to find their way around in these complex environments as the tunnel systems go deeper.

BAE Systems Platform Navigation would allow the operators to scan a suitable code on the tunnel wall, establish their current location accurately and identify the safest and most efficient route to any desired location within the tunnel complex.

The BAE Systems Platform Navigation application of QR code scanning and three-dimensional route-finding within an enclosed structure is

now the subject of a BAE Systems patent application in the UK and Europe.

For Phil Applegate, the project has given him the satisfaction of seeing a concept go from planning to reality. “This has been fantastic, because at university you might work on projects which don’t really go anywhere,” he said. “But with Platform Navigation we’ve gone from proof of concept to prototype and now deployment testing.”


“THE SYSTEM USES ROUTE-FINDING LOGIC BASED UPON THE SHIP’S DECK LAYOUTS TO ESTABLISH SAFE PATHWAYS TO YOUR REQUESTED DESTINATION, NAVIGATING UP AND DOWN STAIRS TO OTHER DECKS”



The conversion of two BAe 146-200 QC (Quiet Convertible) aircraft for use by the Royal Air

Force has resulted in BAE Systems Regional Aircraft being shortlisted for a Gold Chairman’s Award, and has also secured one of the highest accolades from the customer – the Minister of Defence Equipment, Support and Technology (Min DEST) award.

The two aircraft, designated the BAe146 C Mk3 by the RAF, were handed over to the customer in February, on time and on budget, successfully closing a 14-month urgent operational requirement (UOR) project which saw the aircraft upgraded to military standards and converted for use in both troop transport and freight movement roles.

The aircraft join the existing two BAe146 CC Mk2 aircraft operated by 32 (The Royal) Squadron at RAF Northolt. Wing Commander Jon Beck, Officer Commanding 32 (The Royal) Squadron, said: “I am delighted that these two very capable aircraft have been added to the Squadron’s inventory.

“They will provide a welcome boost to our existing capability to support operations in Afghanistan and ensure that vital equipment and personnel get where they need to be, quickly and safely.”

Mark Taylor, Business Director – Engineering at Regional Aircraft, said: “As prime contractor, we were responsible for the design and integration of the equipment to be fitted to the aircraft, the sourcing of the equipment, management of the

supply chain and overall management of the conversion programme. From the outset, it was generally accepted that the 14-month schedule was tight, but we were able to deliver the aircraft on time, including an additional maintenance package required to enable the aircraft to be operated remotely from RAF Northolt.”

This UOR programme was also the first in which the Military Airworthiness Authority had been involved from the start in the approval of a new aircraft type and associated modifications.

The aircraft have been upgraded to include a Defensive Aids System including missile protection, flight deck armour and fuel tank inerting, Successor Identification Friend or Foe, military radios and satellite communications, plus a fire protection system in the baggage bays.

The BAe146-200 QC aircraft have a large freight door which enables a quick change from passenger to freight role, with two

FAST RATE OF CONVERSIONThe quick turnaround of two RAF aircraft, which can be used for troop or freight movements, has earned two top awards

“THEY CAN BE QUICKLY CONVERTED FROM A CARGO ROLE TO AN AIRLINER FOR NEARLY 100 PASSENGERS”

Silver Chairman’s Award for Enhancing

Customer Performance and Gold nomination

UK MOD BAe146 CMk3 UOR Project Delivery

Head Office/Regional Aircraft

ABOVE: PHILIP DUNNE, UK MINISTER FOR DEFENCE EQUIPMENT, SUPPORT AND TECHNOLOGY, AND WING COMMANDER JOHN BECK, OFFICER COMMANDING 32 (THE ROYAL) SQUADRON OPPOSITE: THE BAE 146-200 QC AIRCRAFT HAVE A LARGE FREIGHT DOOR WHICH ENABLES A QUICK CHANGE FROM PASSENGER TO FREIGHT ROLE

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further new modifications added to allow netted pallets or additional baggage stowage containers in the rear of the cabin.

As Philip Dunne MP, Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, noted: “These aircraft can be quickly converted from a cargo role for over ten tonnes of freight to an airliner for nearly 100 passengers. The aircraft can also operate from short runways, making them perfectly suited for operations around the world.”

Being shortlisted for a Gold Chairman’s Award is an achievement on its own, but the subsequent award from the MOD has been a real boost for the Regional Aircraft business.

The Min DEST award itself is the highest accolade within the MOD that an individual or team can receive for acquisition excellence, and the effort and commitment of all parties including BAE Systems Regional Aircraft, was cited as a major contribution to the success of the UOR programme.

Mark Taylor added: “I am obviously delighted that the whole team has been recognised for the achievement, which genuinely required all areas of the MOD and industry to work together.

“Within Regional Aircraft this was a real test of our engineering expertise,

our programme management, our innovation, and the commitment of our team to deliver.

“This project was successful because people worked together, and I am very proud of the part that the Regional Aircraft team played in delivering these aircraft to our customer.”

20 • INSPIRED WORK


“Delivering global exhibitions is often challenging, always exciting and never fails to inspire”Richard Humphreys, Corporate Events Project Officer

“BAE Systems Saudi Arabia takes pride in its pioneering and ongoing roles in the field of social responsibility”Dr Abdullateef Al-Sheikh, Chief of Staff, BAE Systems, Saudi Arabia

OUR STORIES OF INSPIRED WORK

INSPIRED WORK • 21

bit.ly/BAE-In-Focus

“For me, the special moment was being able to stand next to Typhoon in the hangar. Getting up close with the plane is what it’s all about”Lesa Waring, Supply Chain Specialist, Military Air & Information

“The programme exemplifies a history of strong performance that would not be possible without the dedicated employees who supported it.”Gordon Eldridge, Vice President and General Manager, Aerospace Solutions, US

“It’s an immensely proud moment for everyone at BAE Systems and we look forward to continuing our partnership with the Swedish and Norwegian customers”Lena Gillström, Managing Director, Weapon Systems, Sweden

OUR STORIES OF INSPIRED WORK


22 • STRATEGY IN ACTION 2013

International business

Exhibitions play a key role for BAE Systems, with the company having the opportunity to make a direct face-to-face connection with its customers and stakeholders in one single place.

Whether it’s on the scale of the giant football field-sized exhibition spaces for DSEi and the Farnborough International Airshow, or down to the 25-square-metre stands of the smaller regional shows, the environment always provides an opportunity for cross-regional and cross-functional communication.

Pulling together every element for about 16 international exhibitions, receptions and conferences every year is a huge challenge in itself – but it’s one that the experienced team

behind Group Business Development Corporate Events is used to tackling.

Richard Humphreys, Corporate Events Project Officer, has the satisfaction of seeing months of day-to-day planning transformed into a living, breathing, multi-sensory environment which puts the cutting-edge technology behind BAE Systems on display.

“Seeing a double-deck structure emerge from nothing but 2D drawings and bare concrete gives you a sense of accomplishment that’s hard to beat,” he said. “It’s also exciting to be responsible for showcasing BAE Systems to the world – and to see members of the armed forces presenting and demonstrating our products presents an invaluable level of credibility to our customers, promoting their trust in us.”

For Eva Keller, US-based Director, International Marketing Communications, organising the events and exhibitions also means working across different cultures and languages to pull every aspect of the show together.

“From the US perspective, we are exhibiting at more and more international events,” said Eva. “For example, we recently took part in the Aerospace and Defence Exhibition in Seoul, South Korea, where we worked closely with the local and regional office, the sectors, Plc and the local agency. We also communicated our key messages via advertising, media activities, and digital and social media, all in both English and Korean languages. When all the parties work together as a team, that’s the key to an event’s success.”

Not that organising exhibitions and events is always plain sailing, no matter the level of experience and local support available. In his time with the GBD Corporate Events team, Richard

Teamwork is the key to pulling off a successful event or exhibition to showcase BAE Systems’ capabilities

The world’s our stageABOVE: EVA KELLER AND RICHARD HUMPHREYS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR BRINGING THE WORK OF BAE SYSTEMS TO LIFE THROUGH INTERNATIONAL EVENTS AND EXHIBITIONS

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STRATEGY IN ACTION 2013 • 23

has had his fair share of unexpected scenarios to cope with.

“Some situations, you can anticipate and plan for,” he said. “Others are those smack-you-in-the-face surprises you can get when you are in an exhibition hall in a remote part of the world, and something totally unexpected happens.”

An example Richard remembers was an exhibition in Poland in 2009, where everything was going to plan until the exhibition centre caught fire the night before the event.

He said: “We worked closely with our primary stand-build contractor to come up with a Plan B. We raced round to put together an impromptu outdoor exhibit area in time for the start of the exhibition – and it was still successful. The agility and flexibility you need to demonstrate in problem solving is one of the most exciting aspects of the task.”

Wherever the exhibition happens to be taking place, organising the event also demands integrated marketing communications activities from BAE Systems Corporate Communications, Inc. and the respective communications leads within the business areas.

“Nothing is more important than speaking consistently with a unified message all the time, every time,” said Eva. “When we exhibit at these international events, we need to have market-tailored messages that support our priority campaigns in the region. Our presence ultimately needs to support our strategic objectives and we need to maximise our presence at these events by utilising various market-appropriate communications channels.”

Richard concluded by saying that if you thrive on hard work and adrenaline, the job is perfect “Delivering global exhibitions is often challenging, always exciting and never fails to inspire. Bring on the next one.”

Corvettes strengthen alliance with OmanInternational business

The UK and the Sultanate of Oman share a long alliance as seafaring nations. That relationship was further strengthened recently when BAE Systems handed over a new warship to the Royal Navy of Oman amid colourful celebrations at HM Naval Base Portsmouth.

Al Rahmani is the second of three 99-metre corvettes designed, built and delivered for the Royal Navy of Oman (RNO) as part of Project Khareef. Her interim acceptance, in which the ship’s title is transferred before sailing to Oman, marked an important milestone for the project.

The formal handover ceremony on 30 October was attended by BAE Systems employees and VIPs from the Royal Navy of Oman and the Royal Navy who watched her crew board the vessel and raise the Ensign of the Royal Navy of Oman on the ship’s flight deck for the first time.

Mick Ord, Managing Director of BAE Systems Maritime – Naval Ships, said: “The delivery of these three

corvettes now has a real momentum behind it, which is testament to the strong partnership we have built with the Royal Navy of Oman and the dedication of everyone on the project.”

Portsmouth’s iconic Spinnaker Tower joined the celebrations by lighting up in Oman’s national colours over the city in which Al Rahmani was constructed.

BAE Systems will now support Al Rahmani’s crew as they complete Flag Officer Sea Training with the Royal Navy

before departing on a 3,000 mile delivery voyage to Oman. The ship will then complete final hot weather trials, during which the ship will demonstrate her ability to perform in temperatures in excess of 45 degrees celsius.

The first vessel in the class, Al Shamikh, which was handed over in June, has now arrived in Oman, while the third ship, Al Rasikh, is scheduled for handover in the first half of 2014.

Al Shamikh was officially welcomed into the RNO on 6 October, in an inauguration ceremony at the Said bin Sultan Naval Base in Wudam. En route from the UK, Al Shamikh conducted Oman’s first live firing of the MBDA VL Mica surface-to-air missile system. She was the first warship in the world to fire the system. It has previously only been fired from land.

The Khareef Class corvettes are equipped to defend against both surface and air threats with stealth features to operate undetected, an innovative hull design and electric propulsion to provide exceptional manoeuvrability.

“NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN SPEAKING CONSISTENTLY WITH A UNIFIED MESSAGE ALL THE TIME, EVERY TIME”



When Artful, the UK’s latest Astute-class submarine, was unveiled at her naming

ceremony, John Hudson, who was Managing Director of BAE Systems Maritime – Submarines at the time, told the thousands of guests at Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria: “The design and build of a nuclear-powered submarine is as challenging as it is complex, so today represents a significant milestone in Artful’s programme.

“It requires real skill and innovation to deliver submarines as sophisticated as Artful and this would not have been possible without the valued contribution of our employees and the collaborative efforts of the whole submarine enterprise.”

Here, just three of the hundreds of local employees involved tell of their pride and satisfaction at being part of the Artful story.

Kevin CritchleyHead of Project, Artful

“The sense of pride that you have when you see a submarine being named, and eventually the pleasure of taking a submarine out to sea which is what they’re designed for, is fantastic for me. It’s fantastic for the team, and a pleasure to be involved in.”

Kevin co-ordinates 800 people who work across different departments to design the submarine, construct it and test and commission its systems before it goes out to sea trials.

He has worked in Barrow’s shipyard since he was 16, when he joined the business as an apprentice draughtsman. He was project manager of HMS Ambush in the lead-up to her exit from Barrow and during sea trials.

Kevin said: “After 25 years of project management on nuclear-powered submarines, I never cease to be amazed at the complexity of the product our business delivers and the skills and special qualities

of our employees. When Artful launches, she will do so to a higher standard and greater level of finish than any previous nuclear submarine produced within this shipyard. That increased level of finish will continue throughout the water-borne test and commissioning phase, prior to exit from Barrow.

“On a personal note, I’ve been very fortunate to sail on HMS Vengeance and HMS Ambush during their sea trials. To be able to stand on the bridge fin of a Barrow-built nuclear submarine, sailing between Scotland and Northern Ireland having just left Faslane naval base, encourages a huge feeling of pride in what we do. It is an opportunity I wish every one of our employees could enjoy, but unfortunately it can’t be done.

“Please take my word for it, be very proud of what you do, take care in what you do and ensure the quality is kept to the high standard we require. While the product is special, so are the people who sail in it, and their lives depend on us getting the job right.”

WE ARE ARTFULThe UK’s third Astute-class submarine is the source of huge pride for a whole community

Naming nod to community

‘Artful’s standard will be the highest yet’

When Artful was officially named, it was not with the traditional smashing of champagne, but with a bottle of beer from a Cumbrian brewery, recognising the local community’s role in the UK’s submarine programme.

The ceremony was performed by Lady Amanda Zambellas, wife of the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir George Zambellas, inside the shipyard’s

Devonshire Dock Hall. Admiral Zambellas said: “Today’s naming ceremony for Artful adds another capable nuclear submarine to the gathering momentum in the Astute class. Ahead of her, HMS Astute and HMS Ambush are already being pressed hard towards operational use.”

The 7,400 tonne submarine is expected to be rolled out of the hall early next year.

ARTFUL’S NAMING CEREMONY IN THE VAST DEVONSHIRE DOCK HALL

HEAD OF PROJECT KEVIN CRITCHLEY IN

BARROW’S DEVONSHIRE DOCK HALL WHERE THE SUBMARINES ARE BUILT

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Sharon PyattProject manager on Artful

“The naming ceremony is a huge celebration for the team and myself for all the hard work that we’ve done over time to get to the state that the boat is in today. It’s an amazing feeling and such a reward to see it.”

Sharon has worked at BAE Systems for five years and progressed to her current role after joining as a Principal Project Engineer.

She started her career in the shipyard at the age of 16 as a procurement records clerk and returned to the company after a 17-year gap to experience a different set of challenges and develop her career.

She said: “Before joining BAE Systems, my highest qualification was an NVQ level 4 in management

but since then, the company has invested in my development and I’ve achieved one of my life goals – I’ve gone to university and have gained a post-graduate certificate in applied project management.

“It’s an amazing experience being part of such a vast, cross-functional team. As a project manager, it’s my job to get individuals and teams from different departments to work together to achieve the same goal – to complete Artful to the best possible standards, and get her out to sea.

“For me, the best project managers don’t have to have lots of technical skills or knowledge. They need ‘softer’ skills such as good communication, team working, problem solving and stakeholder management to get the best out of people.

“The most enjoyable part of my job is achieving our targets.”

Hannah ScholesMechanical fitter who is in the third year of her apprenticeship

“I’m really excited to be part of such an amazing project and I’m really proud of the Artful team for taking the time out to teach and train me about such a complex product.”

Hannah joined BAE Systems Maritime – Submarines three years ago after completing her GCSEs. She first realised she wanted to work for the company when she came on a “Take your sons and daughters to work” day with her mum, and for the first time saw inside the fascinating buildings in the shipyard .

She then arranged to do a work experience placement and originally applied to become a design apprentice in 2010. Now, she’s nearing the end of her three-year apprenticeship to become a mechanical fitter, responsible for building systems and installing them in the submarine.

She worked as part of the Boat 3 team on the nuclear reactor. As it was in its latter stage of the build,

Hannah helped the Quality Control department to inspect pipe systems that had been installed to ensure they were of the highest possible standards.

Her apprenticeship has also opened doors to extra activities, which include being part of the Submarines Apprentice Council, and the Barrow site representative on the National Council. She also joined Prince’s Trust students once a week on their 12-week course. Hannah said: “We did various activities, including Outward Bound, and it was a good experience to talk to the students and encourage them to come into the business for employment or to go back to college.”

Hannah has also been a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) ambassador and has been involved in going into local schools to encourage school leavers into the industry.

She continued: “I would like to do a degree, but will have to see how things go. I certainly see my future here, as I do enjoy the variety of work and I’m very proud of the product.”

‘Such a reward for all the hard work’

‘I certainly see my future here’



The digital revolution is well under way at BAE Systems. A sophisticated approach to

social media and our websites is allowing the company to provide tailored communications to different audiences and essential support to strategic goals.

Dean Clarke, Digital Communications Manager, is the person behind the new strategy. He explained: “When I joined Head Office,

there was a great opportunity to shape our digital services in a way that would bring us closer to our different audiences, from our own people to overseas governments.”

To achieve this, Dean developed a strategy known as “fix, focus and grow”. The fixing involved basic elements such as reducing the overall number of Twitter accounts (cut from 54 to eight), setting up a Facebook presence and recreating the

BAE Systems channel on YouTube. “In the focus stage, we had to think hard, understand our audiences and who uses the different channels and how,” said Dean. “Then, we had to tailor our input to those channels, the content we add and our tone of voice – what we say and how we say it.

“It became clear that Facebook is a place for employees and brand enthusiasts, YouTube is principally for product enthusiasts, Twitter is for politicians, governments and NGOs, and the BAE Systems website is used by everybody.”

Finally came the efforts to grow. Dean outlined that, as well as having more focused channels with relevant content, this also involves using techniques such as search engine optimisation to increase traffic on the BAE Systems website.

He said: “Crucially, we are not pursuing false growth – it’s simple to entice people to your website if you run a competition with an

Now trending… BAE SystemsNew digital strategy is revolutionising the way we communicate

ABOVE: DEAN CLARKE, DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER

bit.ly/BAE-In-Focus


Arabic success Following the success in Brazil, and with eyes firmly fixed on the goal to grow international business, an Arabic section of BAE Systems

website was launched in September.Dean Clarke said: “Thanks to

our efforts in Brazil, we knew we could create geographically relevant content and we were keen to construct a platform for our Saudi business and customer.

“First, a great deal of work was

done on the basics of the site, such as making it read from right to left and installing Arabic lettering. Then we had to focus on appropriate content. Again, we had to respect the area’s cultural norms.”

The site is run solely by the

BAE Systems team in Saudi Arabia and Dean is encouraged by initial signs. “Saudi has become our third-largest audience on the website after the US and UK. We used to have about 4,000 visits a month – that figure is already up to 16,000.”

Virtual world – hard facts

The new digital strategy has delivered many benefits:• Annual cost saving of £240k

through rationalising channels and using more open-source and collaborative solutions

• 44% growth in traffic to BAE Systems website

• Twitter followers up 125%• Twitter engagement (retweets)

up 85%• YouTube views up 485%• Corporate website ranked 6th

in the FTSE 100 by Sociagility and Investis

• Six internal and industry awards• Delivered international foreign

language campaigns driving up traffic from outside UK and US markets by 26%

• New Facebook page generating benchmark engagement levels for a page of its size (23% versus 2% norm)

attractive prize. Our approach is based on meaningful and sustainable engagement – shared value.”

Strategic actionsEverything Dean does is focused on the company’s strategic actions. To support the growth of international business he has devised a new approach to international digital communications.

“We first tried this method in Brazil,” he said. “We worked with our business development colleagues and in-country agencies to develop an entire communications offering around our brand. We had to take into account the nuances of operating in that region. For example, in Brazil no one talks business on social media.

“Our efforts proved successful. When the LAAD 2013 trade show in Rio de Janeiro took place in April, our new pages were the seventh most popular on our website, getting tens of thousands of views.”

Many usesBecause digital platforms now impact almost every aspect of our lives, digital communication has many uses, and Dean is able to help almost all areas of the BAE Systems business.

In another project that involved recruiting people with scarce skills – engineers who could contribute to the Maritime – Submarines business in Barrow-in-Furness in the UK.

“Through Shared Services and AMS, we developed a comprehensive campaign that conveyed the idea to potential recruits that they would be part of a vast and complex engineering project,” he explained. “We created a video showing a submarine deconstructing itself until all that’s left is one single bolt, which lands in your hand. It was a simple message – the power is in your hands.”

The campaign included attendance at careers and graduate fairs, credit card-sized video packs inserted into engineering magazines, and “augmented reality” techniques that

allowed people to see the video if they held their mobile phone or tablet up to a specific magazine article or poster.

The end result was impressive – recruiting all of the people required in record time, while the campaign went on to win six industry awards.

It’s clear that as the virtual world continues to grow, every business must adapt or risk its future success. Dean Clarke is determined BAE Systems will have the foundations that allow it to prosper in the digital age.

ABOVE: A VIDEO OF A SUBMARINE DECONSTRUCTING INTO A SINGLE BOLT, WHICH LANDS ON A HAND, WAS USED TO SHOW POTENTIAL RECRUITS THAT THE POWER IS IN THEIR HANDS



When BAE Systems Australia signed a five-year contract with the low-cost airline

Tigerair in September, it provided the validation for a dramatic – and, some might say, risky – venture into the commercial airline maintenance market.

The initial proposition to take on commercial aviation maintenance first came about when BAE Systems Australia bought Tenix Defence Systems in 2008. A hangar at Melbourne International Airport – also known as Tullamarine – came as part of the deal, but BAE Systems was unsure how best to use the high-value commodity.

Paul Crocker, Project Manager for BAE Systems, was able to cover the costs of the hangar by winning a contract for the ground-handling of VIP aircraft. That business not only attracted some high-profile visitors, from the Australian Prime Minister to the Queen, but it also

brought interest from a number of commercial airlines looking for a reliable provider of overnight maintenance on their aircraft.

Brad Yelland was Head of Strategy and Business Development for BAE Systems Australia at the time, and he admits that the move from the world of defence to private commercial airlines was a massive step.

“The biggest challenge we had to address was that we didn’t have a clue how to do business with a commercial airliner,” he said.

“We didn’t even know how much we didn’t know.”

The first job came with Jetstar, the low-cost airline run by Australian flag carrier Qantas, but after a year’s work the company decided not to continue its relationship with BAE Systems.

“It was a learning curve all the way, and the truth is that we failed at first with Jetstar,” said Brad.“Partly, it was an issue of understanding how to turn our military aircraft maintenance

Australia catches a tiger by the tailFive-year commercial aircraft maintenance contract is a roaring success in Melbourne

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business into a commercial world, where there are different contracting processes to deal with and different cost pressures.

“The key to our continued success was that we learned very quickly from our experience and adapted accordingly.”

The learning process, which was implemented by the Aerospace and AIMS (Aircraft Integration and Maintenance Support) lead team, paid off with the deal to take on Tigerair’s overnight maintenance, and interest from a number of other airlines keen to talk about BAE Systems providing their maintenance work.

The contract with Tigerair has led to an extra 20 jobs based out of the hangar in Melbourne, with a projection of well over 100 more new employees necessary over the next ten years as the commercial airline business continues to grow.

The deal also makes BAE Systems the first company in Australia to start an independent commercial aircraft maintenance operation from a greenfield site.

Before the work started in October, the company had also achieved the required Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) 145 accreditation

to deliver line maintenance up to and including A-checks for the A319/A320/A321 family of aircraft.

“Our strategy has always been to expand the commercial maintenance work,” said Brad. “But we are also looking at how we can leverage that to increase and improve the work we do in defence.”

Brad highlighted the role played not only by the employees carrying out the maintenance work in the hangar, but also by the management of BAE Systems Australia in believing in the business plan over the long term, and not only in terms of success or failure, in the first venture into this new world.

“We were encouraged by David Allott, Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of BAE Systems Australia, who was very enthusiastic about looking at this as a total business case over the next ten years or so.”

The plan was also supported by Peter Fielder, Managing Director for Performance Excellence, recalled Brad.

“He advised us how we could reduce our costs by developing a long-term business case and not to try to write off all our investment on the first contract. It was that advice which helped us to win the Tigerair contract.”

ABOVE AND LEFT: THE CONTRACT WITH TIGERAIR HAS LED TO AN EXTRA 20 JOBS BASED OUT OF THE HANGAR IN MELBOURNE, WITH A PROJECTION OF MORE THAN 100 NEW EMPLOYEES NECESSARY DURING THE NEXT TEN YEARS AS THE COMMERCIAL AIRLINE BUSINESS CONTINUES TO GROW

“THE KEY TO OUR CONTINUED SUCCESS WAS THAT WE LEARNED VERY QUICKLY FROM OUR EXPERIENCE AND ADAPTED ACCORDINGLY”



“THE SCANNING HAS REVEALED THE EXTRAORDINARY WORKMANSHIP THAT WENT INTO HMS VICTORY”

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Innovation

HMS Victory is a living treasure, revered as the flagship of the First Sea Lord, and the world’s oldest naval ship which is still in commission.

Launched in 1765, HMS Victory is most famous as Lord Nelson’s flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. She attracts more than 300,000 visitors each year to the Royal Naval Dockyard at Portsmouth, where she has been preserved as a museum ship since 1922 when she was moved to the dry dock.

In 2011, BAE Systems was awarded the contract to manage the ongoing preservation of the ship, which is owned by the National Museum of the Royal Navy. Now, engineers from BAE Systems are helping to reveal the secrets of the grand old warship, by using ground-breaking 3D laser- imaging techniques to virtually peel back her layers and examine the ship’s bare bones.

The first phase of the laser scanning has now been used to construct a digital model containing the details of every piece of timber and iron in its construction – which adds up to approximately 80,000 components.

Each and every component now has its position, dimensions, material, record of replacement and condition embedded to provide a database for the long-term conservation of the ship.

“Our goal has always been to preserve HMS Victory for future generations,” explained John O’Sullivan, Shipwright and BAE Systems Project Manager for HMS Victory.

“That means we’re not just looking at the next ten or 20 years but the long-term future. And by using this technology, we can take the ship ‘virtually’ to pieces through the scanning, right down to its smallest element – every nut, bolt and screw – and then work out how it all goes back together again.”

The 3D scanning programme has helped build up an “intelligent model” of the complete ship, which represents a major advance in the approach to the management of historic structures.

As further restoration is carried out by BAE Systems using the intelligent model as a template, a record of the work will be added. The work is based on industry standard software that, with regular updates, will ensure the continuing development of the intelligent model as a tool for the preservation of the ship in the future.

“The scanning will give us a database, with all these thousands of items, so that when you go into the model, it will then give you all the

information you need to know about that element,” said John.

“For instance it could be that the piece of timber that we’re looking at is 150 years old, we know what it was made of, and we can see the ‘race’ marks, which are marks the shipwrights put on timbers to identify what they were working on and when it was being worked on. The intelligent model will also say what repairs have taken place over the years, and what material was used to make any repair.”

The technology is also helping to uncover the level of craftsmanship which went into building HMS Victory in the mid-18th century.

“The scanning has revealed the extraordinary workmanship which went into the construction of HMS Victory,” said John. “The ship’s structure is incredibly complex, but this laser mapping and the ongoing structural analysis allows us to understand the work, and make sure we preserve it for future generations to appreciate.”

Laser mapping peels back layers of Victory’s history

ABOVE: THEN AND NOW – LORD NELSON’S FLAGSHIP WITH A BAE SYSTEMS-BUILT TYPE 45 DESTROYER IN THE BACKGROUND AT PORTSMOUTH BELOW: THE LASER SCANNING HAS BEEN USED TO BUILD A DIGITAL MODEL OF THE “BONES” OF THE SHIP



It may look like a board game you pull out on a family game night, but it’s actually a serious business

education tool for BAE Systems employees at Fort Wayne in Indiana.

The Electronic Systems (ES) site’s Business Model Simulation class is a visual, fast and fun finance experience that demonstrates how the daily decisions we each make affect cash flow, profitability and, more importantly, the customer.

“Everyone goes through this class, whether they build products on the manufacturing floor or engineer new products in the product development area,” said Bob Hoffman, Director of Operations for ES’s Commercial Aircraft Solutions business and Fort Wayne site executive. “The power of understanding the business is enormous.”

Bob introduced the simulation to Fort Wayne employees two years ago after looking for this type of training for several years. It was developed by Andromeda Training, and tailored to mirror the language and business dynamics of ES to make it more applicable to real life in the sector’s business.

The simulation focuses on developing business insight – getting a big-picture understanding of how business works, and a broader awareness of the impact of personal decisions on the business. It offers a visualised approach to the tricky world of corporate financial information, showing the balance sheet and income

statement as a single landscape of interacting forces.

“It’s a great programme that engages you with a high-level look at how a company operates, and a better appreciation for the decisions that companies make,” said Jason Reichard, an Operations associate.

Teams of two to four people operate their own business during four business cycles. Through the cycles, decisions are made on buying

SERIOUS FUN AT BOARD LEVEL

ABOVE: THE BUSINESS MODEL SIMULATION DREW THE ATTENTION OF BAE SYSTEMS CHIEF EXECUTIVE IAN KING DURING A VISIT TO MEET ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS EMPLOYEES IN FORT WAYNE, INDIANA, EARLIER THIS YEAR

materials and inventory management, payment terms for payables and receivables, wages and expenses, hiring and training new employees, and how to invest in and improve the business.

“Well-informed and educated employees are engaged employees, and those employees make better decisions for the business,” said Bob Hoffman.

According to Bob, the class has resulted in year-over-year

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Simulation game encourages employees to learn about the tricky world of corporate finance

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Intelligence & Security President DeEtte Gray launched a campaign to invigorate the sector’s culture and better connect with its people

Employee events leave them wanting moreDeEtte Gray wanted to talk business strategy with her employees -- but more than that, she wanted to engage with them in a meaningful and memorable way.

The result was a series of “Get Engaged” events throughout 2013, where DeEtte discussed the sector’s strategy and performance and the business and functional areas set up “fun stations” resembling trade show booths to describe the business in an engaging way.

Everyone rose to the challenge.The first event was held in February in

McLean, Virginia, at the sector’s headquarters. More than 500 employees from across the Washington D.C. area turned out.

The ballroom where the fun stations were located was full during the entire three-hour event. Prizes were given out four times throughout the event.

The Senior Leadership Team members were easily recognisable in their light-up lanyards, and they were challenged by DeEtte to meet as many employees as possible.

In May, the theme for the second event at the sector’s San Diego campus was “Remember. Honor. Support” in support of the National Military Appreciation Month campaign in I&S. One group collected food items for the local Fisher House for military families, and another brought in a dunk tank and raised money for Fisher House. More than 50 per cent of the campus population turned out for the event.

In September, a smaller version of the Get

Engaged Event was held in St. Louis, Missouri, where the sector has about 95 employees. DeEtte and several members of her leadership team attended the event.

The final Get Engaged Event for 2013 was held in Arlington, Virginia, in October. The event was held the same week as the government shutdown took effect. However, about 400 employees, including many who weren’t able to go to work, turned out for the event.

The theme was “I&S Game Day”, and employees were encouraged to wear gear to show their support for their favourite football team. Everyone working at fun stations wore BAE Systems jerseys, and the Senior Leadership Team wore referee striped shirts as they were judging the fun stations.

The feedback received from employees after each event was overwhelmingly positive and frequently included comments like “We want more events like these!”

improvements in cost reduction, quality and profitability at Fort Wayne.

Typically, a third party conducts the class, but Bob believed the best way to capture the culture was to have classes run by ES employees. The trainers now include team leads and engineers, people who already have full-time jobs.

“Using people who already understand the business helps to legitimise the classes,” said Ryan Zigler, senior process engineer. Ninety per cent of Fort Wayne employees have gone through the four-hour class since its introduction two years ago.

The concept so intrigued BAE Systems, Inc. CEO Linda Hudson during a visit to Fort Wayne that she felt her leadership team would benefit from participating in it. A couple of months later, Bob and Ryan took the simulation on the road to Arlington, Virginia, and 17 members of the CEO’s team. Bob saw it as a great opportunity for Fort Wayne to share one of its innovative best practices.

Every employee – white collar or blue collar, manager or individual contributor – can learn by using this tool, according to Linda Hudson.

“The Business Model Simulation is one of the most impressive tools I’ve ever encountered for helping employees better comprehend how our business works and the trade-offs that accompany every decision a leader makes,” said Linda. “Yes, it’s a game, and it’s a lot of fun. But it’s so much more.”

“THE POWER OF UNDERSTANDING THE BUSINESS IS ENORMOUS”

ABOVE: DEETTE JOINS IN THE FUN WITH AL CREWS (LEFT), VICE PRESIDENT AND I&S CHIEF COUNSEL, AND DON MORRISON, SECTOR CONTRACTS VICE PRESIDENT, WHO DONNED THE FAKE MOUSTACHES AS A GAG LEFT: ARLINGTON EMPLOYEES AT THE “I&S GAME DAY” EVENT

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT



International business

For more than 60 years, BAE Systems has worked with government, military and industry partners to serve India’s armed forces and provide them with the defence equipment and technology needed to build a modern defence capability.

The company and its predecessor businesses have a long history and association with all three of the country’s services – the army, the navy and the air force – dating back to the pre-independence era.

BAE Systems’ heritage with India’s aviation industry and the Indian Air Force (IAF) is particularly rich.

The longstanding partnership with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on the India Hawk has been described by Guy Griffiths, Group Managing Director, International, as “the most outstanding example of technology transfer that has been seen in India in the defence and security domain”.

BAE Systems has worked closely with the Indian MOD and HAL to establish a production line in India where the Hawk aircraft are assembled.

The Sea Harrier, which pioneered the short take-off and vertical landing for jet aircraft, was bought by the

When it all beganThe Indian Air Force was originally formed in the 1930s and there is a long and proud association between India and the RAF. This extends to aircraft manufacture and many UK aircraft have seen service in India, including many military aircraft with BAE Systems links.

In 1932, the Independent Air Force was formed by the Indian Air Force Act. Before then it had been an Auxiliary Air Force of the RAF. The

first pilots started their training in 1930 at RAF Cranwell and were commissioned in 1932.

Indian partnership reaches new heights

New customer for the Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer

Indian Navy in 1980 and BAE Systems continues to support them.

Continuing this legacy, most recently the Indian Navy inducted the first batch out of the 17 Hawk Advanced Jet Trainers (AJTs) it has ordered, becoming the third naval operator of the Hawk along with the Royal Navy and the US Navy.

These 17 aircraft form part of a contract for 57 aircraft signed in 2010, of which 40 are for the IAF. Among the Hawk’s 18 customers worldwide, India is the largest operator with 123 aircraft ordered to date, of which more than 70 have been delivered to the IAF.

It was a proud moment for the company when, at an impressive ceremony in November at the Indian

Naval Air Station INS Dega, Admiral DK Joshi, Chief of the Naval Staff, presided over the induction of the first four Hawk AJTs.

The Indian Navy said: “The induction of this highly capable aircraft will provide the much needed boost to the training of combat pilots in the Navy by bridging the gap between basic flying training and advanced fighter flying. The Hawk will provide naval pilots with an ideal platform to hone their skills before they graduate to flying high performance aircraft and carrier-based fighter jets.”

Guy Griffiths said: “The introduction of the Hawk to a new user is a momentous occasion, and further testimony to the aircraft’s global success.

“This marks another significant milestone in our long-standing partnership with HAL which has established a track record operating a world-class Hawk production capability. We are committed to strengthening our relationship with HAL and exploring long-term sustainable business opportunities, globally.”

ABOVE: HAL HANDS OVER THE FIRST HAWK TO THE INDIAN NAVY

THE DE HAVILAND DH100 VAMPIRE WITH ITS AN UNORTHODOX TWIN-BOOM DESIGN WITH A SINGLE ENGINE, WAS JUST ONE OF MANY UK AIRCRAFT TO HAVE SEEN SERVICE WITH THE IAF

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2014 will be the year of BAE Systems Applied Intelligence. The new identity, which has emerged from the re-positioning of BAE Systems Detica, comes fully into its own from 31 January, bringing with it a solid customer focus ethos.

As Chief Marketing Officer Morag Lucey outlined, the creation of Applied Intelligence marries the strengths and stature of Detica with those of BAE Systems, and does so in a way that speaks directly to customers, addressing their needs and priorities.

“As we go into the commercial market we are articulating what Detica was famous for and linking that very closely with BAE Systems in a language that is customer focused. As a result, BAE Systems will be seen as a provider of protection for the physical world and the virtual world.

“The stakes are changing in the market and threats are coming from the rise of technology and mobile devices – who better than BAE Systems to be in the forefront of protecting commercial entities that are part of the critical national infrastructure?”

Main marketsApplied Intelligence has several main markets. They include communications service providers who need to protect their own network and confidential customer information they hold. At the same time they have to help their customers protect their own information.

The financial sector, particularly banking insurance and capital markets, requires protection against those who use sophisticated cyber security techniques to steal

cash, intellectual property or valuable information.

Utility companies must protect their systems from electronic intruders, as well as keep clients’ information safe and secure. And, of course, all forms of government have systems and data that must be kept under digital lock and key.

New lookAddressing those markets has meant the introduction of a new look and feel. “We must look innovative,” added Morag.

“We are on the leading edge of a sector that’s moving faster than any other. We have to acknowledge and reflect that, and reinforce our standing.”

Changes have been phased in over the past few months. The DSEi exhibition in September saw the first use of the new Applied Intelligence identity. “It was very well accepted,” said Morag. “A lot of people were very excited by our approach – among

THE APPLIANCE OF INTELLIGENCE

other things using new technology to tell our story.”

It’s not only the outside world that’s seeing the new face of Applied Intelligence. Morag added: “From an internal point of view our aim is to build a community. To some extent, Detica became the identity of the previous company by default. In fact, that business was made up of many different entities. The creation of Applied Intelligence is allowing us to build a community under the BAE Systems banner.

“The business has been part of BAE Systems for five years and this is the next step in the journey. I believe people understand the need to for this step and they’re excited about the way we will position ourselves as a market leader.”

The advantages have already made themselves felt in the commercial world. “We have won more deals and bigger because we are BAE Systems – that shows the strength of an £18bn company,” said Morag.

With those assets providing the foundation for the future, the next 12 months promise to be a time of opportunity for the newly unleashed business.

The new year brings with it a new identity that will put BAE Systems at the forefront in several key markets

ABOVE: BAE SYSTEMS APPLIED INTELLIGENCE CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER MORAG LUCEY SAYS THE COMPANY IS ON THE LEADING EDGE OF A SECTOR THAT IS MOVING FASTER THAN ANY OTHER BELOW: THE NEW APPLIED INTELLIGENCE IDENTITY MADE ITS FIRST APPEARANCE AT THE DSEI EXHIBITION IN LONDON IN SEPTEMBER

CYBER, INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY



Customer

When BAE Systems’ Paladin Integrated Management (PIM) programme passed a significant milestone in October during the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting and Exposition, the convention centre in Washington D.C. certainly knew all about it.

Colonel Bill Sheehy, Program Manager for the Armored Brigade Combat Team, climbed onto the BAE Systems PIM display vehicle and announced to the show the Milestone C approval from the Defense Acquisition Executive, the agreement needed to move forward to the production phase.

Within a matter of days, another milestone was chalked up when BAE Systems received the formal contract award, worth up to $688m, from the US Army to begin low-rate initial production (LRIP).

The first large acquisition category programme in more than a decade to move into LRIP through the Army’s acquisition process, the PIM

programme is a significant upgrade of the M109A6 Paladin self-propelled howitzer, restoring space, weight, and power-cooling, while providing growth potential for emerging technologies.

Mark Signorelli, Vice President and General Manager for Combat Vehicles, said: “The Milestone C announcement became a major event during AUSA because it happened in the BAE Systems booth.

“Our customer, Colonel Sheehy, actually got up on our PIM display vehicle to announce the decision to the whole show floor in a move that highlighted the partnership between the programme office and BAE Systems in a way that nothing else could.”

Mark added: “The award is a significant milestone for both BAE Systems and the US Army. The PIM team, the programme office, BAE Systems, and our suppliers have been working co-operatively throughout the engineering, manufacturing, and development phase of the programme to ensure that the Army will field a highly capable howitzer on time and below budget.”

The initial contract was awarded for the base term, valued at approximately $195m. During this period, BAE Systems will produce 18.5 vehicle sets — 19 PIM howitzers and 18 PIM Carrier, Ammunition, Tracked vehicles. Through future options, the Army intends to purchase a total of 66.5 vehicle sets plus spares, kits and technical documentation for a total contract value of $688m.

The PIM design includes a new chassis, engine, transmission, suspension, steering system, and improved survivability, while the vehicle’s cannon remains the same as that of the Paladin. These upgrades leverage common mobility components of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, reducing life-cycle and obsolescence costs.

“PIM will be a significant leap forward for the Field Artillery in terms of tactical mobility and force protection,” said Adam Zarfoss, Director of Artillery Programs at BAE Systems. “Additionally, by incorporating the latest technology for power generation and management ... PIM positions the Army for the longer term with a platform well suited for growth.”

Work on the contract is expected to begin immediately, with delivery of the first vehicle in mid-2015. Vehicle production will take place in York, Pennsylvania, and Elgin, Oklahoma.

Show of approval for PIM contract

“PIM WILL BE A LEAP FORWARD FOR THE FIELD ARTILLERY IN TERMS OF TACTICAL MOBILITY AND FORCE PROTECTION”

ABOVE: ATOP THE BAE SYSTEMS PALADIN DISPLAY VEHICLE, COLONEL BILL SHEEHY HOLDING THE ACQUISITION DECISION MEMORANDUM, WHICH PAVED THE WAY FOR THE PRODUCTION CONTRACT, WITH LT. COLONEL. MICHAEL ZAHURANIC, PRODUCT MANAGER FOR SELF-PROPELLED HOWITZER SYSTEMS

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Customer

It was a night of fond memories, heartfelt reunions, a few bittersweet tears, and, most important, pride in a job well done.

On 15 October, more than 170 former and current BAE Systems employees gathered in Mojave, California, to celebrate the successful conclusion of one of America’s longest-running defence programmes – the QF-4.

Since 1992, BAE Systems has been the exclusive provider of QF-4 drones to the US Air Force, Army, and Navy. QF-4s are decommissioned F-4 Phantom fighter jets that have been transformed into full-scale, remotely-controlled aerial targets used in Air Force weapons testing and training. The refurbishment process typically takes about six months and is performed at BAE Systems’ huge hangar in Mojave. Over the past 21 years,

Mojave employees delivered 314 QF-4s to the US Air Force, the last of them in November.

The celebration featured tributes from Floyd McConnell, Vice President of Integrated Aviation Solutions, Aerospace Solutions; Mark Morter, Director of Mojave Programs; and Mark Yoho, QF-4 Program Manager. Everyone reflected on the spectacular success of the programme and how it has influenced upgrades and maintenance services for other aircraft such as the F-16 fighter and C-130 transport.

“This programme exemplifies a history of strong performance that would not be possible without the dedicated employees who supported it,” said Gordon Eldridge, Vice President and General Manager, Aerospace Solutions. “Congratulations to the entire Mojave team on 21 years of success.”

Mission accomplished for Mojave drone team

“THIS PROGRAMME EXEMPLIFIES A HISTORY OF STRONG PERFORMANCE THAT WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE DEDICATED EMPLOYEES WHO SUPPORTED IT”

FINAL MISSION: WITH THE DELIVERY OF THE 314TH AND LAST QF-4 DRONE, THE MOJAVE TEAM HAS COMPLETED ONE OF THE US’S LONGEST-RUNNING DEFENCE PROGRAMMES. QF-4S ARE DECOMMISSIONED F-4 PHANTOM FIGHTERS CONVERTED INTO REMOTELY-CONTROLLED AERIAL TARGETS USED IN TESTING AND TRAINING


38 • PEOPLE

It was just over two years ago that workers gathered at the gates of BAE Systems’ Brough site in East

Yorkshire to absorb and discuss the news that their jobs were on the line.

Shifts in production rates for the Military Air & Information business’s Hawk aircraft and the global economic turmoil in 2011 meant manufacturing had to be rationalised and working practices had to change, putting 2,800 jobs at risk.

The impact was felt on the banks of the Humber where almost 900 jobs were under threat along with the future of manufacturing at Brough while, across the Pennines in Lancashire, nearly 1,400 were at risk on MAI’s Warton and Samlesbury sites and a further 400 elsewhere in the UK.

Now the picture is quite different.When the redundancy process

closed in the summer, it did so with far fewer job losses than initially feared, with the Brough, Warton and Samlesbury sites becoming home to jobs-spinning Enterprise Zones, and prospects of bringing in new orders for Typhoon and Hawk jets.

For example, in Brough, where 899 redundancies were announced in September 2011, the number of compulsory redundancies was reduced to just 21 with a further 360 leaving voluntarily.

Other roles were created by new Hawk work, transfers and secondments to Warton and moves to roles at RAF bases.

Phil Entwistle, who represents the Aircraft Manufacturing Maintenance &

Enterprise Zones boostIn the wake of the 2011 redundancy process, the UK Chancellor George Osborne announced two new Enterprise Zones would be created at Brough, and at Warton and Samlesbury.

He promised the opportunity to welcome jobs-spinning new investment and businesses to the area and keep the highly-skilled workers in the area.

At Brough, the keys to a large chunk of the site, which once housed its huge factory site, have been handed over to a private equity group, Bridgehouse Capital. It has

already attracted three firms – engineering firms Supercraft and Cablescan and house-builder Black Cat Homes – which have brought jobs to the area with the potential for more.

In Lancashire, close working between the company, local councils and education leaders is aiming to build a hub for advanced engineering and manufacturing expertise.

Talks are under way to create a centre of excellence for tackling the skills gap facing the industry, as well as attracting new high-tech businesses to both Warton and Samlesbury.

MASTERCLASS IN MITIGATION

SPECIAL REPORT

How MAI employees, trade unions and management worked together to ease the pain and losses of business restructuring

TOP: STEVE OLSSON (LEFT), TRADE UNION REP FOR MANUAL WORKERS AT BROUGH, AND NEIL DAW, WHO REPRESENTS THE SITE’S PROFESSIONAL STAFF

ABOVE: BROUGH SITE DIRECTOR DAVE CORFIELD

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PEOPLE • 39

Support Services (AMMSS) population across the Lancashire sites, recalls the day the news broke back in September 2011. “My heart just sank, because I thought ‘how are we going to get around this?’”

Three previous rounds of redundancies in recent years had seen many of those willing to take retirement and voluntary redundancy make their move, leaving little room for manoeuvre. The answer was twice-weekly meetings between employee representatives and management in an attempt to find an answer.

“To start with, there were very heated conversations,” said Phil, “but it took a few weeks for both parties to realise we had to take difficult choices.

“To be fair to both parties, no-one closed any doors and we were always willing to look at everything.”

The result was everything from the traditional measures of early releases and those keen to go for redundancy voluntarily, through to bringing work done outside MAI back into the business.

Following a joint push to make these changes, a deal was agreed which saw trade union members take a day’s unpaid holiday to ensure no compulsory redundancies took place at Warton. That allowed the trade unions and management to collectively work together across MAI to support the redundancy process.

This led to an MAI-wide approach to Hawk manufacturing with the creation of assembly facilities at Brough, Samlesbury and Warton.

Dave Corfield, the recently-appointed Site Director at Brough, was part of the workforce which went through the painful process.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re an engineer sat in an office, a guy working on the production line or a manager – the whole business was impacted by that announcement and what happened in the ensuing years,” he said.

“The first challenge is to go from looking back at the past to looking forward, we need to say ‘it’s not been easy but we have come through it and now we need to focus on making this business as successful as it can be’.”

Speaking at the time, MAI Managing Director Chris Boardman hailed the conclusion, with the business in “a more positive position” than could have been anticipated in September 2011, as

SPECIAL REPORT

CASE STUDY: CLAIRE SPENCER

When both project manager Claire Spencer and her partner were told their jobs were at risk, news that she was expecting her second child only heightened her concern.

But reassurance came from a redeployment microsite available to those employees affected by the MAI redundancy process.

She explains: “Several of us would look at the site at lunch, so I applied for lots on the basis that there was no harm in applying.

“One day I saw a customer service position with the Corporate Air Travel team at Warton and applied for that.”

Thanks to her past working in customer services in bank branches,

Claire got the job and replaced someone taking voluntary redundancy who did not want to leave immediately.

She says: “It all worked out perfectly. I’d never worked anywhere where my job was under threat before and it wasn’t a nice experience.

“But now, thanks to getting this opportunity, I can look forward to the future.”

‘Now I can look forward’

On the road to a new career

an achievement for working together.He said: “This was achieved

through the business, trade unions and employee representatives working together. Meeting future challenges with the same can-do attitude will help ensure MAI’s vibrant future.”

At Brough, the trade unions are in no doubt that the challenges facing the business are not restricted to a single site – the answers are business-wide.

Steve Olsson, the recently-appointed convenor for the manual workers on the East Yorkshire site, said: “There has to be a huge degree of commitment from Warton and Samlesbury to keep the Brough site open. It is all our challenge to secure future orders on Typhoon and Hawk to ensure we retain further employment across BAE Systems.”

His professional workforce counterpart, Neil Daw, added: “I think we have all got to be as positive as we can be to try to move forward.

“There is still a lot of scepticism out there because of what happened in the past, but we have to change those mindsets. It is not going to happen overnight but together as a workforce, trade unions and management we have to make this work.”

CASE STUDY: PHILIP SCOTT

Visiting a roadshow offering careers in BAE Systems’ Maritime – Submarines business made Philip Scott look at the 2011 redundancy process in a different light.

The team leader based at Warton and his wife both found their jobs under threat, so when he saw an opportunity to relocate to Barrow-in-Furness, he took it.

Philip said: “I felt it was something to consider, the

long-term prospects were good and so I applied.”Soon after being offered a job, his wife also

got a move to Cumbria, and the couple moved lock, stock and barrel.

“The move is totally life changing, and I wouldn’t say it has gone

without a hitch as relocating certainly has its stressful

moments,” he admitted. “But, the truth is, we’re now living and working in a part of the world a lot of people dream of living in.”

“THE MOVE IS TOTALLY LIFE CHANGING ”

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