October 10, 1997
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Employee team work, cost savings and innovation recognized throughout Quality Month in October

As in the past, October has been designated Quality Month. KSC is again planning several activities to reaffirm its commitment to Continual Improvement and quality. Upcoming Quality Month events include: A letter from Center Director Roy Bridges distributed to all employees; the ninth Annual KSC Teams Reception to be held at the Howard Johnsons in Cocoa Beach on Oct. 16th, with Center Director Bridges and motivational speaker Bob Moawad to be the featured speakers; astronaut visits with employees; posters displaying quality quotes and photos of those quoted on display in KSC cafeterias and lobbies; and KSC billboards displaying quality awareness information. Success stories recognizing quality contributions by KSC improvement teams will be presented in Spaceport News in two parts. The first series begins below. Additional stories will be printed in the Oct. 24 edition.

The Dynamac Corp.

Life Sciences Support Contract (LSSC) IOP (Internal Operating Procedures) Team
Mission: To provide a more efficient system to access the most recently developed or updated LSSC IOPs.
Method: A password-protected Web page was created on the internal server.
Results: This new Web page provides the capacity for all LSSC personnel to access, display, and/or print the latest IOPs from their desktop workstation regardless of their hardware platform, using a Web browser. This new capability also will support compliance with ISO 9000.

LSSC Electronic Approval System Team
Mission: A team was assembled to create a more efficient method of approving, processing, and tracking Purchase Requests (PRs) for the LSSC.
Method: An Electronic Approval System was developed that allows personnel to view the PR as it travels through the approval loop. Changes and/or bottlenecks can be identified quickly.
Results: Time required for approval has been lowered from weeks to days.

The Dynamac/Bionetics Corp.

LSSC Microgravity Plant Nutrient Experiment (MPNE) Team
Mission: Several areas of improvement involving scientific protocol, software implementation, and hardware design were identified for the MPNE, a Shuttle middeck spaceflight hardware functional demonstration.
Method: Science and engineering teams collaborated on nine complete end-to-end high fidelity tests of the system’s performance under a variety of operational configurations.
Results: An improved method for the reliable on-orbit germination of seeds was developed. Several hardware and software modifications also were recommended and implemented, thereby reducing potential points of failure.

EG&G Florida

KSC Electronic Documentation System (KEDS) Application Development Team
Mission: The KSC engineering community requested ‘view and print’ network access to released engineering drawings.
Method: Released drawings are scanned by Sherikon Micrographics at the rate of 7,000/month and stored on a server. The team developed KEDS, an intranet Web viewer, to provide user-friendly access to these images.
Results: Over 150,000 images are now available from any Windows-based PC. This first KSC-wide application of its kind currently serves 950 users.

I-NET

Oxidizer Scrubber Team
Mission: Elimination of the second largest hazardous waste stream at KSC.
Method: The Toxic Vapor Detection Laboratory (TVDL) demonstrated a proposed Nox scrubber that replaces the current scrubber liquor. The new scrubber lowers Nox emissions and allows the spent solution to be used as a fertilizer, eliminating a hazardous waste stream, and reducing operation costs.
Results: The reduction in cost is due to elimination of waste disposal fees ($70,600) and a cost avoidance of fertilizer approximately $16,300/yr.

USBI

Thermal Protection System (TPS) Shop Kaizen Team
Mission: To improve shop layout and streamline hardware flow in the TPS shop processing areas.
Method: A team spent two weeks studying layout and hardware flow.
Results: A reconfigured shop floor layout with about 1,500 square feet of additional available floor space was created. Over 40 piece of equipment were removed and movement of the booster aft skirts per flow was streamlined.

Document Closure Kaizen Team
Mission: To streamline closure and review of documents from work completion through data center processing.
Method: A 12-person team worked full-time for two weeks to study and improve the process. Activities included: developing a reference guide, creating a training package, and initiating a training plan for technicians to review stamp warranty issues.
Results: Created a new system which requires same-day review and document forwarding; reduced processing time by 84 percent; created centralized document pick-up centers; revised forms to provide feedback on errors to operational areas; and developed metrics for error trending.

Waste Reduction Kaizen Team
Mission: To reduce hazardous and solid waste, and reduce health and safety risks at Hangar AF.
Method: A 37-member team worked full-time for one week to study and improve four production processes. Activities included initiating facility changes, ordering safety equipment, and establishing new procedures.
Results: Initiated recycling of production materials in all four processes, eliminating 160,000 pounds annually from the waste streams; saved $28,000 annually in disposal costs; and eliminated safety and health hazards.

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