Boeing

The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] today named the Arnprior Division of Boeing Canada Technology as the company's outstanding commercial airplane manufacturing facility.

This marks the second consecutive year Arnprior has been named the winner of the Fredrick C. Mitchell Lean Manufacturing Excellence Award.

"To win this award two years in a row is simply an outstanding achievement," said Liz Otis, vice president and general manager of the Fabrication Division, who presented a trophy to Robert McDonald, general manager of the Arnprior Division.

"Boeing previously recognized our plant as a 'world class' facility," McDonald said. "While that designation set us above many others, winning this award two years in a row makes us particularly proud. It confirms our status as a world-class facility with a world-class team."

Named after the former vice president of Boeing Commercial Airplanes manufacturing, the annual award recognizes a business unit of the company that excels in leadership, factory organization, empowerment of teams, inventory and supply, and manufacturing processes.

Boeing Arnprior consistently uses the company's "lean management" assessment tool to focus on improvement opportunities and guide long-range planning activities. This approach is considered by Boeing as the single most important tool managers can use to understand the dynamics of an efficient, world-class business.

To enter the competition, each plant completes and submits a detailed questionnaire to a "lean enterprise" team in Seattle. Following a short listing process, the resulting top five facilities undergo days of observation by manufacturing experts from Boeing's U.S. operations.