Boeing C-17 Program Receives Aviation Week Quality Award
Boeing [NYSE:BA] announced today that Aviation Week & Space Technology selected the C-17 Globemaster III Program as the magazine's first-ever recipient of its 2004 Quality Center Program Excellence Award.
The editors of Aviation Week & Space Technology honored the program Tuesday night at the publication's Aerospace and Defense conference in Phoenix, Ariz.
"This award is another indication that our quality journey has made us a world-class model of business excellence," said Dave Bowman, Boeing vice president and C-17 program manager, who accepted the honor along with U.S. Air Force Col. Janet Wolfenbarger, C-17 System Program Director. "Quality is at the heart of everything we do, and it's gratifying for our team-based culture to be recognized again for being an industry leader."
The Aviation Week award's criteria include schedule, budget and performance. The award addresses the fundamentals of long-term program success: strategic linkage to long-term business success; program organizational capability; addressing program complexity; and program metrics.
"The C-17 has been a remarkable program," said Tony Velocci, Editor-in-Chief, Aviation Week & Space Technology. "Despite an inauspicious start, it has turned out to be one of the U.S. military's most admired programs, and one of the most versatile aircraft the U.S. has ever fielded. The Air Force and U.S. warfighters owe the C-17 team a debt of gratitude for the dedication and professionalism."
Used for both military and humanitarian missions, the C-17 is the world's only airlift aircraft with both tactical and strategic capabilities. Boeing is under contract to design, build, deliver and support 180 C-17s for the U.S. Air Force, which currently operates 126 C-17s. The United Kingdom's Royal Air Force has a fleet of four C-17s. The Boeing C-17 program has more than 700 suppliers, and almost 8,000 employees, primarily at its major sites of St. Louis, Macon., Ga., and Long Beach, Calif., where the program is headquartered.
The C-17 Program has a heritage rich in quality and performance excellence. It was first recognized in 1994 with aerospace's most prestigious award, the Collier Trophy. In 1999, President Bill Clinton presented the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award to Boeing Airlift and Tanker Programs, maker of the C-17, for business excellence. Boeing is again a finalist for the Baldrige award and will learn later this month if it becomes a rare double winner of the award. In 2002, the C-17's assembly facility in Long Beach, Calif., was recognized by Industry Week's Best Plants award, for being one of the top 10 in North America. In September 2004, the C-17's Macon, Ga., facility was similarly recognized by Industry Week as one of North America's top 10 manufacturing plants.
A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is one of the world's largest space and defense businesses. Headquartered in St. Louis , Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $27 billion business. It provides network-centric system solutions to its global military, government, and commercial customers. It is a leading provider of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems; the world's largest military aircraft manufacturer; the world's largest satellite manufacturer and a leading provider of space-based communications; the primary systems integrator for U.S. missile defense and Department of Homeland Security; NASA's largest contractor; and a global leader in launch services.
###
For further information: