Photo By Kendall Swank | Terry Hirst, a Rock Island Arsenal-Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center division...... read more read more
Rock Island Arsenal, Ill — As the U.S. Army continuously transforms to become a more adaptable, flexible, and lethal force, civilians like Terry Hirst at Rock Island Arsenal-Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center are making a difference by delivering high-quality, on-time readiness solutions for the Warfighter while modernizing for the next fight.
“There’s no glory in prevention,” said Hirst, a division chief for quality assurance, engineering, quality planning, and audit division at RIA-JMTC. “But you will find, in terms of managing the business and keeping your promise to your customer, it’s essential.”
After years of moving between the private sector and public service, Hirst was brought onto the RIA-JMTC team around 2019 during the production of hundreds of military ambulances for the Army, National Guard, and Reserves. When he arrived, production was often delayed because of significant defects on each unit produced.
“A lot of these were defects that should have been identified in control,” Hirst said. “Everybody was trying to do the right thing, but there was a lot of opinions. Everything being done was based on what people thought, so there wasn’t any real organization to collecting data, analyzing the data, and making decisions based on data. So, one of the first things I did was start collecting data.”
Hirst used the new information to track the different types of errors, where they were located on the vehicle and classified them into 15 different categories. He and his team then broke down the reports to very specific information on what was causing the issues so they could take the appropriate action to fix it.
“We created a quality feedback loop, which is a communication mechanism where we could take the defect back to its origin and have the discussion with the people doing the work,” Hirst said. “(That way), they understood what the defect was and what effect it had on the rest of the process. In some cases, it may have been they needed a better tool, they just didn’t understand what the requirement was or they didn’t have the proper training. Whatever the problem was, we fixed it.”
By the end of the program, close to 4,000 ambulances came off the RIA-JMTC factory floor before the orders were fulfilled in 2021. Hirst estimates a single ambulance could have had up to 180 defects when he arrived. After the new quality assurance process was put into place, there were about four defects per vehicle. At the end of the program, RIA-JMTC produced about 1,000 units without a single defect.
“So, the result of that was a lot of reduction in overtime and schedule delays,” Hirst said. “In a standard work week at the end of the program, we were producing more units than we ever have before and that was just getting the quality under control.”
For all his efforts for the ambulance program, Hirst was awarded the 2020 Defense Acquisition Workforce Individual Achievement Award. It recognized individual accomplishments that advance the National Defense Strategy and support the Secretary of Defense’s priorities through excellence in acquisition.
“Hirst demonstrates exceptional leadership in all aspects of production, quality, and manufacturing including expert knowledge of quality assurance disciplines in support of the Army's M997A3 Ambulance Co-Production effort under a Public Private Partnership with AM General and RIA-JMTC,” retired RIA-JMTC Commander Col. Martin J. Hendrix III wrote in a 2021 memorandum. “The M997A3 Ambulance impacts Army Readiness, Homeland Security and natural disaster relief missions by providing increased medical support during domestic disasters.”
Shortly after the last ambulance rolled off the assembly line, Hirst was tasked with overseeing the rollout of the Next Generation Shop, Equipment, Contact, and Maintenance Vehicle program. The program launched with some planned delays to assure the quality was in place before full-production could begin. Now, hundreds of vehicles have rolled off the assembly line with few errors found in each unit.
“Under Hirst’s diligent leadership, the NG SECM program has seen unparalleled success at our factory,” RIA-JMTC Chief of Staff Bryan Gripp said. “His commitment to excellence and approach have been instrumental in ensuring a strong start and setting the foundation for future achievements.”
Hirst is once again at the forefront, leading the charge for RIA-JMTC as the factory seeks AS9100 certification. The credential defines the design and manufacturing standard aerospace products require including parts, components, and assemblies. Hirst’s experience and proven track record of improving quality assurance processes are crucial as the factory aims to meet the new rigorous standards.
“The AS9100 certification is a significant milestone for our facility and our future in the aerospace industry,” said RIA-JMTC Commander Col. David Guida. “Hirst's leadership and expertise are vital to this effort. We are confident that with his guidance, we will achieve this certification and continue to provide high-quality and on-time readiness solutions.”
Guida added, “Hirst has shown time and again that he has the vision and dedication needed to drive our organization forward. His work on the ambulance program and the NG SECM project has laid a strong foundation for our future success, and I have no doubt he will do the same with AS9100.”
| Date Taken: | 05.29.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 05.29.2024 15:37 |
| Story ID: | 472484 |
| Location: | ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, ILLINOIS, US |
| Web Views: | 41 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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