Title: Page born: April 01 2002

Site 7, Plant 42

In 1992 the F-117A CTF moved from Groom Lake to Site 7, Plant 42. Site 7 was originally established in 195? for Lockheed to build the ????. The three original hangers now house the 410th TFLS. Also at Site 7 are the three buildings used for F-117A mods and upgrades.

F-117A Mods

The following is from the April 2001 "LM Aero Star": F-117 applies Lean processes to mod line By Alice Seabaugh "LM Aero modifies nine F-117 aircraft per year at its Palmdale facility. In order to improve the current process, a 25-member team recently analyzed the modification line with Lean principles in mind. "By improving the current process, we will ensure customer satisfaction and win future new business for LM Aero," said Rory Johnson, team leader for F-117 Operating Excellence Deployment. "Our team consisted of employees from various programs and disciplines, plus the dedicated F-117 mod-line workers who provided 'hands-on' suggestions for improvement." Within one week, the team members successfully value-stream mapped the process and identified ways to improve it in the areas of transportation, waiting, overproduction, motion, inventory, processing waste and defects. They identified the value-added -- those affecting form, fit or function -- and non-value-added tasks in order to remove waste. More than 40 initiatives have been targeted for further analysis. Other elements will be tackled through Kaizen events, three to four times per month, and "just do its." Key changes include setting up workstations or "cells," parts kitting and re-sequencing the mod line to improve flow. "We're going to give the workers what they need -- tools, parts, whatever -- where they're doing the job," added Johnson. "There are approximately 130 steps in our current modification process with parts and the aircraft traveling a total distance of 78.1 miles. Our goal is to reduce this to 30 steps and 42 miles." "Applying Lean techniques will ensure our future success with the F-117 mod line," said Gus Villanueva, Air Vehicle Mod and Maintenance IPT lead. "Within the next six to 12 months, we expect 30-percent gains in productivity and cost savings.""

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