Sikorsky battling major quality control problems

[sox6]

Sikorsky get barn door bolted

http://www.courant.com/business/hc-s...lines-business

The Defense Department has closed a formal complaint about quality control problems at Sikorsky Aircraft, the government and the company said Monday.

In a Nov. 22 letter to Sikorsky's president, Jeffrey Pino, a Pentagon overseer stationed at the company's facility in Stratford harshly criticized management for delays and for worsening quality control problems in the production of some Black Hawk helicopters.

U.S. Navy Capt. Dorothy J. Freer also issued a formal complaint, known as a Level III Corrective Action Request, or CAR, that could have led to penalties if Sikorsky failed to respond adequately. Freer, commander of the Defense Contract Management Agency's Stratford office, gave the company 30 days to submit a plan for addressing her concerns.

It did so last week and the agency closed the complaint by the end of the week, a spokeswoman confirmed Monday.

"Sikorsky did respond with a plan to address the government's concern and this plan adequately addresses the issues as stated in the CAR," said Ann Jensis-Dale, a defense contract spokeswoman. Neither the agency nor Sikorsky would release the plan.

A Sikorsky spokesman said the company will set up a training program for employees at a Florida subcontractor that assembles Black Hawks to teach them "our production system."

Sikorsky, a division of Hartford-based United Technologies Corp., will also assemble a team to examine the role subcontractors play in producing Sikorsky's military helicopters, a role that has expanded significantly in recent years.

Sikorsky has already increased the number of quality control inspectors at a Florida subcontractor, Crestview Aerospace Corp., which was recently purchased by L-3 Communications, said spokesman Ed Steadham. The number of inspectors was increased from six to 15, and the company has begun performing extra inspections of some key parts, including flight controls and rotor blade connections, Steadham said.

While Sikorsky's plan has appeased the Pentagon for now, the company remains behind in its production schedule and won't recover until well into 2007.

Speaking in New York last week, UTC's chief executive, George David, blamed Sikorsky's production delays on the convergence of its ambitious growth plan, doubling unit volume from 2005 to 2007; a reorganization of its production process to rely more heavily on subcontractors; and a six-week strike by the company's 3,600 Teamsters last spring.

Rocco Calo, head of Teamsters Local 1150 in Stratford, said he couldn't quibble with David's analysis.

Of course none of this would have affected customers buying a handfull or less of civil helicopters...