Warner Robins Air Logistics Center nets three Shingo awards Published July 21, 2006 By Lisa Mathews Warner Robins Air Logistics Center Public Affairs ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- Maj. Gen. Michael Collings, commander of the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, was notified recently that the three packages the center submitted for consideration for Shingo Public Sector Prizes were all winners. The C-5 Programmed Depot Maintenance package received a gold award. The F-15 PDM and the F-15 Avionics packages each received a bronze award. Last year the center became one of the first-ever public industries to receive the prestigious Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing and the first government industry to receive the gold level honor. The awards this year further demonstrate the outstanding work by the people of Team Robins. “This is a great endorsement of the progress each of these organizations has made in their continuous process improvement initiatives,” said Ken Percell, executive director for the center. “While the C-5 organization has enjoyed this experience before, I’m especially proud of the F-15 organizations’ success with their first Shingo submissions. “This is only the second year the Shingo prize has been open to the public sector and every package submitted so far from this center has been awarded a prize,” Mr. Percell said. “That’s should make everyone who works at WR-ALC proud.” “This is great news once again for the entire center; the awards are well deserved,” said Jim Rowland, with Simpler Consulting Inc. “It demonstrates the high level of continuous improvement effort that this base has provided, and continues to provide, the Air Force and its customers. “The awards are a reflection of the dedication the entire enterprise has embraced. Warner Robins has been embarking on this journey for a few years now and they understand that this is a cultural transformation that requires dedication, determination and a stay-the-course attitude. They have and are continually taking a strategic enterprise approach focusing on top level vision and strategy to guide the way while ensuring linkage and alignment to the tactical improvement levels. Warner Robins continues to be a leader for continuous process improvement in the Air Force and embraces the philosophy as the way they conduct business,” Mr. Rowland said. The Shingo Prize was established in 1988, and promotes Lean manufacturing concept awareness and recognizes companies that achieve world-class manufacturing status. It was opened to the public sector for the first time last year with four levels of recognition including platinum, gold, silver and bronze. The Shingo Prize is named in honor of the late Dr. Shigeo Shingo who helped create, train and write about many aspects of the renowned Toyota Production System and related production systems.