[The following text is taken from "A New Era: Creating a Customer-Driven Government," the conference program for the Seventh Annual National Conference on Federal Quality, held July 11-14, 1994, in Washington, D.C.} THE PRESIDENT'S QUALITY AWARD PROGRAM The Presidential Award for Quality and the Quality Improvement Prototype Award are designed for organizations that have mature quality management efforts, well-advanced in the quality transformation process. Winners of both awards provide excellent models of quality management systems that produce impressive results. The Presidential Award for Quality is reserved for the best of these outstanding organizations. The 1994 winners are: PRESIDENTIAL AWARD FOR QUALITY Naval Air Systems Command United States Navy Arlington. VA What makes a winner? It begins with a vision. In 1991, NAVAIR began operating as the Naval Aviation Systems Team (TEAM). The TEAM is composed of NAVAIR, three Program Executive Offices, and the Aviation Supply Office. This teaming concept improves communications, involves all elements of the organization, and empowers program teams that are working closest to the customers. The TEAM strategic plan process is to show how top management drives change throughout the organization. The first priority of the senior leaders was to formulate a mission, vision, and guiding principles. They then defined strategies to achieve that vision. Business and operating plans are formulated at lower levels to support the strategic plan, thus ensuring that vital link between the overarching vision and the organization's day-to-day business. Another reason for success: NAVAIR's quality efforts are tied directly to the Department of the Navy's Total Quality Leadership philosophy, an approach that embodies the concept that leadership must drive quality into everything it does. NAVAIR's leaders participate on their Strategic Quality Management Boards. VADM William C. Bowes, NAVAIR's commanding officer, personally leads the organization in this "journey." Improvement in processes has been ongoing for some time, with a strong focus on the acquisition systems. The aggregate of many evolutionary changes has resulted in improvements. For instance, since FY 1991, average processing times for major procurement requests has decreased from 147 to 61 days through FY 1993, a 59 percent reduction. The average time it takes to process a proposal for an engineering change has dropped from 150 days in FY 1991 to an average of 65 days in FY 1993. _________________________________________________________________ These are very challenging times as we downsize the federal government to meet changing priorities and a different world order. All of us in government--and the Department of Defense in particular--face immense challenges in the coming years. Through its application of the principles of quality management, the Naval Air Systems Command has demonstrated ways to turn those challenges into opportunities to create a streamlined workforce dedicated to satisfy the demands of customers who know America's needs. NAVAIR has given us a valuable model for the transformed government we are striving to build. President Bill Clinton April 19, 1994 Excerpt of Letter to Secretary of Defense William J. Perry _________________________________________________________________ QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROTOTYPE AWARD Electronics Systems Center (ESC) Air Force Materiel Command United States Air Force Hansom Air Force Base, MA The Electronic Systems Center manages the research, development, acquisition, and sustainment of over 200 electronic systems that help direct the country's airpower arsenal to the right target with a high degree of accuracy and reliability. ESC has an annual budget of $3.8 billion and a work force of 13,500 civilian and military employees, supported by 7,500 contractors. One of ESC's best known programs, which it developed in the 1970's, is the Airborne Warning and Control System or AWACS which can simultaneously track up to 300 aircraft and ships up to 250 miles in any direction. Accomplishments include: -- Keeping program management or overhead low so that customers receive back $0.83 in hardware and software for every dollar of ESC services. -- The AWACS performed flawlessly during the Gulf War -- with 845 sorties lasting 10,600 hours -- a sortie effectiveness of 96 percent, and a 100 percent mission effectiveness level. Tank-Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) United States Army Warren, Michigan The United States Army Tank-Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center is the nation's laboratory for advanced military automotive technology. TARDEC employs more than 1,200 people who design and develop vehicles for all U.S. Armed Forces, many federal agencies and more than 60 foreign countries. TARDEC's accomplishments include: -- Doubled fuel economy for tactical vehicles, such as the M923 Engineer vehicle. Increased fuel economy for the MlA1 Abrams Main Battle Tank almost 33 percent. -- Increased maximum cross country tank speed more than 30 percent since 1988. Also reduced tank track weight by 1,000 pounds while tripling its useful life. -- Reduced development time for the M1A2 Tank by 4 years and reduced development costs by $168 million. Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Keyport United States Navy Keyport, WA The Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Keyport has some 3,200 employees and an annual budget of about $300 million. The mission of the Center includes providing test and evaluation, in-service engineering and fleet support for the U.S. Navy. Since 1989, 97 percent of non-management employees have received some training in quality. Union leadership received quality training at the same time as senior management. To date, 128 process improvement teams have been established involving 1,141 employees. The Center results have included the following: -- Generated over $85 million in certified customer savings since 1986. -- Increased the direct labor productivity from 55.9 percent in FY 1982 to 65.6 percent in FY 1993. -- Achieved net fiscal variance from FY 1982 to FY 1993 of 0.3 percent on revenues of $3.2 billion, virtually meeting the goal of zero profit, zero loss. 1994 FINALISTS QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROTOTYPE AWARD Aerospace Guidance and Metrology Center United States Air Force Newark Air Force Base, OH Red River Army Depot United States Army Texarkana, TX Office of Information Technology Central Intelligence Agency Washington, DC Western Distribution Center Federal Supply Service General Services Administration Stockton, CA Royalty Management Program Minerals Management Service Department of the Interior Denver, CO John F. Kennedy Space Center National Aeronautics and Space Administration Kennedy Space Center, FL