April 30, 1999 X-Press

Volume 47 Issue 8 Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California April 30, 1999

Two Dryden contractors honored

NASA Photo by Tom Tschida

Bob Johnson holds the Quality Assurance Special Achievement Recognition he received from NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin.

Commitment to innovative management, quality and customer service earned Dryden contractor Kay and Associates NASA's George M. Low Award. This is the Agency's highest honor for quality and technical performance and the nation's oldest award for organizational quality.

NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin presented the 1999 Low Award this month at the 14th Annual NASA Con-tinual Improvement and Reinvention Conference on Quality Management in Alexandria, Va.

"These companies demonstrate outstanding management and customer service that have proven profitable to NASA and the nation's industries," said Goldin. Kay and Associates picked up the award for small-business service. Three other companies received honors in three other categories.

Charlie Baker, Kay and Associates Dryden site manager, said it was a lengthy process to get the honor, but he is proud of his team. "We can now tell companies when we bid other contracts that we are one of the top contractors for NASA," Baker said.

Each recipient was evaluated according to seven criteria. These criteria included performance, cost and schedule, innovation, management leadership, alignment of organizational goals with NASA's strategic plans, customer orientation and adherence to the Total Quality Management philosophy.

NASA Photo by Tony Landis

The crew at Kay and Associates brought home to Dryden one of NASA's highest honors, the Low Award.

Kay and Associates is a family-owned contract engineering firm that provides specialized engineering, logistical and technical services at Dryden. By purchasing and modifying used equipment and refurbishing on-site equipment, Kay and Associates provided about $800,000 savings to NASA last year. In addition to highlighting Low award recipients, the Continual Improvement and Reinvention Conference is a forum to share best practices and lessons learned from quality management initiatives.

It was also at this conference that Bob Johnson, site manager of Dryden contractor Ameriko-Omserv received the Quality Assurance Special Achievement Recognition (QASAR). The award is for continual improvement in reducing the number of on-the-job injuries.

The Low Award

"It's a little humbling in that the ones who made it possible were the workers. I gave them an opportunity to solve the problem. I gave them a little guidance, but they took it seriously and made safety an ethical issue. Everyone began taking responsibility for returning people home in the same condition they came to work," he said.

"I brought the award back for the company, not for me," Johnson said. Ameriko-Omserv works on facilities maintenance and construction and before the initiative began several years ago, there was an accident on an average of every 15 days. Since Johnson made safety a top priority, it has been 748 days since the last accident that resulted in lost work hours for the company. Johnson arranged for a safety committee of the employees to be organized and put safety issues in the hands of the employees. A certified safety coordinator was trained and now the company's safety record is outstanding, he said. "I raised the level of attention and made safety an ethical issue where they each took responsibility for themselves and each other," Johnson said.

[Briefs] [X-34] [Altus II] [Home] [Awards] [DC-8] [Export Control]
[Finance] [People & Places] [Joe Ramos] [Shuttle] [TU-144LL] [Unrestricted]

Return to top

April 16, 1999 X-Press

Responsible NASA Official: John Childress
For questions, contact: Dryden Web Group
Page Curator:WD-Team
Modified:May 13, 1999