January 25, 1999 Technology Update Lockheed Martin Applies Agents To Supply Chain Management Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems (Fort Worth, Tex.; www.thefighterenterprise.com), which produces the F-16 for the U.S. Air Force and a number of foreign countries, has completed the first phase of an initiative focused on optimizing the Joint Strike Fighter's (JSF) supply chain management processes. The initiative, Manufacturing Agent-Based Emulation System (MABES), applied intelligent agent-based software in a manufacturing environment that incorporates advanced lean manufacturing principles. The software can provide functions such as monitoring, analyzing, collaborating and proactively responding to changes in the data it is processing. The application of lean manufacturing principles by MABES to the JSF will include "push," "pull" and "takt time" scenarios. Specific areas of output will be related to span times, manpower, resources and process costs. Phase 1 development consisted of creating the basic agent engine. It demonstrated the agent's ability to quickly apply lean principles and immediately display results, accompanied by comparative statistics. Phase 2 will add GUI and drag-and-drop features, plus enhance the integrated aspects between the dynamic and analytical capabilities. Phase 3 will be focused on developing applications of the agent's capabilities to manage the entire supply/value chain. MABES is an example of — and supports — a larger effort being implemented across all companies within Lockheed Martin to share best practices throughout the corporation. For example, MABES was the collaborative effort of three Lockheed Martin companies. Engineers at Lockheed Martin Energy Systems and Lockheed Martin Energy Research, both in Oak Ridge, Tenn., provided the basic technology for MABES. Engineers at Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems in Fort Worth envisioned and initiated the application of the technology developed by the two Tennessee companies to the manufacture of fighter aircraft. With the planned additional development, MABES will be expanded to monitor the entire supply chain at Tactical Aircraft Systems to provide comprehensive decision support information. When fully in production, the benefits can be extended to Lockheed Martin JSF team partners — British Aerospace and Northrop Grumman — as well as other Lockheed Martin companies and the supplier base. The Manufacturing Report © Copyright 1997, 1998 by Lionheart Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. E-mail Editorial Dept: tmr-editorial@lionhrtpub.com Lionheart Publishing, Inc. 2555 Cumberland Parkway, Suite 299, Atlanta, GA 30339 USA Phone: 770-431-0867 | Fax: 770-432-696 E-mail: lpi@lionhrtpub.com Web Design by Premier Web Designs E-mail: lionwebmaster@preweb.com