Enterprise AIRSpeed Program – Driving Improvements in Naval Aviation Readiness
Client: Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR)
NOVACES served as a key partner in the Enterprise AIRSpeed program for the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), delivering integrated process improvement services across maintenance, logistics, and administrative functions. This multi-year engagement represented the first effort to fully integrate Theory of Constraints (TOC), Lean, and Six Sigma (LSS) as a unified methodology to drive improvements in Naval Aviation readiness and cost efficiency. The program was delivered at over 28 CONUS and OCONUS sites and aircraft carriers, including eight Fleet Readiness Centers and one overseas location. The team provided services such as Continuous Process Improvement (CPI) training, mentoring, facilitation, strategic planning, and performance management.
The Challenge
NAVAIR faced systemic challenges in maintaining fleet readiness, reducing aircraft turnaround times, and controlling total ownership costs amid increasing operational demands. Legacy logistics and maintenance systems lacked standardized tools, consistent project selection processes, and widespread CPI capability. To transform the logistics enterprise, NAVAIR needed a sustainable improvement model that could be scaled across dispersed and complex environments without disrupting operational support to combat-ready forces.
Solutions Delivered
NOVACES developed and deployed a full CPI framework that included:
Training for over 1,800 personnel, including Executive Leaders, Green Belts, and Black Belts, using a curriculum tailored to Navy/Marine culture and based on DoD-American Society for Quality (ASQ) standards.
Execution of 185 high-impact Black Belt projects and more than 56 Green Belt classes, engaging over 1,400 students.
Mentoring of the first afloat CPI project aboard USS JOHN C. STENNIS, which led to HAZMAT safety improvements and the removal of 2,400 containers from USS GEORGE WASHINGTON without disrupting operations.
Certification support for Green and Black Belts using Job Qualification Requirements (JQR) and a standardized mentoring model.
Development of tools such as the Enterprise Project Alignment Tool (EPAT) for strategic project selection.
Facilitation of 27 Value Stream Analyses and 38 Rapid Improvement Events documented in the Navy’s Continuous Process Improvement Management System (CPIMS) for future replication and benefit tracking.
Key Takeaways
Generated over $100M in savings and cost avoidance through CPI project execution.
Reduced aircraft turnaround time by hundreds of thousands of hours, improving mission readiness.
Created a scalable and replicable CPI deployment model used across all major NAVAIR locations.
Delivered pioneering integration of TOC, Lean, and Six Sigma within one of the world’s most sophisticated military supply chains.
Developed tools, curricula, and processes that continue to influence readiness strategies within NAVAIR.
Demonstrated flexibility and rapid response to surge staffing needs, with 9 FTEs deployed at peak.