A Conversation With: Mike Jones

Mike Jones is USA’s Vice President of Logistics and Material. He is responsible for the organizations that provide integrated supply chain services, including logistics, depot support, procurement and subcontracts, and for Flight Crew Equipment/ Extravehicular Activity (FCE/EVA). The USA Update talked to Jones about the capabilities of Logistics and Material and the critical functions this organization will serve in the transition to future space operations .

UPDATE: Logistics and Material is one of USA’s four Capability Centers. What role do you see your organization playing in USA’s future?

JONES: When our internal organizations need parts and/or services, whether we’re going to buy them or make them, we want to provide the high level of quality support required in the most efficient way possible. In addition, we would like to provide that same support directly to NASA and other prime contractors. We try to help our customers get the best value for their money, and we want to make this service better and smoother through technology improvements and the skills growth of our people.

UPDATE: What functions now reside in this Capability Center?

JONES: The functions that most people will recognize include Flight Crew Equipment and Extravehicular Activity (FCE/EVA) operations; the NASA Shuttle Logistics Depot (NSLD); the Thermal Protection System Facility (TPSF); and the Logistics Facility, which supports Ground Operations, the Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) Element and other functions at the Cape. The Processing and Manufacturing; Logistics; and Procurement process owners, as well as Logistics Quality Systems, and Supply Chain Systems and Processes, are also a part of this Capability Center.

It is a very diverse group of activities. Just within the FCE organization, as an example, they have a tremendous number of activities, everything from preparing iPods and flight laptops, T-shirts, food and space suit processing. There’s a full range of support that we can provide to any customer.

UPDATE: What do you see as your biggest challenge over the next few years?

JONES: Our biggest challenge is skills retention. That is an issue on two fronts: both internally with our employees and externally with our suppliers. We have a lot of baby boomers that will be able to retire in a few years and a lot of people that could retire now. We need a certain number of people with the right skill mix to successfully fly out the Shuttle. On the supplier front, we are nearing completion of our longer-term buys with both subcontractor and suppliers. As our business wanes, having the suppliers needed to meet emergency requirements or other activities and bridging the gap into Constellation are critical issues. Capturing new business helps alleviate both of these concerns and is a key area of focus for USA now.

UPDATE: Recently you have had a series of organizational changes. How do these changes affect this Capability Center, and how does this position you for the future?

JONES: The changes that we made were to align the Logistics and Material activities with industry-best practices. USA has been a member of the Supply Chain Council for over seven years. We are on their Aerospace and Defense Special Industry Group. We have evaluated a lot of different models, and we have basically patterned ourselves after the major components of the Supply Chain model – plan, source, make and deliver. I have a direct report that focuses on each of those areas. This proven model puts us in the best posture to support the multi-contract, multi-customer environment that we are going to be facing in the future.

We are now supporting the Shuttle program in two different ways out of this basic structure. Integrated Logistics under Mike Renfroe is providing support to Ground Operations, Orbiter and SRB through a matrix arrangement with the rest of the organization. FCE/EVA under Willard Jones, being relatively self-contained and single-customer focused, already had an Integrated Product Team (IPT) structure in place, and we have essentially left the IPTs in place to support their customers. However, certain functions that were in FCE that aligned with the “plan, source, make and deliver” roles have been consolidated into those company-level functions.

Again, we are trying to posture for efficiency, but where there is a focus needed to support a specific customer, we’re flexible and can accommodate that as well.

UPDATE: How do you think Logistics and Material’s role in the operation of USA and the Shuttle contract will change as we transition to Constellation? How do you envision this organization in 2020?

JONES: I think the changes we have made have laid a solid foundation for future business. We are already performing multiple contracts in FCE/EVA and, to a lesser extent, the rest of the Logistics and Material organization. We are trying to position ourselves to provide logistics support, flight crew equipment, flight hardware, Ground Support Equipment manufacturing and repair and thermal protection systems production to any space flight system contractor. We need to take the next step of expanding our business to non-NASA aerospace work for other customers, such as the Department of Defense.

In 2020, I think we will have new leadership infused throughout the organization. We will have new customers. We will have new “best value” buying practices in place, new technology and will be working with our customers to ensure rapid and accurate materials delivery to whatever customers need our services – so, leaner, meaner and more flexible.

UPDATE: What have we learned from the Shuttle Program that will be used to improve Logistics and Material in the Constellation era?

JONES: The Shuttle Program has been in operation since the early ‘80s with over 25 years of service. This is a long time for any space vehicle. Hardware, vehicles and human space flight programs of the future will need to focus on concept of operations during the design and development phases to ensure operational considerations are included in the products. This will allow for easier supportability, maintainability and lower the life cycle cost for the Logistics and Material support we provide in the future.

UPDATE: How does the work that Logistics and Material accomplishes contribute to USA’s competitive edge in being the operations company for the next era in space exploration?

JONES: Overall, we believe we are a vital, value-added link in USA’s operations. The ability of our workforce to respond and flex to unscheduled demands in support of space flight sets us apart. We have some good examples. On this last flight, STS-117, our engineering customer required numerous test articles, such as blankets, gap filler, tile and composite honeycomb test coupons, to assist in troubleshooting of the de-bonded Orbital Maneuvering System blanket. Within just a couple of days, we were able to deliver all those different things to them, ready for testing. We were commended for that. So, it is that type of support that we can provide to all the customers in the future that is going to differentiate us from the competition and make us the contractor of choice for future space operations.

FCE/EVA, the NSLD and the TPSF have proven capabilities in processing and manufacturing and have been supporting multiple customers for several years. These are skills that can be used to support Constellation Programs and other commercial initiatives. We are looking forward to being part of the future of space exploration.

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