SkellyConnorAssignment4_PR1

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University of Florida *

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5212

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Mechanical Engineering

Date

Feb 20, 2024

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docx

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Readers Objectives Action iMpression Who is the audience and which CPP- communicator type are they? How will you change the reader, and which CPP-communicator type are you? What do you want the reader to do? What will the reader think of you? The audience is the manager over the definition group. They are likely a technical or people communicator. I will convince the manager that changes need to be made for the sake of the definition role. Speak with sales about improving their outputs. Speak with IT about developing a database for the role. I want the reader to think I am persuasive and understand the design process well. Background: Gulfstream – Private Jet Manufacturers Completions – Branch of the company responsible for designing and manufacturing the interior of the aircraft, often highly customized by the customers Definition/definer – a role that requires evaluating customer floor plan layouts and choosing to either reuse or make new assets and installations Build list – list of assets or installations that are to be included on the aircraft Serial number – a different number given to each customer aircraft Specification (spec) – an 80-page document that is basically a wall of text that describes what is going on in the customer’s aircraft. It is broken down into spec sections i.e., the galley is 3000, sidewall and headliner 4000. The definition role is arguably one of the worst roles in completions engineering at Gulfstream. It’s hard to describe how archaic it truly is. Many of the mechanical definers have been with Gulfstream for at least 20 years, and a handful are near retirement. So, when I started helping out as a mechanical definer after less than a year at the company, some of the issues with the role jumped out at me. This memo serves as a plea to management to make changes that will increase retention / simplify the role.

TO: Definition Manager FROM: Connor Skelly, Mechanical Definer DATE: September 11, 2022 SUBJECT: Steps to Increase Retention in Definition Roles The definition group is reaching a critical point. Many of the established definers are approaching retirement, while the newer definers are displeased with the role. Management must act now before the department is chronically understaffed. Changes can be made to reduce the entry barrier and simplify the role, drawing more engineers to the group and increasing the retention rate. This will ensure the definition group continues to have enough manpower. The improvements are as follows: 1. Increase the sales team’s buy-in 2. Create an initial build list generator 3. Improve change management tracking Not only will these changes improve employee morale, but they could also improve initial build list quality as well. Change 1: Increase the Sales Team’s Buy In The first course of action is to correlate with sales on their deliverables. Currently, the sales team provides the definition group with two documents: an 80-page specification (spec) and a 50-sheet interior detailed drawing (IDD). Neither of these can be considered engineering documents, leading to this role's first pain point. issue. A team of technical writers crafts the specifications. Although they strive for consistency across the specification drafting team, the human element inherently results in variability. To remedy this, the spec writers should come together and draft agreed-upon verbiage for standard features and custom features with high take rates. Once this is established, a simple check box tool can be created that contains all the agreed-upon wording for each spec section. This will make it much easier to compare specs and IDDs across different serial numbers, reducing the strain on definers and driving higher asset/install reuse. Change 2: Create an Initial Build List Generator Once the designer digests the spec and IDD, they must create the initial build list. The definer decides if existing assets/installs can be reused or if the layout requires a new task. In the new task requests, the definer also includes which asset/install would be the best starting point for the new asset/install. This entire process is the most overwhelming aspect of the role.

The G700 averages roughly 200 assets/installs on the final build list. There are multiple different variations of each asset/install, amounting to over a thousand different drawings that could go on the build list. The most daunting task of this role is getting started with the initial build list. Although machine learning has a stigma of being difficult and expensive, this is inaccurate. Machine learning could easily be used to generate a rough draft of the initial build list. Given previously released build lists and their associated specs/IDDs, the machine learning tool could produce a build list given the spec/IDD for the new aircraft being worked. It is much easier for definers to double-check a build list than it is for them to build one from scratch. Change 3. Improve Change Management Tracking Throughout the entire build list creation process, the definers must be aware of changes. Due to the complexity of this role, this is a challenging task. The entire definition process, and how it is impacted by change, is laid out below: The most common sources of change are:  Layout changes requested by the customer  Engineering errors found during design  Issues found during installation/certification Customer-requested changes are tracked via a work change request (WCR); the WCR process does a satisfactory job of notifying the definition team of customer changes. However, changes to assets/installs are not conveyed to the definition team as effectively. This discussion occurs during an hour-long daily meeting which the definers are often too busy to attend. An improved change management database is needed. Consider a scenario that happens far too often: an error with a document is found during installation. This can become a larger issue if new assets/installs were created using this document as the make-f r o r m. Currently, make- froms forms are not tracked in CTS, which is a missed opportunity. Instead, the definer has to must comb through their previous build lists to see which documents used the document in

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question. If make-from data is recorded, a system can be developed that automatically notifies the definition team of impacted documents. Final Thoughts The definition role has plenty of opportunities for improvement. The first suggestion, improved buy-in from sales, can be implemented immediately, while the other two changes will require some development. The improved buy-in from sales will reduce strain on the current definers, while the two other changes will ease the difficulty of this role in the future. This combination will hopefully increase retention while also decreasing the learning curve to this role, ensuring the definition role will always have enough manpower.