When is a good organization good enough? When it’s the best. This thinking prompted a cultural change within Aerospace Support several years ago that is driving a new business approach and nationwide recognition. The National Institute of Standards and Technology recently named Aerospace Support a 2003 recipient of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the highest honor in U.S. industry.

With the vision of becoming a world-class business and a role model inside and outside of the industry, Aerospace Support, a Boeing Integrated Defense Systems business unit, decided to accelerate its journey to performance excellence. The organization selected the Baldrige Award program as its tool and submitted an application for the award. More than 13,000 Aerospace Support employees, located in more than 30 states and 17 countries, provide aircraft sustainment, modernization, support and training to military customers worldwide.

“We’ve made a promise to our stakeholders: Excellence Everyday,” said David Spong, vice president and general manager of Aerospace Support. “Baldrige is one measure we’re using to see how well we’re living up to this promise. We’re comparing our efforts against the world’s best, in order to identify and reinforce our strengths, focus on opportunities for improvement and accelerate progress on our journey to excellence.”

The time Aerospace Support had to prepare for the Baldrige application wasn’t long, compared with many organizations. But as the leader of a previous Baldrige-winning team suggested, “Don’t wait until you’re ‘ready.’ Quality is not a goal but a journey. The journey can be long and arduous, but the results are the reason to persist.”

Recognizing that to be the best, you have to know where you stand, Aerospace Support needed to determine where it could improve and what strengths it could enhance. The organization looked toward the Baldrige program, which has helped companies nationwide achieve top results in all areas of their business. The program helps organizations focus on continuous improvement.

A business model was developed based on the seven Baldrige criteria: leadership; strategic planning; customer and market focus; measurement, analysis and knowledge management; human resource focus; process management; and business results. The model guides Aerospace Support people in everything they do, ensuring well-defined, common processes and continuous improvement.

The Baldrige winner’s prediction was correct. The results came. First, Aerospace Support won state quality awards in Kansas, Missouri, Arizona, California, Mississippi, Florida, Oklahoma and Nevada, and a similar national award in Australia. Then, on its first application, Aerospace Support earned the Baldrige Award.

“While we certainly appreciate the recognition, ultimately we are not out to win awards,” Spong said. “Our goal is to improve all areas of our business by focusing on world-class performance and results to exceed the expectations of our customers. We’re here to give the best support to the warfighter.”

Gen. Gregory ‘Speedy’ Martin, commander of the Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, emphasized the importance of Aerospace Support’s role. During a recent Boeing ceremony recognizing the contributions of Aerospace Support teammates, Martin explained that precision-engagement systems have become force multipliers.

“We have become dependent on force multipliers, and if they’re not there, they can become force dividers,” he said. “When you think about force multipliers, you think about the people who make sure the force multipliers are working all the time, and that’s really your business.

“You are contributing mightily to what we have done. In five major conflicts over 13 years, we have become better and better as a team, and that’s because we’re integrated and you are helping us with your force multiplier activity every day. ”