Black Belt Ted Delbo explains his fishbone chart, which helped determine the root cause of variance in the time it took ATR to process letters approving contract work. Some delays were caused by wait times associated with obtaining signatures.

Now that process only takes about six days, thanks to continuous process improvement efforts. ‘‘My team is saying they now have the information they need a whole lot quicker,” said Lawson, a Department Operations Manager for NAVAIR contractor CSC. ‘‘It’s making this whole place tick along.”

The time reduction means Lawson’s team can deliver a wide range of services faster. Their responsibilities include developing more realistic training scenarios and offering design, procurement and technical support for ATR, Aircraft Vehicle Modification and Instrumentation, and the Atlantic Targets and Marine Operations Division. Those divisions are headquartered at Pax River and offer test support nationwide and overseas.

Greg Havens, the Contracting Officer’s Representative on the range technical support services contract, said the improvement was critical. Streamlining the approvals equals fewer delays in aircraft flight testing. It saves money and time. It offers the ability to track, analyze and troubleshoot scheduling and budget matters. And, there is less frustration — with no papers to lose, he said.

‘‘Letters getting through in a timely fashion is critical,” Havens said. ‘‘All the letters are in one place now.”

Anxious to show how the new system works, Havens gets up from a chair in his ATR office and heads to his computer monitor. He clicks the mouse once and is in the database where he sees 131 letters are active. Another click shows a closer look at specific government requests for contract support services.

With another click, Havens views budgeted amounts for material, travel, subcontractor needs and spending in one large contract. The new electronic database keeps his email inbox from getting bogged down with large file attachments and automatically notifies him when a letter is awaiting his review and approval. The notification provides a link to the specific letter in the Wiki database, where all the letters are stored.

Havens can compile reports within specific projects, or look at larger trends across the entire test range. And, he said, the new system is more secure. It requires an electronic signature, through use of a Common Access Card.

‘‘I use this tool on a day-to-day basis,” Havens said. ‘‘It’s easy. It’s got a lot of capability.”

Black Belt Ted Delbo led the Continuous Process Improvement efforts with the assistance of Green Belt Anita Smith. The project earned an Osprey Award, in recognition of readiness and excellence, from the Atlantic Test Range.

It’s estimated that moving over to the electronic database will save about 550 processing hours and $50,000 per year.

‘‘It was a paradigm shift,” Delbo said.