Boeing names supply chain, operations leader

Jenette Ramos, a 29-year Boeing veteran with executive leadership roles in fabrication; supplier management; and environment, health, and safety, is the new senior vice president, Boeing Supply Chain & Operations, replacing Pat Shanahan, who has been nominated to serve as U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense.

Most recently vice president and general manager of fabrication at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Ramos will oversee manufacturing operations and supplier management functions, including implementation of advanced manufacturing technologies and global supply chain strategies. She also leads Boeing’s environment, health, and safety organization. She joins the Boeing executive council and reports to Boeing Chairman, President, and CEO Dennis Muilenburg.

As leader of fabrication, Ramos led a global operation of more than 17,000 employees that serves as the largest manufacturing partner to all commercial airplanes programs. In that role, she integrated businesses at 11 sites that design and manufacture composite, metal, electrical, and interior aerospace parts, tools, and assemblies.

Ramos began her career in 1988 at the Boeing Renton plant as an environmental engineer in the facilities organization.

She is a graduate of the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program, and she earned a master’s degree in business from Seattle Pacific University and a bachelor of science degree from Washington State University.

Shanahan, a 30-year veteran of the company, previously served as vice president/general manager of airplane programs at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, where he oversaw management of the 737, 747, 767, 777, and 787 production programs. www.boeing.com

Combat rescue helicopter reaches critical design review

The U.S. Air Force combat rescue helicopter (CRH), designed by Lockheed Martin subsidiary Sikorsky, has reached air vehicle critical design review (CDR). This milestone prepares the program to proceed to assembly, test, and evaluation of the HH-60W helicopter, an advanced variant of the UH-60M Black Hawk.

In preparation for the CDR, the joint Air Force-Sikorsky team generated more than 300 technical documents, created and reviewed more than 50,000 hardware and software requirements, conducted 17 sub-system CDRs, and designed 3,000 new parts.

Sikorsky CRH Chief Engineer Jim Andrews says, “The team has leveraged digital design tools to generate manufacturing efficiencies that will reduce cost and schedule. This approach will lead ultimately to the HH-60W becoming the first Black Hawk derivative to have a paperless assembly line.”

The Air Force awarded Sikorsky the $1.28 billion engineering manufacturing & development (EMD) contract in June 2014, which includes development and integration of the next generation combat rescue platform and mission systems, delivery of four HH-60W helicopters, aircrew and maintenance training systems, and support for both.

In January 2017, the Air Force exercised a $203 million contract option with Sikorsky to provide five additional aircraft, bringing the total to nine. The Air Force program of record calls for 112 helicopters to replace the service’s aging HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters that perform combat search and rescue and personnel recovery operations for all U.S. military services. www.lockheedmartin.com

Solar Atmospheres announces organization changes

Roger Jones has been appointed CEO for Solar Atmospheres’ four vacuum heat-treating locations in Souderton and Hermitage, Pennsylvania; Fontana, California; and Greenville, South Carolina. Roger, who started Solar Atmospheres’ vacuum heat-treating business with his father, company primary ownerWilliam Jones in 1983, previously held the position of corporate president.

Jamie Jones has been promoted to president for Solar Atmospheres, Souderton. He previously served as the location’s vice president of operations, and has been with the company for more than 20 years.

Trevor Jones has been promoted to CEO for Solar Manufacturing, Magnetic Specialties, and the newly developed Vacuum Pump Services Corp. Trevor has been active in the furnace operations and R&D department at Solar since 2004, and he previously held the position of principal engineer at Solar Atmospheres. www.solaratm.com

WPI launches center for materials processing data

Massachusetts’ Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) has launched a center aimed at improving data gathering and computer modeling techniques, leading to the development of better equipment and materials for aerospace.

Center for Materials Processing Data (CMPD) members generate and manage time- and temperature-dependent material property data – formally called transient data – used in process modeling and simulation.

CMPD researchers will work to ensure the quality of the data and place it into a useable format software. The team will also use the data in computational models to simulate how the metals used in jet engines would behave in a range of conditions.

CMPD will formally begin work in January 2018 on two projects that are expected to take one to two years to complete. CMPD is the fourth center under WPI’s Metal Processing Institute, the largest university-industry alliance in North America.

Other CMPD partners are the University of Connecticut, the University of Buffalo, and ASM International. Pratt & Whitney Corp. is a founding corporate member. www.asminternational.org; www.buffalo.edu; www.pw.utc.com; www.uconn.edu; www.wpi.edu