Hensoldt Optronics South Africa has been recognised as a key supplier of Helmet Tracker Systems to BAE Systems Rochester in the United Kingdom under a relationship that has been in place for more than 15 years.
The South African division of Hensoldt was invited to attend the recent 2019 BAE Systems ‘Partner 2 Win’ Supplier Symposium and Awards Dinner in New Hampshire, USA. The symposium was attended by approximately 300 key suppliers to the Electronic Systems sector of BAE Systems.
BAE Systems’ Partner 2 Win programme is designed to achieve operational excellence and eliminate defects in its supply chain by raising the bar of performance expectations to meet the demand of current and future customers of BAE Systems, the company said. As part of the programme, BAE Systems meets regularly with its suppliers at their locations to transfer best practices to ensure that the components and materials that compose BAE Systems products meet the highest quality standards.
“Recognition of our top-tier suppliers underscores BAE Systems’ commitment to delivering the highest quality products on-time and on-budget, in order to meet the demand of our customers,” said Jeremy Tondreault, vice president of operations for BAE Systems’ Electronic Systems sector. “We are proud to partner with companies – including Hensoldt Optronics South Africa – who are dedicated to delivering the products that protect the warfighter on the battlefield and civilians who rely on the safety of commercial transportation.”
At the symposium Hensoldt Optronics South Africa was honoured as a Silver Supplier for 2018. Selections were made from a pool of more than 750 suppliers to BAE Systems in 2018. To achieve Silver on the key performance indicators (KPIs) of the Balanced Scorecard, the following scores must be achieved for the full year:
• Delivery KPI: Between 98.00 and 99.99% On Time Delivery
• Quality KPI: Between 99.85 and 99.99% Items accepted at Incoming Inspection
Hensoldt Optronics South Africa was selected as Supplier of the Year to BAE Systems’ Rochester plant in the UK. Lee Penford introduced the award with the following words: “This South African based supplier has supported BAE Systems with the development of our Helmet Mounted Display, or HMD products, for more than 15 years. A major contributor to the success of these programmes, this company has shown flexibility, urgency and ingenuity in helping to solve our most technically challenging and programmatic problems.”
In the early days of supply to (mainly) the Typhoon and Gripen programmes, Hensoldt’s scores on the Balanced Scorecard were generally around the 40% mark, as it struggled with production readiness, on time delivery and quality problems. “This has therefore been an amazing turn-around in our ability to satisfy the Customer. It is indeed something for the Helmets team at Hensoldt South Africa to be truly proud of. Even though we are not (yet) at Gold status, it shows that with effort and a will to win, we can satisfy any high-end, first world supplier.”
Hensoldt has a long history of helmet tracking systems and supplies components to BAE Systems for the Striker helmet tracker. The second generation Striker II is under development.
