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Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Experience Sky-High Results Using Visiprise

ATLANTA, GA - March 28, 2006 Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, a division of Lockheed Martin Corporation and recognized world leader in the design and manufacture of the finest military aircraft, has seen measurable increases in productivity and quality with the help of Visiprise.

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics developed the Electronic Work Instructions (EWI) project as a competitive measure of product quality, and business processes and infrastructure for the design and manufacture of the F-35, the next-generation joint strike fighter. The overall objective of the project was to update the manufacturing and production operations environment to the state of the art technology.

The EWI project consisted of two components, the Visiprise Computer Aided Process Planning (CAPP) and Visiprise Shop Floor Manager, part of Visiprise’s integrated manufacturing operations solution. Specifically, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics’ goals for EWI were to improve data integrity, reduce costs of data generation, increase delivery access and use, enhance user-friendliness on the shop floor and reduce system support costs.

“We recognized an opportunity to update our infrastructure in a way that would increase productivity and reduce both cost and waste,” said Brad Leech, EWI Senior Manager at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics. “With the EWI project we were able to streamline our processes as well as better organize our various business units into a comprehensive system.”

The EWI project was not a small undertaking. When fully deployed later this year, the system will provide access across the country to more than 6,000 users. The project resulted in a variety of successes for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics including:

• Standardized, digital work instructions – reducing the significant amount of paper printouts used during aircraft production
• Integration of more than 80 business units – streamlining business data use and accessibility to production customers while allowing for the retirement of 17 older systems
• Increased quality of workmanship – providing annotated digital photo graphics of actual manufacturing build-to-process steps by product
• Reduction of hours per unit, scrap and rework – reducing manufacturing scrap and rework costs associated with in-work product changes, the flexible system allows for the hold of orders to make immediate corrections
• Improved employee morale – stemming from increased familiarity with the system through on-site training for the aging factory workers skeptical of the electronic system

“Programs like Lockheed Martin’s EWI project are becoming more common for large and small manufacturers alike,” said H. Dave Chambliss, COO of Visiprise. “The desire to minimize extraneous costs on the shop floor while continuing to produce high-quality products will only increase as more companies continue to adopt integrated manufacturing operations.”

For more information about Lockheed Martin and Visiprise and to download a recent IndustryWeek Webinar about their interaction, visit: http://www.industryweek.com/Webcasts/022206Eventregistration.aspx?eventID=172&ref=VIS

About Visiprise

Visiprise is a leading provider of business solutions for integrated manufacturing operations. Visiprise Solutions help customers plan, define, control, execute and analyze manufacturing operations in a single environment, to seamlessly integrate with existing enterprise applications. Focused on aerospace and defense, electronics, automotive and specialty vehicles, and the medical device industries, more than 200 customers around the globe turn to Visiprise for improvements in operating costs, quality and manufacturing visibility. Customers include Actia, BAE Systems, Boeing, Celestica, ConMed, E-Z-GO Textron, Lockheed Martin, Philips Lighting, Solectron and Thales Avionics. For more information, visit www.visiprise.com.

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Media contact for Visiprise:
Mike Neumeier
404-929-0091 x210
mneumeier@arketi.com