The Institute of Mechanical Engineers rewards Marshall’s Logistics and Operational Efficiency during Operation Weatherman with a Manufacturing Excellence Award.
Recognition for Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group’s role in ‘Operation Weatherman’ continues, with the latest praise coming from the Institute of Mechanical Engineers in the form of a coveted Manufacturing Excellence Award; in the Logistics and Operational Efficiency category.
Operation Weatherman was an extreme weather damage recovery project conducted in 2013, and the success of which continues to resonate within not just the aerospace industry but also the broader engineering community.
The project was in response to an urgent operational need raised in April 2013 after a severe hailstorm hit Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan and grounded five of the Royal Air Force’s Hercules C-130Js based there at the time. Working closely with both the original airframe manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, and the MoD, Marshall rose to the challenges of the urgent operational need.
Christopher Simpson, Chairman of the Manufacturing Excellence Awards Executive, comments: “The judges were particularly impressed that the company managed to replace the aircrafts’ damaged ailerons onsite in Kandahar and for one aircraft to return to service just eight weeks after the hailstorm.”
By mid-September 2013, four of the five aircraft had returned to the Forward Fleet and resumed their flying duties.
On 11th October 2013, and in recognition of Marshall’s role in Operation Weatherman, the RAF awarded the company a Chief of the Air Staff’s Commendation. It praised the Marshall staff who, throughout Operation Weatherman, “displayed tremendous determination to see the project through to a successful conclusion”, as well as the company’s ability to “balance competing priorities through flexible planning and resourcing, willingness to innovate, and strong project management.”
The Manufacturing Excellence Awards was established in 1982 and is widely recognised in the business world for promoting the very best of UK manufacturing.
Simpson concludes: “Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group is a very deserving winner of this coveted award. The company worked to exacting standards, in very challenging conditions and to very tight deadlines.”