SPOTLIGHT R. Scott Forney, III As the President of the Electromagnetic Systems (EMS) Group of General Atomics (GA), Mr. Scott Forney is responsible for all work associated with military and commercial EMS programs. Since joining GA in 2007, Mr. Forney has led EMS through a significant period of technology advancements, business acquisitions, product introductions, and record revenue growth. Today, EMS is globally recognized for its transformative technologies and has emerged as a leading Department of Defense contractor for high power electromagnetic equipment and systems. During his tenure, Mr. Forney has guided the advancement of systems design, engineering, manufacture, test, and sustainment of critical technologies and products, including: hypervelocity weapons systems; solidstate lasers; advanced sensors; nano-satellites and small satellites; power inverters, motors and generators; capacitors; radiation monitoring systems; nuclear instruments; fault tolerant battery systems; fuel cell systems; and electrostatic separators and terminal automation products for the oil and gas industry. Among the groundbreaking achievements under Mr. Forney’s leadership are: numerous successful railgun hypersonic projectile launches; successful manned aircraft launches and arrestments with the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) and Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG); and a ten-fold expansion of EMS’ sophisticated manufacturing facility in Tupelo, Mississippi. Mr. Forney’s prior experience includes 20 years at General Dynamics Electric Boat Corporation, where he rose to the position of Senior Overhaul and Repair Program Manager. He also served as Director of Engineering for Advanced Power Systems, Concepts and Programs, and Project Director for Electric Drive, with responsibilities for the development of components supporting electric drive and advanced power systems. Key projects included: the development of the world’s most advanced marine propulsion system; high-speed motors and generators; advanced controllers; linear plunger displacement devices; wind generator electromagnetics; and U.S. Navy electric drive/integrated power systems. Mr. Forney was Adjunct Professor of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York, providing lecturer and technical support services for the Office of Naval Research-sponsored Nuclear-electric Naval Support Vessel Project. In this capacity, he instructed midshipmen and assisted faculty in preparing the final report of the Nuclear-electric Project. Mr. Forney was educated at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, New York, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Engineering. He was also an officer in the Merchant Marine Ready Reserve (USNR). Mr. Forney is an active member of numerous professional associations. WELCOME Welcome General Atomics (GA) Suppliers to the first edition of our Supplier Newsletter! We are very excited to have this new venue to share information with you. First, our team would like to take a moment and thank you for your contributions. Providing exceptional products and services to our customers is our top priority and your contributions help to make that possible. Many of you have gone the extra mile for us to support our customer’s needs; we want to say ‘Thank You’ from everyone here at GA. Second, please enjoy our newsletter with its feature topics that we believe will be meaningful to you. We hope to continue bringing you topics that matter because we understand the commitment it takes to serve the U.S. Government and its partners. Please enjoy! QUALITY MATTERS At GA, we know why quality matters. We know everything we do is important to our customers and the world at large. Supporting our world-class government and commercial customers with a diverse portfolio of high-concept technology products, such as thermonuclear fusion, high power lasers, electromagnetic aircraft launch and recovery systems, hypervelocity projectile, and power conversion systems, along with many other advanced technologies--requires our commitment to Quality, and requires that you share in that commitment. As a supplier to GA, you cannot underestimate the critical role you play in meeting global needs for our technology, as well as the successful defense of our country. The integrity of the product or service you deliver to GA can end up supporting our warfighter or have global or national security impacts. To demonstrate our commitment to your success, we redesigned the Supplier Quality Assurance (QA) website to be more user-friendly, providing you easy access to the important information you need, when you need it. Our new layout supplies access to our Quality Policy, to our standard procurement quality requirements, and in the future, will serve as a repository for other important Quality Assurance information. Please visit our website and review our Quality Policy and updated Supplier Code of Conduct. We expect our suppliers to make quality an integral part of their company’s culture and maintain a Quality Management System that meets or exceeds quality objectives. Why? Because quality matters! “Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives.” – Unknown SPOTLIGHT (Continued) Aircraft Launch and Recovery Systems GA-EMS’ Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) and Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) are on-deck, ready to perform robust flight operations when the Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) executes intensive at-sea testing starting in early 2020. EMALS and AAG are revolutionizing naval aviation by significantly improving the Navy’s ability to launch and recover aircraft more efficiently and reliably. This next phase of testing, using jets and propeller aircraft, will thoroughly exercise EMALS and AAG under real-time operational conditions. The Navy recently announced the AAG system successfully completed critical high cycle testing at the Runway Arrested Landing Site in Lakehurst, NJ, proving the system’s capability to handle the aircraft recovery sequence required for combat readiness. Please visit our website for more information. EMALS and AAG are being delivered for the future John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) and Enterprise (CVN 80). CVN 79, the second Ford-class aircraft carrier built for the Navy, was christened on December 7, 2019, by Ship’s Sponsor Caroline Kennedy. Year-End Reminders During this holiday season it’s important to remember that GA policy prohibits all GA employees and representatives from accepting Supplier-sponsored entertainment, reimbursements for travel, hotel expenses or speaker fees; any financial favors, loans or other compensations; or gifts or gratuities. The only exception is advertising novelties of a nominal value marked with your company name. Violation of this policy will result in disciplinary action for the GA employee and possible loss of business to the Supplier. We ask for your cooperation and encourage you to report any violations of this policy. New Website In an effort to provide you with additional resources to support your relationship with GA, we have launched a brand new website at GA.com! Our new website features a refresh of all the resources you are familiar with, including our Supplier Code of Conduct, our Terms and Conditions and Quality requirements. In addition, we added new web pages to support our transition to SAP® Ariba® and DocuSign©, and additional information to support your on-time delivery of high quality products and services. Please take some time to review our changes, and we hope you will find the new website an attractive and useful resource. COMPLIANCE CORNER Cybersecurity Cybersecurity is a critical issue facing our country and organizations. When handling data provided by GA or our customer, our Supplier Code of Conduct requires your vigilance in safeguarding this information as specified by your GA Order. To date, GA has complied with DFARS 252.204-7012 in a proactive manner and now leverages SAP® Ariba®, a tool that obtains critical information regarding your cybersecurity posture. Keep in mind this certification and the cyber incident reporting requirements. With the announcement of the upcoming Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), the Department of Defense (DoD), Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (OUSD(A&S)) has emphasized compliance with cybersecurity standards that proactively enhance the protection of Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) within supply chains. According to the OUSD (A&S), the CMMC “combine[s] various cybersecurity standards and best practices and map[s] these controls and processes across several maturity levels,” with an added verification by DoD certified third-party organizations. Please visit the OUSD (A&S) website for more information. SUPPLIER FOCUS Supplier Contributors of the Year We had an exciting year and we could not have done it without our valued Supplier partners. Each of our Supplier’s performance is important to us. We greatly value your efforts and contributions. Now, we’d like to recognize some specific partners whose flawless execution contributed to our and our customer’s success: • Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. • Everson Tesla, Inc. • Extreme Precision, Inc. • Fastenal Company • Fox Valley Metal-Tech, Inc. • San Diego Precision Machining, Inc. • Sechan Electronics, Inc. • Solmar Precision, Inc. • Staples, Inc. ON THE HORIZON Supplier Performance Program Since its launch in 2008, GA’s Supplier Performance Program (SPP) has developed into the comprehensive performance metrics platform we have today, and it has grown to include a large portion of our supply base. As GA grew the current SPP from 20 Suppliers to over 600, we realized in 2019 that the system’s current design would not be sufficient for the next phase in our evolution. So, after extensive benchmarking and feedback from our Suppliers and industry partners, we are excited to announce the launch of a much improved SPP in 2020. The new SPP platform will continue providing qualitative data that assesses performance capabilities and will act as a key determinant in our decision-making. Additionally, a key foundation for our newly enhanced program will be the continual focus on critical quality and delivery performance metrics to enable GA to meet Customer commitments. Like its predecessor, monthly and quarterly scorecards will provide extensive analytics to both GA and its Suppliers, offering opportunities for mutual improvement. As a best practice and industry leader engaged in significant growth, GA embraces the spirit of continuous business improvement. Targeted to launch by summer 2020, the new SPP will enable GA to expand performance monitoring of our supply base, while making the calculated performance metrics both more intuitive and consistent across GA and its affiliates. We look forward to making this mutually beneficial transition with our valued Suppliers. As our go-live date nears, expect to hear more details on this transition and how it will positively impact our partnership. As a high technology and high concept provider of Defense and Energy solutions, GA is uniquely positioned for growth and success. Global progress through transformational technology remains our mission; and, your commitments are not lost on us. Thank you and we hope you enjoyed our first edition! Look for future issues of our ‘Supplier Newsletter’ in 2020. Remember to contact your Purchasing Representative about any questions regarding open Orders or your continued performance. GA policy mandates that your Purchasing Representative is your primary point of contact. Please report to your Purchasing Representative when contacted by other GA personnel. If you have any comments or questions about this publication, please contact us at [email protected]