CYGNUS, Inc. has been actively implementing Lean Manufacturing principles since 1999, continually improving upon our processes and manufacturing techniques to allow us to provide you with increased quality, shortened delivery times and overall lower costs.

Through the use of Accelerated Improvement Workshops (AIWs), wherein representatives from all areas of the company meet together and "brainstorm" on how to improve the product flow through a given area, we are able to identify areas of waste and implement changes in order to improve efficiency.

Lean Activity Highlights

· The entire Cygnus management staff attended an 'Introduction to Lean Manufacturing' workshop hosted by Jim Burtelow, Field Engineer for Tech Help of Post Falls, Idaho. This introductory workshop focused on presenting the lean manufacturing concept of 'pull/flow', demonstrated through "the paper airplane" practical exercise.

· Cygnus established a Lean Committee, headed by Scott Maynes. As principle contact and coordinator, Scott began with education and identification of potential lean activities.

· Jim Burtelow of Tech Help once again provided his professional services to perform a thorough Lean Manufacturing assessment of Cygnus' manufacturing operations.

· Lean Manufacturing initiatives were placed in the Cygnus Operating Plan for the year 2000.

· Members of the Cygnus management staff toured Boeing's Salt Lake City plant to observe first-hand the results of their successful Lean Manufacturing implementations.

· Kathleen Melvin and Andrew Takamiya of Boeing's Lean Manufacturing Group consulted with Cygnus management regarding process flow at the Cygnus facility.

· Cygnus management team members Scott Maynes and Wayne Schulze attended a workshop at Boeing's Propulsion Division in Seattle to learn the process of conducting Accelerated Improvement Workshops (AIW's).

· Kathleen Melvin from Boeing's Lean Manufacturing Group, as well as Phil Hight from Boeing, St. Louis Supplier Management, conducted an on-site workshop for Value Stream Mapping of the process flow at the Cygnus facility, where potential AIW's were identified.

· Cygnus' first AIW was held in November 2000 under the guidance of Larry Lewis, Lean Consulting Manager for the Boeing C-17 Supplier Management group. The target of this workshop was the "paper factory"(the process of receiving the purchase order through work order creation and the releasing of jobs to the shop floor.) Larry, along with Scott Maynes, Cygnus' Lean Committee leader, conducted the workshop which resulted in a flow time reduction from 14 days to 5 days.

· Cygnus' second AIW was held in March 2001 focusing on the Router and Punch areas in the production shop. Larry Lewis and Wayne Schulze led the workshop, which achieved many innovative setup solutions to improve work flow.