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Date: Thu,  3 May 90 02:34:01 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: SPACE Digest V11 #349

SPACE Digest                                     Volume 11 : Issue 349

Today's Topics:
   Nine firms named as NASA Excellence Award finalists (Forwarded)
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Date: 2 May 90 21:33:55 GMT
From: trident.arc.nasa.gov!yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov  (Peter E. Yee)
Subject: Nine firms named as NASA Excellence Award finalists (Forwarded)

Dwayne C. Brown
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                        May 2, 1990
(Phone:  202/453-8956)


RELEASE:  90-62

NINE FIRMS NAMED NASA EXCELLENCE AWARD FINALISTS

     Nine finalists have been chosen for the NASA Excellence 
Award for Quality and Productivity for 1990.  The finalists are:

* Barrios Technology, Inc., Houston

* Bendix Field Engineering Corp., Seabrook, Md.

* Boeing Computer Support Services, Program Support
  Communications, Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.

* EG&G Florida, Inc., Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

* Grumman Technical Services Division, Titusville, Fla.

* Honeywell Inc., Space Systems Operations, Clearwater, Fla.

* Marotta Scientific Controls, Inc., Montville, N.J.

* Rockwell International Corp., Space Transportation Systems
  Div., Downey, Calif.

* Unisys Defense Systems, Space Transportation Operations 
  Contract Program, Houston

     Two of the finalists, Barrios and Marotta, will be evaluated 
in the new small business category established last year by NASA 
Administrator Richard H. Truly.

     This small business category, while following the basic 
evaluation criteria for larger organizations, permits evaluators 
to offset the competitive advantage of larger companies with more 
abundant resources, personnel and funds at their disposal.

     George A. Rodney, NASA Associate Administrator for the 
Office of Safety and Mission Quality, announced the finalists 
after a 6-month application and review process.  Finalists are 
picked after a review by the Excellence Award Evaluation 
Committee.

     "The award applications are more numerous and getting better 
each year, making the job of the Evaluation Committee very 
difficult.  A large number of good companies competed this year," 
said Joyce Jarrett, chairperson of the NASA Excellence Award 
Evaluation Committee.

     The award process now advances to the third phase in which 
validation teams visit finalists' facilities to verify 
performance achievements and process attainments.

     Following the review and recommendations of the award 
evaluation teams, NASA's Total Quality Management (TQM) Steering 
Committee, composed of Center Directors and Headquarters 
Associate Administrators, will make the final selection of award 
recipients.  The NASA Administrator will announce award 
recipients at the seventh annual NASA/contractor conference on 
Oct. 24, 1990.

     Key goals of the award are to internalize quality and 
productivity practices and TQM processes throughout NASA and the 
agency's contractors and to transfer performance improvement 
methods of the award recipients to others.

     The award is administered for NASA by the American Society 
for Quality Control, Milwaukee, Wisc., a professional association 
and a worldwide leader in development, promotion and application 
of quality and quality-related technologies.  The award 
recognizes NASA prime contractors, subcontractors and suppliers 
for outstanding achievement in quality and productivity 
improvement and TQM.

     The recipient of the 1989 Excellence Award was Lockheed 
Engineering and Sciences Co. (LESCO), Houston, one of NASA's 
Johnson Space Center's primary contractors.  Since the Excellence 
Awards introduction in 1985, LESCO was the first support 
services/mission processing contractor to win this honor. 

     Previous recipients of the award have been Rocketdyne 
Division, Rockwell International Corp., Canoga Park, Calif.;  
Martin Marietta Manned Space Systems Co., New Orleans; and IBM's 
Systms Integration Division, Houston.

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End of SPACE Digest V11 #349
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