BAE Systems Land Systems Munitions, Masters of munitions

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Manufacturing in Action, Source : The Manufacturer
Published : August 2006

BAE Systems Land Systems Munitions is among the world’s leaders in its field. Robert Pols looks into how the business earns and maintains that position

When, two years ago, the Land Systems business of BAE Systems was formed, it united two long traditions of providing military capability to the UK’s armed forces: the newly acquired Alvis Vickers was brought together with BAE Systems’ RO Defence business (itself acquired in 1997). After making a long contribution to history, the RO (Royal Ordnance) title thus became a thing of the past; but a new organisation emerged from the regrouping, and the expertise continues to flourish.

BAE Systems Land Systems is made up of three business streams, of which one is based in South Africa, and two in the UK. One of the latter, Land Systems UK, produces military vehicles and weapons systems, and has a manufacturing programme that includes the Titan, Trojan and M777. The other is Munitions, which designs, develops and produces a wide range of ammunition types (from 4.6mm to 155mm) for the small arms, mortars, tanks and land and sea artillery of over 50 countries.

In addition to a comprehensive range of ammunition, Land Systems Munitions also produces explosives, propellants, demolition charges, initiators and pyrotechnics. Warheads are manufactured for missiles, torpedoes and depth charges, and they include the BROACH multiple-warhead. The result of teamwork between Land Systems, Thales and QinetiQ, BROACH is designed to attack a range of high-value buried targets and achieves its results by combining an initial penetrator charge with a second follow-through bomb, supported by multi-event hard target fusing.

Much current attention is focused upon insensitive munitions (IM). Developed in response to a number of incidents where highly sensitive weapon systems were accidentally triggered, IM technology offers much greater safety and significantly reduces the risk of accidental damage and loss of life. It also offers customers a reduction in whole-life costs, because storage, handling and transportation are so much easier.

The early advances were made by the US Navy, but Europe has since caught up and made the technology its own. Now IM is an expanding market, and – since future MoD demand is expected to be specifically for insensitive munitions – its growth seems set to continue. So it was a major step forward for Munitions when, having invested over £15 million in developing the capability and capacity, it became the first high-volume manufacturer and marketer of IM.

The importance of IM capability was underlined by last year’s contract for improved ammunition for the Royal Artillery’s 105mm light gun. This weapon, which has already seen service with the RA for over a quarter of a century, has now been given a major upgrade, and an auto-pointing system has replaced the traditional dial sight. This new device does away with the need for spirit-level adjustment, and a touch screen tells the controller when his gun is laid onto the correct target data provided. To match the improved weapon, a new generation of shell was called for, and Land Systems’ ability to incorporate the latest IM technology played its part in securing the contract for an initial purchase of 50,000 shells (worth around £17 million). The delivery programme runs into 2009, and there is a possibility of further orders as far ahead as 2017.

The company is aware of the edge that IM capability confers and is determined to retain it. Its recently-built manufacturing plant at Glascoed, Monmouthshire, was designed with just this in mind, and can provide surge capacity to meet not only the needs of all identified UK ammunition programmes, but also an expected growth in export orders.

Glascoed, in fact, is at the heart of the Munitions business. As well as housing a manufacturing facility, it is home to the headquarters of the business. But there are other sites in the UK, including Birtley in Durham, Bridgwater in Somerset, Chorley in Lancashire and Radway Green in Cheshire. Test facilities are available at Bishopton, in Renfrewshire, Chorley in Lancashire and Ridsdale Range in Durham.

At all sites and locations there is a constant strive to continually improve efficiency and safety of operations. At Radway Green, for example, a 10-year contract with the MoD has replaced the old system where ammunition was requisitioned as required. The result is a visibility of planned requirements, which allows a smoothing of production and facilitates a focus on process flow. But improvement can come on the smaller scale, too. In one case, where a shell’s design called for a complex pattern of holes, tools were wearing out very quickly. A six sigma team investigated the problem and came up with minor design changes that were duly sanctioned by the customer. Then ‘U’ drills with replaceable tips were adopted to give the benefits of faster removal of material.

But it is the Birtley facility that has provided the key to company-wide improvements, for that is where the lean journey began. Work started in conjunction with the North East Productivity Alliance (NEPA), which had been formed by a consortium of regional companies to spread lean practices and create new jobs, and which made its approach just when Munitions was looking to drive down costs at Birtley. The company ?formed multidisciplinary teams of employees from all levels, and NEPA provided them with a series of master classes, each involving 12 days of activity spread over a three-month period. ?Each class aimed to deliver improvements ?against specific targets, and the early results – a saving of 7700 hours, worth £130,000 in terms of costs – encouraged the deployment of the ?new approach across the company. A lean forum was set up to share best practice between ?factories, further lean tools are being introduced, and a programme of training is spreading across the business.

In short, the company’s history may stretch far back into the past, but operations at Land Systems Munitions are firmly focused on the future.

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