GE Aerospace is a well-known provider of jet and turboprop engines and integrated systems for various types of aircraft, such as commercial, business, and military. With its century-long expertise, the company is striving to achieve growth in the aerospace and defense industries by addressing their current and future needs. According to Brittany Elwonger, Scheduling and Risk Leader at GE Aerospace, the company’s global presence and diverse product range are some of the things that make working there unique. Brittany also emphasizes the importance of GE Aerospace’s work in building military aircraft that bring people home safely, and contributing to sustainable flight by developing greener alternatives for aircraft fuel in partnership with NASA and Boeing. GE Aerospace is making a positive impact on people’s lives, not only for military personnel and their families but also for the environment by reducing the carbon footprint of flying.
The utiliSation of data to improve flight safety and minimize risks
With safety and security being paramount in all of GE Aerospace’s projects, the company must ensure that everything is running with precision and meets the highest standards. For the past 30 years, GE Aerospace has been utilizing Deltek’s Open Plan enterprise project planning and scheduling software for its scheduling management needs. Although it was implemented before Brittany’s tenure with GE Aerospace, she recognises its impact. Brittany has met the individual who first introduced Open Plan to GE Aerospace and learned that before Open Plan, the team used an overhead projector and dry erase markers for scheduling management. The implementation of Open Plan was a significant investment for the company, but it has been worth it in terms of improving schedule quality and optimizing program management over the years.
Enabling simpler and more accurate scheduling for all stakeholders.
Brittany’s team is currently expanding the use of Deltek’s Open Plan at GE Aerospace to provide a single source of truth for internal and external customers. The company’s program managers have expressed their frustration with scheduling activities being done in Excel spreadsheets and are looking for a more accurate and efficient solution. Brittany’s team is taking engineering design milestones and tracking the entire process of engine testing in Open Plan, providing a detailed level of scheduling management. As a result, people who had not previously used Open Plan are requesting training and access to the tool to reap its benefits for their projects. “Open Plan” has become a buzz phrase, and Brittany’s team is assisting brilliant engineers in using the scheduling tool by loading data, linking tasks, and setting up meeting processes.
Reliable process and compliance that GE Aerospace can depend on.
GE Aerospace relies on Deltek Open Plan for scheduling and project management across all its projects, from engine production tasks to earned value management programs worth billions of dollars. The software helps the company create detailed schedules based on their work breakdown structure and inner project links. Open Plan also provides the organization and compliance necessary for government contracts, ensuring that schedules are accurate and up-to-date for monthly reporting to the government. The company has confidence in the quality of its deliverables when using Open Plan.
