ELCAN Wins 6Sigma Award:

In 2003 ELCAN found that large procurement contracts had been awarded to competitors because ELCAN did not have the close combat sight that was being demanded by warfighters engaged in urban combat. ELCAN wanted this market and with senior leadership sponsorship they formed a product development team to design an optical sight that would dominate in this combat environment.

ELCAN's vision was to deliver a product that would improve warfighters speed of engagement, target identification and lethality when confronting threats at distance and close range. A single sight solution that would be equally effective at distance and close range would fill an unmet user need and would gain immediate acceptance by the user community and displace the entrenched competitors.

The product development team realized that they needed warfighter feedback to design a product that optimized integration of an optical sight into the weapons system of soldier, firearm and auxiliary equipment. ELCAN partnered with the US Special Operations Forces SOPMOD group in a spiral development program that evolved an optical prescription, and product concept into a robust solution that meets the needs of warfighters in all of their operational environments. This development process used voice of the customer feedback provided by fielded personnel to refine the product through all of the design stages.

ELCAN and SOPMOD knew that the Dual Role Sight was a winning product. When surveyed, users preferred the Dual Role Sight nine to one over the competition. In July 2006 ELCAN received its first large purchase order from SOPMOD for 6221 sights worth $5.1m with delivery starting in November 2006. The product is currently being evaluated by other procurement agencies in the DoD and by a number of other international military customers who have ordered another 1530 sights at the time of this submission.

In September 2006 ELCAN was awarded an NCS President's Award for having one of the most successful Raytheon Six Sigma projects in NCS. This divisional award was followed by a corporate win of the CEO's award for Mission Assurance in October at the Raytheon Six Sigma Celebration in Boston. The project "VOC Drives Development of ELCAN's Dual Role Sight" highlights the importance and techniques for developing customer relationships, incorporating user feedback into the design process, and delivering superior product solutions.

Project Sponsor: Dr. Joe De Remigis

NSWC USSOCOM SOPMOD Lead: Lucius A. "Gus" Taylor IV - Program Manager