In collaboration with establishing a successful Liaison Thales Alenia Space Establishing a Successful Liaison 1AIAA – Civil Space 2013 Commercial Crew

in collaboration with establishing a successful LiaisonThales Alenia Space

Establishing a Successful Liaison

1AIAA – Civil Space 2013 Commercial Crew PanelFeb 12-13, 2013

by Ricardo A. Yague


Organization A Organization B

AB

Liaison is a form of bridge, relying on a person telling another what’s being done, what’s intended to be done, and

what cannot be done.



Selecting the person



What exactly do you expect from your representative ?

Determine the specific objectives first.– Otherwise efficacy cannot be guaranteed, and will likely be poor.

– Common mistake : designating an experienced representative for general follow-up and reporting.

Objectives dictate expertise, personal profile and culture.– Last two factors often underestimated.



I think my company made the right choice to send me

there, ‘cause I already worked in that company for

a couple of years.

QUALITY

CONTROL

Results after one year :



I’ve worked and lived here since I graduated. Going

abroad to improve the manufacturing process will be great for my company !

Results after one year :



Understanding the local culture must be a prerogative, otherwise...

7

I don’t see why we should follow your

suggestions, because we’ve

doing things with our method for

years, with good results.

AIAA – Civil Space 2013 Commercial Crew PanelFeb 12-13, 2013


So, what’s the preferable heritage of the representative ?

If the objective is to :– improve the process for product development, without affecting

the roles of both organizations, and

– optimize the involvement of resources of the represented organization,

then contracting a representative with previous experience of work environment and local culture :

– represents a win-win choice;

– drastically reduces liaison costs.



Benefits



Meaningful by-products

For Node 3 development, the adopted liaison strategy permitted a remarkable synergy of NASA, DCMA, Boeing, ESA and TASI resources.



Meaningful by-products (cont’d)

Liaison helped to orchestrate the involved parties, irrespective of the liaison being only NASA’s, from the contractual standpoint.– Effectiveness formally acknowledged by all organizations.

The achieved synergy :– fostered new relations, paving the way for new collaborations;

– brought improvements to NASA and TASI organizations (e.g. creation of TASI Functional Engineering).



Attitude & Strategy



How much does the attitude count ?

Nothing different from basic pre-requisites for a healthy teamwork environment.

Positive and constructive approach has no enemies :– Dampen effects of grumpy counterparts and enhances cooperation

between different teams, thus promoting efficiency and product integrity.

– One has to be fully convinced about the need for these two virtues, otherwise hypocrisy is visible and results are not achieved.



It’s great that you used this approach to solve this problem !

Actually I told her to do it a couple of

times, but that’s OK.



What about the strategy ?

Lessons learned clearly show that a “territorial approach” doesn’t help problem resolution.– Unless issues involve contractual, export control or certification

aspects, data and ideas must be shared by the involved organizations, with the necessary discipline to prevent dispersion or negative work.

The Node 3 experience features several cases in which problem resolution was expedited with this strategy.





Ric, we got to make sure that hatch installation has no operational or safety

risks.

Flavio, let me prepare a measurement plan and see if we can take

measurements to clarify your concerns.





What about the strategy ? (cont’d)

Recognition of precious help from “locals” :– Must necessarily take place to promote motivation and availability

of the same local resources to tackle future issues;

– Must be trimmed to culture, meritocracy and organization constraints.





Knowledge counts



Once the personal attitude is in place to promote proper relations, knowledge and proactiveness are the essential ingredients.



Conclusions

When establishing a liaison :– Determine first what the real objective is.

– Ensure organization and culture constraints will be met.

The successful liaison person :(from Gods of Management, by Charles Handy) :

– is familiar with the areas to be bridged,

– is respected by both,

– can get things done,

– is skilled in interpersonal relationships,

– has a high tolerance for stress.



Thank you !


Documents

In collaboration with establishing a successful Liaison Thales Alenia Space Establishing a Successful Liaison 1AIAA – Civil Space 2013 Commercial Crew