A Job Well Done - By All Involved

Today was a sort of anniversary for me, because it
was this date, in 1969, the mission was launched
during which man first set foot on the moon.

In 1968 I worked, as a consultant (contractor) at
ILC Industries in Dover, Delaware. ILC was then a
division of Playtex Park, the same folks who made
women's girdles but were probably best known for
the "cross your heart bra." ILC designed and custom
manufactured the Apollo space suits.

Model A6L was their entry level suit that was
completely redesigned after the fire that took 3
astronauts lives during an earthbound practice
session. By the time I arrived to ILC we were
manufacturing the A7L model that had many features
to improve the fireproofing of the space suit
system. Almost nothing is 100% fireproof in the
pure oxygen atmosphere used during the Apollo
missions.

I had, at the end of my stay at ILC, two projects
that were given to me that were my crowning
achievements at that time. The lesser one was to
find all the misplaced/forgotten change orders that
NASA had issued for helmet R&D, especially the
optically correct gold splatter coating on the pull
down visors. Having those change orders was absolutely
necessary in order that ILC be awarded the profit that
was due them for the work that was done. The NASA
contract was what is called "cost plus." That meant
that the government trusted ILC to spend their money
frugally, and all costs would be reimbursed. But in
order to receive the profit portion of the contract,
the monies already paid out had to be justified and
all work performed under the authority of change
orders issues by NASA.

ILC suspected that some $10 million in reimbursed
costs had not been submitted for profit payout,
partly because the man in charge of that R&D, named
Tomasetti, had experienced a couple of heart attacks
and though he had managed to pull himself together
well enough to get the necessary job done, he had
lost track of the documentation. On days that Mr.
Tomasetti was well enough to come to work, I sat
with him over a two week period and very patiently
documented the entire process, including all the
change orders that had been scattered through his
desk and office. In the end I managed to document
about $18 million in approved work that resulted in
recovery of approximately $1,080,000 in profit for
the corporation, and I prepared the documents needed
by ILC's professional negotiator.

As pleased as I was with that success, even more
important to me was the other final project. I was
given the task of writing the proposal for all the
alterations to the A7L space suit needed for the
lunar missions. In house we called it the Omega
Configuration. I still have my draft copy of what is,
to the ordinary reader, a boring and dreary document.
The only difference between the draft and the final
version was the title and a reduction, across the
board, of 15% on all projected costs.

I was, considering that the year was 1968, well paid
for my efforts. I never received any other compliments
(with reference to John Archocosky's call for compliments
for "job well done" by city crews.) In fact, the proposal
took 95 hours of my active work, start to finish, for
the draft copy. And a week was all the time I was given.
Two secretaries stayed most nights well past midnight
in order to get the typing done.

Along with everyone else involved with Apollo 11 took
pride in our work, and more especially in the achievement
of a successful mission. By then time Apollo 11 launched
I had been working for some time at Fairchild-Hiller on
the F-15 fighter design in R&D, and coordinating that
aircraft design with the airborne phased array radar
system that I had worked on in the R&D phase at Raytheon
several years earler.

Ever since July 16, 1969, every time I look at the moon
for one reason or another, I am internally pleased with
myself while realizing that, "I helped to put men there."

The feeling never gets old. For me there is no reward
greater than knowing a job was well done.

Happy anniversary Bill. Happy anniversary America.

Bill Vajk