Category: Work

Just around the clubhouse turn looking to finish up the IKONOS gig in little more than a month.  The 13th of June should be my last day on the job with Lockheed as I hope to be headed up into the mountains for a camping trip the following Monday and expect to take vacation for the remainder of the time until the layoff takes effect on June 30th.  Being around the guys I’ve worked with all these years those last days would just feel too awkward.

The only fly in the ointment is that little cardio condition of mine just now coming to the fore.  It’s quite likely I’ll be on disability leave at some point during that time if the chest pain turns out to call for the standard angioplasty treatment I’m expecting.  A couple more visits to the hospital for some tests should have that scoped out (literally) soon.  I’m going to be disappointed if I have to postpone the camping trip because of it.

Having been officially notified of our pending layoffs June 30th, the job search is proceeding apace.  I’m phone interviewing for a Lockheed position at Deer Creek Tuesday and a hiring manager from the USDA has indicated my resume appears interesting for a Ft. Collins position they are hiring for.

The Lockheed staff on the Ikonos program waits with baited breath as we approach the end of March reaching the previously stated deadline for formal 90-day notification of Task Order 2 termination (Operations).  Practically speaking, the timeline for sustaining operations would seem to extend well beyond that with only one qualified DG operator trained, 1 well along and 3 others just starting.  But DigitalGlobe has been known to meet Ikonos deadlines regardless of the practical implications before.  So the consensus is next week our operators should expect to be told they are being let go as of 30 June.

It’s a bit difficult to say under the circumstances, but seeing the DG operators working the system, doing their own thing, looking at it with a critically unbiased eye, really is a breath of fresh air.  I’m starting to believe the dramatic changes now underway will eventually in the long run outweigh any personally negative feelings we may have regarding Lockheed losing the program, at least for as long as Ikonos lasts.  Looks like things will now be proceeding in a real team environment.

One of my biggest, if not only really substantive complaint was the inflexible, almost dogmatic way operations were implemented.  “That’s the way it’s always been done” was the tacity approved modus operandi.  Innovation, analysis or any attempted change to the status quo was actively stifled.  The very few people with any control selfishly administered this oppressive environment with an iron hand.

Good riddance to that.

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I see a message from one of the corporate email robots this morning telling me to do something I thought I did about three weeks ago.  Evidently, this year’s performance plan updates have somehow disappeared.  At least mine did.  Probably nothing personal.  I’ll bet everyone got whacked.  So I’ll be charging some more overhead time re-entering them later today.  At least I kept my copy.  Data management seems a somewhat nebulous concept these days.  Glad I learned how to do it right a long time ago.

Is depressing, to say the least. Everyone knows the end is near but continues to soldier on – impressive really, under the circumstances. People are frustrated and in at least one case angry about their particular situation. Ikonos seems to have become almost an afterthought or inconvenience in the customer’s eyes. We are not a priority, rather an issue to be dealt with and dismissed, the sooner the better. It is awkward just being around knowing the customers don’t want you there. Previously high standards and production rate are basically gone. “Whatever” is good enough. Mistakes are completely overlooked. At least the pressure to be perfect is off.

Clock is ticking on the Lockheed Ikonos gig. We have been warned the ops people (task order 2) will be let go in June. I’ve steadily ramped up job search efforts over the past year and prospects seem good due to the improving economy. Only downside now seems to be the struggling defense and government sectors – my main targets.