Management Makeover

Much of the job of transforming NASA may be left to Michael Griffin, the Johns Hopkins University physicist who has been nominated to head the agency. NASA proposes to cancel programs, trim its workforce, close facilities and put field installations under private management. Since the Columbia disaster, agency officials say they've:

• Re-centralized shuttle management, shifting accountability from Johnson Space Center to headquarters; instituted quarterly program management reviews.
• Integrated management and oversight of orbiter, tank and booster projects; developed system for sharing digitized photographs of critical subsystems.
• Expanded contingency training for mission managers, requiring manager interaction across NASA and contractor lines.
• Designated independently funded authority to instill engineering "conscience," enforce technical requirements and verify launch readiness.
• Elevated importance of safety and mission assurance; gave chief safety officer fiscal independence and direct authority over shuttle safety organization.
• Adopted industry standard definition of "foreign object debris"; educated workforce in monitoring and eliminating it.
• Undertook agencywide management and safety culture change initiative.