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Spring 2011 Issue 12


Getting the full picture


General Dynamics UK has developed a number of channels for discovering what soldiers in the front line really need


Feedback is a critical means of getting things right. But while learning from experience and then applying what you’ve learned may seem an obvious approach, it doesn’t necessarily occur unless someone makes an effort to ensure that there’s a process in place to achieve it.


That’s what General Dynamics UK does – partly by listening to those returning from active operations, to understand their experiences and


hear what they have to say about how systems perform in the field and how they might work better.


General Dynamics UK has developed a number of ways of engaging with end users in the UK’s military community. The EDGE® UK facility, for example, provides an environment in which customers not only get to understand what the Company and its potential suppliers have to offer, but where end users can provide a direct input, offering their experiences and insights.


Those insights are so valuable that, a few years ago, General Dynamics


www.generaldynamics.uk.com


UK began a series of events in which service personnel returning from operational duties – initially from Iraq but mainly from Afghanistan – could recount their experiences.


Useful understanding The motivation for this is simple. “There were a number of things we thought we might be able to do to support current operations,” says Nicholas Beswick, head of Concepts Development at General Dynamics UK. “But we didn’t know enough of the detail of the operating environment to know what would be useful in practice.”


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