By Michael Watkins

Calculating figures or finalizing a client's taxes is likely what Lore Katz would be doing had she followed her original career path. Instead, this principal data warehouse administrator at Rockwell Collins realized after completing her first college accounting course that she needed to focus on computer programming.

Today, Katz is receiving company-wide recognition for her contributions toward the design and development of the SAP Business Warehouse platform, which forms the basis for information across our enterprise.

A graduate of St. Ambrose University with a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science, Katz's passion for her work shines through each project she undertakes. This exuberance and proficiency was rewarded recently when she was recognized as one of 10 finalists for the Rockwell Collins 2007 Engineer of the Year award.

"With my interest in logic and math, and my love for programming, this has been a career fit for me," said Katz, who joined our company in June 1989. "Being nominated for our Engineer of the Year award is the ultimate recognition I could receive - aside from winning, of course. It's honestly not something I've worked toward receiving, but it most definitely is so much more than 'just a nice reward.'"

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Business Analytics Manager Ravi Kapoor has witnessed Katz's intelligence and innovation on several occasions. The two worked together for nine years before Kapoor became her manager, and he says her work proves more impressive as time progresses.

"Lore is always thinking outside the box and demonstrating a high degree of originality," said Kapoor. "She takes the initiative to develop new methods, procedures and approaches. She also effectively turns ideas into reality."

One of those ideas included architecting and leading the Rockwell Collins Services (RCS) Information Delivery Program, which created a unified approach to measuring our company's repair business.

Part of our SAP Business Warehouse platform, these reporting solutions supply information that allows RCS to analyze productivity, cost and profitability.

"The same solutions are used to support operational decision-making on a daily basis and to ensure we are positioned to meet our commitments to customers who are operating aircraft or supporting military operations," said Katz, who also has delivered business solutions in the areas of sales, finance, project systems, service management, and inventory management.

According to Kapoor, the solutions architected by Katz are being used extensively by our customers and have resulted in millions of dollars in additional revenue, while also reducing repair turn-around times.

"When our company struggled with more than five different warranty reporting solutions, Lore created one solution that's now being used across our company to control and reduce $35 million of warranty costs," said Kapoor. "That's a great cost reduction."

For Katz, creating additional revenue or helping to reduce costs is a regular part of her job. And while the recognition she received recently for a job well done is nice, she quickly admits she could not have accomplished such a feat on her own.

"I'm very appreciative of the nomination, but I certainly didn't do this alone," said Katz. "I have a great team of people working with me. Both the people on my team and our internal customers have contributed to this success."

- Michael Watkins is a freelance writer.