Increasingly complex customer and regulatory compliance requirements, tighter time-to-market schedules from customers who want greater product customization, and the constant pressure on costs and pricing make aerospace manufacturing one of the most challenging businesses in the world to compete in.
I was a group quality manager for an engineering company that made aero-engine parts. As part of the culture change program, I gave a presentation on examples of aircraft crashes and causes. A poorly machined blisk that caused an in-flight turbine failure, an oil-pipe with a thin wall in one area that cracked and leaked causing a fire, and an incident I personally saw, the crash of a military helicopter in Germany which was due to a series of quality failures.
In automotive manufacturing, reducing quality costs can be like trying to bail out a leaking boat. You can empty bucket after bucket over the side, but you can’t get above water until you plug the leaks themselves.
The AS9100D transition timeline is moving towards mandatory assessments to the 2016 revision. Much has occurred since fall 2016 including the AS9100-series standard release, auditor training, certification body approval, and, of course, organizational implementation.
We hear these words all the time, but what do they really mean?
November 1, 2016
Imagine this scenario for two potential hires. Looking to build his résumé and gain some credibility in the quality world, Candidate A takes a few courses on quality from an accredited university, and upon completion receives a certificate in quality systems.
The management systems auditing community has recently engaged in a lot of talk about how to audit a quality management system (QMS) when there are minimal requirements for documentation in the ISO 9001:2015 standard.
Instead of viewing them as a necessary evil, focus on the benefits
February 3, 2014
Standards, whether ISO or not, are essential because they offer guidance for ensuring your organization’s products and services consistently meet customer requirements.