SPECIAL FOCUS MILITARY & AEROSPACE Effective supply chain quality management reduces risk
Jean-Louis Evans, managing director at TÜV SÜD Product Service, provides some tips on streamlining supply chain processes in order to maintain or improve efficiency
Jean-Louis Evans, managing director at TÜV SÜD Product Service
Ultimately, it will help industry deliver competitive solutions through a more effective supply chain, whilst maintaining profitable business growth. SC21 is endorsed by the UK’s Ministry of Defence and is increasingly imposed as a requirement for suppliers of large prime companies as it specifies quality management systems specific to these industries.
SC21 encourages the use of RMM T
he aerospace manufacturing supply chain is under unprecedented
demand to deliver competitively priced products and components, while maintaining quality. Those businesses importing products and components into the EU are required to hold evidence from their supply chain of test reports and certificates, in the form of a technical file that proves compliance. However, manufacturers must also take steps to test what they buy to ensure compliance, rather than rely on their supply chain to take on the burden of proof. One important step is to check that
the relevant reports and certificates match the correct product. It is also vital to double check that these are less than two years old. Over a period of time, reports tend not to relate to the product in its current form due to material and manufacturing changes. Also, businesses should ensure that the tests are relevant to the current requirements and do not use superseded standards. Another issue in the supply chain is that very often the final products supplied are not the same as those ordered. For example, a product exhibited at a trade show may subsequently require a reduction in production costs to win a big order and this leads to an adaption of the final product and its components. This can lead to degradation in the quality of the final product compared to the original sample. To overcome these issues, testing should be done before the product is shipped. Factory inspections can also be carried out to check the authenticity of factories, as sometimes mass-production is done in one facility and samples are produced in another before submission
30 OCTOBER 2017 | DESIGN SOLUTIONS
for testing and certification. It is also important to ensure that any factory dealt with outside the EU has a quality management system in place and is regularly audited by an independent third-party. Additionally, companies should consider doing pre- shipment and post-shipment inspections. Before the products are sold in the EU, samples should be sent for a spot-check so that they, and their test certification, can be verified as being compliant.
STREAMLINE THE PROCESS Suppliers to the aerospace market are faced with tough economic challenges, meaning that testing and certification is often viewed as a cost burden. To define and deliver an efficient testing programme, OEM suppliers must therefore streamline the process by working closely with the test laboratory that certifies their products. Such technical support during the product certification process will help OEMs get through the complex testing process by anticipating and mitigating design and related certification approval issues early on. However, often a test organisation is only involved once the finished product is ready, and there is pressure for the product to be tested and approved. By engaging early and performing pre-compliance testing, there is added reassurance that there will be no unwanted surprises when it comes to final test and approval. SC21 is part of the UK aerospace,
defence, security and space industries’ programme to achieve supply chain excellence. This change programme is designed to accelerate the competitiveness of the aerospace and defence industry by raising the performance of its supply chains.
(Relationship Management Matrix), which is a bi-directional relationship between organisations that need to work better with each other. Using RMM, the relationship is measured in order to identify where there is effective cooperation, but also identify where there is room for improvement. As a consequence of engaging in RMM with a test organisation, a strong relationship of trust and dependence develops, and this can be used to continually improve efficiency and allow for more effective forward planning.
MINIMISE SUPPLY CHAIN RIPPLE Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) supplying airline manufacturers need effective support, not only with qualification testing programmes, but with pre-compliance testing, across the design and development lifecycle. This will reduce the risk of delays during final product qualification testing as part of the certification process, and minimise a negative ripple effect across the supply chain. Periodical pre- compliance testing at stages during development can provide an early warning system for problems that may cause supply chain risks later in the process. Information obtained from either test or finite analysis methods can be incorporated early into the design of structures, ensuring a smooth and swift acceptance of the final qualification testing requirements. By engaging with a testing
organisation early on in the development of a product, and using SC21 tools to continually improve supply chain excellence, manufacturers can effectively mitigate risk, be assured that their supply chain complies with relevant regulations and minimise time-to-market delays.
TÜV SÜD Product Service
www.tuv-sud.com
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