TÜV SÜD Product Service's managing director, Jean-Louis Evans explains how using SC21 tools to continually improve supply chain excellence, can mitigate risk and ensure your company's supply chain complies with relevant regulations. The commercial interest in next generation aircraft, and demand enhancements for onboard facilities and passenger experiences have never been so great. This puts unprecedented demand on the aerospace manufacturing supply chain to deliver competitively priced products and components, while maintaining quality. While it is now simple to source aerospace components and finished products from anywhere in the world, manufacturers that buy directly from outside the traditional supply chain are increasing risk in terms of product quality and customer satisfaction. Also, customer demand for improved quality, coupled with strict delivery lead-times, means that delays in the required test certifications can cause substantial cost in both time-to-market and financial expenditure. OEMs supplying airline manufacturers therefore 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. To reduce complexity and expedite the process, a qualification testing programme must therefore include: A single point of contact for all qualification and testing activities; A common standard report format; Project delivery and quality as the consistent focus across all activities. Qualification testing programmes are at the end of the line in terms of reducing risk, but 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. Testing methods fall into several categories: Structural/mechanical properties, Power quality and Environmental. Information obtained from investigation of structural/mechanical properties, either by 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. The same applies for the power quality and environmental aspects. Where equipment may be used for multiple applications, a tailored, single test programme can be designed at the early stage of product development, which will successfully cover different requirements and minimise testing lead-times. This may be an overall test programme covering a range of Airbus and Boeing requirements, but may also include specific requirements for other airframes. <Controlling the supply chain> 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 as, over a period of time, reports tend not to relate to the product in its current form due to material and manufacturing changes. Also ensure that the tests are relevant to the current requirements and don't 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 tradeshow 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, and a 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 for testing and certification. It is also important to ensure that any factory you deal with outside the EU has a quality management system in place and is regularly audited by an independent third-party. Also, consider pre-shipment and post-shipment inspections, taking random samples to ensure that the goods meet expectations. Before the products are sold in the EU, send samples for a ‘spot-check' so that they, and their test and certification evidence, 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. OEM suppliers must therefore streamline the process by working closely with the test laboratory that certifies their products to define and deliver an efficient testing programme. Such technical support during the product certification process will help OEMs to get through the complex testing process by anticipating and mitigating design and related certification approvals problems 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 encourages the use of Relationship Management Matrix (RMM), which is a bi-directional relationship between organisations that need to work better with each other. For product manufacturers and test organisations, RMM is an excellent tool which has a proven track record of creating highly effective collaborative relationships. Using RMM, the relationship is measured in order to identify where there is effective cooperation, but also identify where there is room for improvement. This not only benefits both parties, but also the wider supply chain. 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. Ensuring compliance across the supply chain may at first appear a daunting and complex task. However, by engaging with a testing organisation early on in the development of a product, to minimise time-to-market delays, and using SC21 tools to continually improve supply chain excellence, manufacturers can effectively mitigate risk and be assured that their supply chain complies with relevant regulations. www.tuv-sud.co.uk
