Beacon Quality Blog

Roughly 7 in 10 manufacturers have implemented Lean manufacturing principles in their organizations, with 5S, Six Sigma and Kaizen representing the most popular strategies today.

One tool that supports these specific approaches and Lean manufacturing principles more generally is a layered process audit (LPA) program. LPAs draw auditors from all management layers and departments to verify mission-critical processes on a daily basis.

Let’s examine how LPAs align with Lean manufacturing principles, providing a structured approach to unlock the biggest benefits of this popular quality methodology.

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By all accounts, the transition from ISO/TS 16949 to IATF 16949 has been a bumpy road so far. The standard encompasses a range of new requirements, including major changes to parent standard ISO 9001. Added to that, General Motors (GM) recently issued new customer-specific requirements that have significant implications for internal audits.

Many suppliers still have questions about what the new requirements are, what they should be doing to prepare and what auditors are looking to see. Time is running out, so it’s critical that organizations take action now to avoid any unnecessary delays or business interruptions due to certification issues.

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If you had your AS9100 transition audit tomorrow, could you say right now whether you would pass? More importantly, do you know where the gaps are in your processes that could trigger non-conformities?

AS9100 is the leading standard for aerospace management systems, required by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and suppliers worldwide as a condition of doing business. The most recent version of the standard, AS9100 Revision D, was released in 2016, giving manufacturers until September 15, 2018 before AS9100 Revision C certificates expire.

To ensure a smooth transition, suppliers need to be aware of several key changes to the standard. Avoiding an interruption in business means proactively planning your transition strategy, focusing on training, gap analysis and internal audits.

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In less than a year, all ISO/TS 16949:2009 certificates will officially expire, with IATF 16949:2016 replacing the standard on September 14, 2018. Over 67,000 suppliers will need to make the transition, and there’s no time to waste in understanding the new requirements and gaps to address.

So what are the big changes automotive suppliers need to comply with? More than just a basic update, IATF incorporates dozens of new requirements covering areas like management accountability, risk management, and internal audits.

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With only a handful of aerospace original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) as potential customers, aerospace suppliers have to hustle to make sure they’re selected. Stand out for the right reasons, and you could solidify 20 years worth of business. Make the wrong impression, and you could miss out on tens of millions (or more) in sales.

Taking a page from auto manufacturers, aerospace suppliers are increasingly adopting layered process audits (LPAs) as a way to build a competitive edge. LPAs help achieve many quality goals beyond cost and defect reduction, including one that can be hard to pin down: creating a culture of quality.

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Leading automotive companies require suppliers to conduct layered process audits (LPAs), a requirement experts say may soon come to aerospace companies via the AS9100 standard.

LPAs provide daily checks of high-risk processes, verifying operator adherence to standard processes to minimize variation and defects. Aerospace companies that implement LPAs have cut defects by 53% in six months, offering convincing evidence that these frequent audits are worth the investment in time and resources.

For those considering implementing LPAs or information on best practices, following is an overview of LPA basics, addressing questions like who should participate, what LPAs cover, how to implement them and why they’re critical to quality.

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According to Harvard Business Review, less than half of employees say their organization exhibits a culture of quality. And while the benefits of quality culture are huge—think hundreds of millions in savings—getting there doesn’t happen overnight.

Instead, it requires sustainable habits that provide a foundation for long-term change. Below, we look at 7 of the most important habits of a mature quality culture.

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The transition to AS9100:2016 for Aerospace Management Systems is officially underway. Audits can no longer be conducted to the earlier version of the standard, and old certificates will expire on September 15, 2018.

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They say what gets measured gets managed, but what about the things you can’t measure—the ones you need to see with your own eyes to understand?

Like the workstation that could be set up for faster throughput. Or the critical calibration tool that happens to be chronically broken. Or the process that has too many steps, creating a bottleneck. In these and other situations, identifying the right solution often means going to see the source of problems firsthand.

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