“Times have changed. In the past, we said: Sheet metal, rivet, finished! Today, requirements on the factory floor are much higher.” The aviation industry in particular has seen a paradigm shift with the use of new materials, according to P3 consultant Anton Czech. The production and assembly of large components of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CRP) require innovative and highly complex processes. The quality manager claims: We don’t see ourselves as firemen! We want to detect the fault before it occurs.

In one project, P3 consultants Anton Czech and Martin Pilsak accompanied the production and assembly of CRP components for a large plane. “We identified many problem areas during workshops and interviews. 25 percent of those were flagged red afterwards. Meaning: Warning, high fault potential!”

The goal was to optimize the customer’s processes along the value chain. To literally comprehend the influencing values for process stability, the P3 team watched production and assembly closely. Only this way they could detect and assess fault-prone processes along with the employees. “Not till processes are questioned directly on the shop floor with regard to method and goal, the biggest fault potentials will show. To avoid those beforehand is vital for CFP production and assembly. Highest precision is in demand there“, says P3 consultant Martin Pilsak.

To meet this demand, Czech and Pilsak connected practice and methodology by combining elements of the ISHIKAWA and FMEA quality methods in a goal-oriented way. The results were the topics which had to be given priority for process stability. Afterwards, the P3 team accompanied and supported the realization of the measures. This generated new and optimized processes, which are considered as best practice standards. “Due to new technologies and materials, we face completely different challenges in today’s aviation industry. Without a practice- oriented and preventive quality management it doesn’t work out anymore.