William Hughes expands aerospace quality programme

"Our aeroengine customer gave us a structure and planning framework based on its preferred quality methodology," explains Nick Allsop, Production Supervisor, at William Hughes. "This was fully implemented, used regularly and then assessed, and resulted in the cell being awarded a silver-level quality rating, with a suggestion from the customer that the team applies for the gold standard."

QA has always sat at the heart of William Hughes, but a formalised, transferable program makes it easier to compare and contrast with industry best practice. Indeed, buy-in for the wider deployment was made significantly easier when other manufacturing cells witnessed the operational benefits from even the simplest elements of the programme: shadow boards for each machine and activity meaning that tools are always in the right place, tool boxes with foam inserts ensuring each tool is replaced correctly, floor markings and railings defining exactly where machinery is positioned and which space is left clear.

Nick Allsop continues: "We took the customer's framework and complemented it with a 3C methodology (concern, cause and countermeasure) and a 5S lean philosophy (sort, set in order, shine, standardise and sustain), both of which combine to create the new company-wide best practice.

"This type of project requires a champion to drive it and commitment from every level of the company, especially from the boardroom" Nick concludes. "But when the benefits start to shine through, people soon realise that effort expended at the front end has significantly positive long-term payback going forwards. It is also a continuous journey of self-improvement as we look for new opportunities, all of which will be reflected in the higher levels of quality, products, service and support that we can deliver to all our customers."