SERVITIZATION AND THE GLASS FACTORY : AE AEROSPACE BREAK THE MOULD WITH TRANSPARENT PRODUCTION
AEROSPACE TRANSPARENT PRODUCTION
AE AEROSPACE
SERVITIZATION AND THE GLASS FACTORY : AE AEROSPACE BREAK THE MOULD WITH TRANSPARENT PRODUCTION
For more than 20 years , AE Aerospace has met and exceeded the aftermarket needs of the aerospace industry . Known internationally for its high precision components and sharp reactions to changes in the market , the company offers both civil and defence clients a robust and dependable engineering package , from concept to execution . One of the things that sets AE Aerospace apart from its competitors is its ability help customers get their products to market swiftly , without compromising on quality - a skill that ’ s in high demand as the market moves into 2018 .
The next big milestone for the company and its customers will be an ambitious move to a transparent factory operation .
Realising the ‘ Glass Factory ’
To meet the demand and continue to exceed customer expectation , AE Aerospace has outlined a new production plan at its headquarters in the UK Midlands . At its core is the concept of the ‘ glass factory ’ - an open and transparent shop floor that enables production-wide visibility and faster identification of problems and potential bottlenecks . This new approach is designed to dramatically increase productivity within the factory and give clients real-time updates to help them better manage their own commitments .
In order to devise and implement the visual factory approach in an efficient and effective manner , AE Aerospace joined the Growth Programme at Aston Business School in 2015 . Since then , core members of the team have participated in servitization workshops in order to improve their Advanced Services Business Model and get the very best out of it for customers .
Iain McKechnie , Director of Strategic Programmes at the Advanced Services Group at Aston Business School , said this of AE Aerospace ’ s involvement with the programme :
“ Peter Bruch , Managing Director at AE Aerospace , has been involved with The Advanced Services Group since late 2015 . He joined our programme to increase his awareness of servitization as a concept , and to learn how to integrate and develop it in order to provide better value for his customers . AE Aerospace ’ s transformation journey is well underway - as demonstrated by their plans for a ‘ glass factory ’ - where their customers will be able to access machining schedules and utilise machining time by the hour .”
Instead of simply providing end-products to clients , the machines and tools at the AE Aerospace factory will be made available as an extension or even as a replacement of the client ’ s own production operations . Not only will this reduce machine down-time at AE Aerospace , it also promises to save its clients time and budget as they won ’ t need to pay overheads or labour costs in-house .
Iain continues :
“ The Advanced Services Group helped AE Aerospace transform their thinking to focus more on the provision of services to support their products and their customers ’ capability requirements rather than mere products alone .”
This is clearly something that AE Aerospace has thought about very carefully and which the company is implementing with great care . Not wanting to rush the change , the implementation of the ‘ glass factory ’ will happen through three clear stages .
The first ‘ glass factory ’ stage will enable AE Aerospace to see inside their own factory , allowing them to anticipate potential issues and streamline operations on the shopfloor .
This will take the pressure off the walkabout staff whose job it is to spot issues and areas for improvement . As part of this initial stage , AE Aerospace will implement its recently upgraded Capacity Planning and Production Scheduling System to make productivity more efficient across the board .
Stage 2 will bring the customer into the fold , introducing an intuitive dashboard with real-time updates on how production is going . Crucially , clients will also be able to see estimated dispatch times to help them better plan their own operations . If something else takes priority , clients are able change running orders via an online portal , giving them an unprecedented level of control . This is servitization like never before .
The final stage aims to take the first two stages and refine them to perfection , removing all friction and barriers to production . Machines will be provided ‘ by the hour ’ to ensure there is minimal downtime and availability can be organised and guaranteed in advance . Run-times will be dynamic and responsive to clients ’ needs , and clients will have their own production cells which they can influence themselves and control remotely .
Industry 4.0 is the chief aim for businesses throughout the industry , and while it still may be long way off for many , AE Aerospace is proving that it is within reach .
www . aeaerospace . com
64 PECM Issue 34