IAN GOOLD / TOULOUSE
Manufacturer launches drive to crack down on "cottage industry" contractors
Airbus has issued a public warning to suppliers that it will blacklist any that fail to meet standards as it launches a major drive to overcome "delinquency" among contractors.
"Schedule adherence and quality rejects remain at unacceptable levels," Airbus procurement executive vice-president Ray Wilson told the fourth Speednews aviation industry suppliers' conference in Toulouse last week.
"Supplier schedule adherence is less than 90% and we reject more than one in every hundred pieces of aircraft equipment," he said. "Given the cost levels that pertain in our industry, I believe it is reasonable to expect delivery on schedule and reject levels of less than one per thousand."
The drive comes as Airbus undertakes a major cost-cutting drive to save €1.5 billion ($1.7 billion) from its cost base by 2006. Wilson said quality costs remain "far too high", and warned that suppliers persistently failing to meet standards will lose their status. "In many ways [the supply chain] is a cottage industry with a lot of maturing to do...the industry needs to change: we are going to drive this change."
Wilson cited avionics rejection rates "much higher" than 1% from suppliers that argue physics laws prevail against better performance: "We'd better change the laws of physics. Levels of performance such as we see will no longer be tolerated." He acknowledged that quality rejects are a cost problem for suppliers "but too often it's a delay for us. There are too many unplanned events, too many surprises."
Wilson rejects claims that lean manufacturing processes are responsible for the problems: "How lean is it if a $100 million aeroplane is delayed due to a $1,000 part missing? Even the dumbest supplier can put finished parts into stock; well-controlled inventory buffers are essential. Suppliers who cannot manage are destined to go out of business or build stock buffers."
Although Airbus is prepared to help contractors, Wilson will only go so far: "We will work with suppliers to improve their process capability and reliability of supply but will become more rigorous in charging the resulting extra costs. Ultimately, we will blacklist suppliers who do not meet expectations."
Source: Flight International
