Change management and lean thinking “part of company culture”

AWS Group, one of the UK’s leading specialist Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS) providers, has been confirmed as the leading supplier in the SBAC’s SC21 change program by Phil Curnock, the SBAC’s SC21 project manager. SC21 is designed to accelerate the competitiveness of the UK’s Aerospace & Defence industry by raising the performance of its supply chains. AWS is sponsored by General Dynamics UK (GDUK), a significant customer.

AWS’s 12 months delivery performance to GDUK was above 99% and quality was measured at 248 defects per million opportunities (DPMO). The company’s scored over 500 on its lean manufacturing and business excellence framework performance and the combined assessment means that AWS is the first company to reach this level and be considered for recognition under the SC21 program.

The SBAC and its regional partners including the Midlands Aerospace Alliance (MAA), the Northern Defence Industries (NDI), the West of England Aerospace Forum (WEAF) and the North West Aerospace Alliance (NWAA) are assisting companies in developing new business globally, facilitating innovation and competitiveness and providing regulatory services in technical standards and accreditation. The SC21 recognition framework has bronze, silver and gold awards based on delivery, quality and continuous improvement metrics.

AWS Group CEO, Paul Deehan commented: “Back in May 2007 we saw that a transformation in the industry was about to happen. Change management and lean thinking are part of our company culture so we eagerly embraced and adopted SC21 as our continuous improvement tool. The fact that we have got to the front of the pack in such a short space of time due to the diversity of industries we serve, our excellent delivery and quality track record and also the wide industry backgrounds of our staff.

He continued: “SMEs operating in the defence and aerospace sectors cannot afford to sit back and wait for the primes to pull them through change programs as they will have their own programs to manage and deliver. Instead SMEs who wish to remain competitive must project themselves forward proactively - and SC21 program provides the ideal opportunity”.

Byron Clarke, champion for SC21 delivery within General Dynamics UK added: “It is encouraging that one of the first companies to reach the recognition level is part of our own key customer working group. We have been working proactively with AWS as part of our own supplier development programme, and the assessment with AWS was one of many we have started in the last few months. The openness and the transparency that comes from the SC21 diagnostic has meant that we have a clear framework within which to measure progress. It’s a win-win scenario: we all benefit from this initiative.”

For more information on SC21 go to http://www.sbac.com/

For more information on Midlands Aerospace Alliance go to http://www.midlandsaerospace.org.uk/

For more information on Northern Defence Industries go to http://www.ndi.org.uk/

For more information on the West of England Aerospace Forum go to http://www.weaf.co.uk/

For more information on the North West Aerospace Alliance go to http://www.aerospace.co.uk/