ATS Quality Products has reached an agreement with Bombardier Aerospace, Belfast to supply the company with quality systems to support its CSeries and Learjet 85 aircraft programmes.The software agreement is a big success for ATS’ Luton, UK-based division. The company describes itself as an independent MES solution provider, specialising in IT and shopfloor support, with the ability to offer both being a key market differentiator.
Identifying opportunities
For any company still using manual methods, the software will offer a significant improvement, but this is only one aspect of the whole package. As more OEMs and higher tier organisations look to simplify their supply networks, companies with the ability to provide turnkey packages are the ones reaping the rewards. In the case of ATS, this means that its MES offering is fully supported by the provision of products, software development, training, consulting, automation and support.
Business development manager Martyn Gill describes: ‘We take a strategic view, acting as a consultant, where we go into a company and see what we can do to help them become a world class manufacturer. From there we would then provide shopfloor support and products, which as we’re independent won’t necessarily be ours. We just go to market and find the best solution for the job.
With Bombardier we were able to work from the beginning of the programme and I started by talking to some of its senior management to identify any areas of concern. In January 2010 we provided them with some workshops that demonstrated how they could create a Lean methodology. We then sat with a number of people over a couple of weeks looking at their systems, suggesting improvements and ways to save money.’
Flexible software
Mr Gill also believes that ATS has a competitive advantage thanks to the their solution’s broader scope of functionality in terms of what Bombardier was looking for, such as the ability to connect any device with an output to its shopfloor execution system (SES) as well as the ability to extend the software code to interface with new products as they are introduced.
He continues: ‘If you take a measuring device like a vernier caliper or a micrometer and it has an output, the information gets recorded through the database and you can use it for traceability services through the report management software module. There are literally thousands of these devices on Bombardier’s Belfast site and we’ve consolidated their requirements into gauging sets depending on the function of the operator or process in the factory. Ultimately it means they spend more time evaluating and improving quality in manufacture rather than going through the time consuming process of writing down measured values. It’s a much more Lean process.’
With some of its equipment attached to small, portable data collectors, information is stored and can be used to report on any recurring problems, assess capability and most importantly, provide full traceability. In addition, this software functions as a complete computer aided quality (CAQ) solution, with modules for quality planning such as failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) and first article inspection. Ultimately, this allows a company like Bombardier to make the best use of a data-driven business model. For example, machine tools across the business can be monitored to identify the most common recurring reasons for downtime so that the root causes can be systematically eliminated.
Continuity equals efficiency
‘Bombardier has taken a painstaking approach to ensuring this goes very smoothly and it took about 12 months to implement,’ says Mr Gill.
‘With new customers we do suggest they identify a pilot scheme before investing a large amount of money. This approach allows them to try it out and identify what they want from it so that we can work with them to find the ultimate solution. That’s always a win-win situation because the product can be developed to fit their needs precisely. If you just sell the whole thing at once you can spend a long time configuring the system and going through training. That can be seen as a big failing for a lot of companies.’
In addition to this latest work with Bombardier, ATS has considerable experience with aerospace customers, considering it a crucial sector, especially in the UK. It has, for example, supplied and supported Rolls-Royce Aerospace since 2003 and is a frontline supplier to BAE Systems and GKN Aerospace. ‘We spread our customers very carefully so were not dependent on any one sector,’ adds UK managing director Kevin Partington. ‘Aerospace accounts for about 20% of our global business but in the UK the figure is 65-70%. That sounds relatively high but when you consider the kind of customers we have as well as the stability offered by the industry, it justifies our decision to commit to the sector, especially given the current economic situation.’
Finally, with the company looking towards future growth, the ATS Knowledge Day 2011 will take place in the Digital Lab at the University of Warwick on 23rd November 2011. The free seminar programme will discuss a range of subjects relating to MES, including two presentations by ATS International group managing director and MESA Europe vice-chairman Mike James. Full details and registration are available on the company’s website.
