Quality Getting it right from the get-go

When manufacturing the products in our portfolio, we comply with an extremely broad variety of worldwide industry standards from the last four decades. On top of this, of course, we also make absolutely sure to meet the specific needs of our customers. Despite this enormous complexity, our quality slogan is “Getting it right from the get-go,” and this attitude is what has always enabled us to be a business partner that our customers can count on.

By modifying internal structures, optimizing processes, and ensuring the continuous development of our suppliers, we have managed to lower our complaint rates by more than half since 2014. However, we are not about to rest on our laurels, and instead have the goal of reducing this rate a further 10% every year in the future.

Facts and Figures

Complaint rates in 2019:

0,96 %

Delivery-performance in 2019:

93 %

for Rolls-Royce engine tooling

Quality check of

1,000

part numbers per month

How we keep delivering unparalleled quality

Test stand with load capacity of 350 metric tons

For our Biberach location in Germany, we have developed a test stand that is capable of testing the largest available tripod-jacks globally with its load capacity of 200 metric tons. The test stand is the biggest of its class in the world, and we use it to put our entire product portfolio to the acid test. In fact, the test stand is such an outstanding unit that even customers outside of the aerospace industry use it.

Maximum quality assurance efficiency

Our mobile 3D coordinate measuring machine with interactive visual guidance is particularly versatile, enabling us to carry out individual high-precision measurements on extremely large products that would be difficult to move due to their size and weight.

Testing as per customer requirements

The vast majority of our products are subject to extremely large loads during use, which makes thorough testing essential in order for us to be able to guarantee that they are safe, This is why we not only subject these products to load testing, but also to nondestructive testing methods such as dye penetrant inspections and magnetic particle inspections. Moreover, we have a reliable network of ISO 17025-certified laboratories that can perform metallurgical analyses.

Figure: Quality inspection on a weld

Lean as the basis for lasting and effective improvement

We use the lean method to plan lasting and effective improvements within the company and to implement them as efficiently as possible. In 2017, we provided all our locations with lean / Six Sigma training and used hands-on workshops to redesign work areas and workstations based on 5S.

In addition, we have untangled the various flows of goods involved in our quality inspection processes and have spatially separated these processes into an incoming goods inspection area and an outgoing goods inspection area.

Figure: Lean implemented in a real-life scenario – workstation at Assembly before and after being optimized with the lean method

International standards

In the aerospace industry, safety always has topmost priority, making international standards indispensable. We are internationally certified in conformity with the following standards and have all our locations go through re-certification on a regular basis: