Meggitt Avionics (MAv) is one of the longest established designer/manufacturers of functionally and safety-critical aircraft avionics and flight data systems. The incredibly agile but inherently unstable, Typhoon Eurofighter could not fly without Meggitt’s flight stability system and if all other system’s within it and many other aircraft failed, it would be Meggitt’s Integrated Secondary Flight Display that enabled the pilots to bring their craft home safely. These and a wide range of other ‘black boxes’ made by MAv are relied on by military and civilian pilots the world over.
Quality underpins everything Meggitt does. Without a stringent and carefully managed quality assurance system, Meggitt Avionics could not meet the exacting standards and tolerances demanded by its customers. Equally its design, planning and manufacturing skills, carefully developed over 150 years, require dependable processes and systems to support their operation and recently, the company and its parent, Meggitt Plc, implemented a significant restructure, resulting in a group which is now process, rather than departmentally focused. This has created the opportunity and impetus to change the pre-existing Quality Management System in to a true Business Management System that caters for the new structure. Started in April 2010 this is still in its early stages and will not complete until January 2012. However it has already produced exciting new BMS designs and has highlighted opportunities for major improvements. It is for these reasons that we are showcasing the project now.
The new BMS is required to:
- Support strategic objectives with appropriately defined and communicated processes;
- Improve operational effectiveness and efficiency;
- Satisfy regulatory bodies, auditors and customers that legal and safety criteria are at all times being met.
For MAv, ongoing trading is dependent on ongoing regulatory approval, which in turn is dependent on relevant and up to date processes being in place. As a result, the project involves a number of key operational roles. The project sponsor is the Engineering Director since the Engineering function is particularly affected by the organisational restructure and in addition, Engineering requires a level of process flexibility to match its own operational plan. The project initiator and owner is the Business Improvement Manager and the system design and restructure from a QMS to an engineering-focused BMS, is being led by the Principal Quality Engineer.
A version of Qmap has been actively utilised by MAv as the underlying QMS software for several years, with the current version dating back to a technological platform originally installed in 2002. As part of the BMS build, data, change management and future performance management requirements are being placed on the system which would be better handled by a different Qmap platform. Such a platform it should be expected would result in faster operating speeds, reduced management intervention, easier and more focused collaboration across the entire user base, improved process ownership, close integration between processes, projects, client contracts and performance, improved risk management and real time auditing. Since it would enable relevant and specific KPIs to be dynamically linked to critical process activities at any point in the value chain, whether in operational or support functions, with real time reporting back to any level of management, it should also be expected that performance management would be improved and profitability increased. A platform review has therefore been instigated.
But already the new BMS has generated benefits. Formalising processes that were previously out of scope, such as import and export, ITAR and financials has improved compliance against those, ensuring they are being followed more closely than before. Engineering processes, which have not only increased in volume and complexity but also in their requirement for flexibility can now be better catered for, with process tailoring and improved document linking for gate reviews possible. End users can now use the BMS to go directly to any specific process, with all of the relevant information required for them to complete specific tasks being readily available at the point of need. The resulting efficiency improvements are already driving down costs.
So with the new BMS and a little help from Qmap, pilots around the globe can continue to rely on Meggitt’s wonderful black boxes to bring them home safely.