Do you check your suppliers’ Nadcap merit status?

If not, you should! A recent analysis by the Performance Review Institute, which administers the Nadcap program, revealed that suppliers on merit:

• Typically receive three times fewer major non-conformances in their Nadcap audits
• Receive approximately two times fewer total non-conformances in their Nadcap audits

The Nadcap merit program exists to reward superior performance in Nadcap audits. Suppliers on merit may reduce their Nadcap audit frequency from every twelve months to every twenty-four months, generating a significant time, cost and resource saving.

The Nadcap Management Council, led by Mark Rechtsteiner of GE Aviation, has set a goal of 80% of eligible Nadcap accredited suppliers to achieve merit status. (Suppliers are only eligible for merit after two consecutive Nadcap audits).

Arshad Hafeez, Executive Director of Global Business Development and Corporate Strategies, Research & Development, at the Performance Review Institute states: “The Nadcap audit is a stringent process designed to highlight members of the aerospace supply chain with outstanding quality and engineering processes. Entry into the merit program represents an industry-wide recognition for those suppliers who really are the crème de la crème, as this report shows.”

Learn more at www.pri-network.org

Almost 9 out of 10 aerospace manufacturers risk serious defects

A poll conducted by the Performance Review Institute (PRI) in January 2010 showed that 88% of respondents felt that their company could do a better job of measuring escapes.

An escape is where defective product has been shipped to the customer prior to being identified as faulty, hence it has “escaped”.

Aerospace escapes need to be taken very seriously.  When they are not recognized, escapes can cause fatalities. Flawed parts have been fitted in commercial planes without anyone realizing or recognizing them as flawed parts. As a result, a number of airline crashes have occurred due to faulty fuel lines or hydraulic fittings. In another case, 20,000 parts processed improperly had to be recalled at a cost of $20,000,000.

To improve the situation, PRI’s professional development program eQuaLearn has introduced a new webinar called “Awareness of Escapes in the Aerospace Industry: Avoiding Costly Mistakes”. Developed with input from industry experts, this webinar is designed to educate aerospace companies about the risks and provide strategies to avoid them.

Chet Daté, Director of Quality Systems & Regulatory Compliance at Honeywell Aerospace supports this training as he explained: “Escapes are a serious issue for the aerospace industry. Recalls are costly and problematic as aircraft are complex machinery operating in a challenging environment. It is vital that non-compliant aerospace parts are identified and communicated as quickly as possible to prevent serious accidents.”

Learn more at www.eQuaLearn.com