STEP helps Skytek bring innovations back to Earth

Posted by & filed under News & Events, space.

Northern Ireland software company Skytek is bringing expertise honed in space back to Earth with the help of the new Space Technology Exploitation Programme (STEP).

 

Skytek is one of three Northern Ireland (NI) SMEs awarded UK Space Agency research funding in a STEP pilot project, managed by ADS, that is designed to support the development of innovative technology for the UK’s growing space sector.

Its project, AR4Space, sets out to harness Skytek’s “ground-breaking advancements” in augmented reality (AR) technology for applications in the spacecraft assembly, integration, and test (AIT) sector. The 18-month project concludes in February 2025.

The NI-based company is known for procedure support systems used by astronauts on board the International Space Station (ISS). Skytek software on tablets or laptops deployed onboard the ISS takes astronauts through the steps involved to carry out experiments, perform system maintenance and other tasks such as preparing for space walks.

The irony of bringing it back to Earth is not lost on Skytek’s chief technical officer and co-founder Paul Kiernan. “Our heritage is in space,” he said. “We’re software developers behind products that crew use daily on board the ISS.

“People told us our procedure support was of interest to those on the ground who perform test campaigns on satellites, launchers and other space vehicles before launch.”

Skytek appears to be in the right place at the right time, coupling the emerging technology of AR with the evolution of the EGS-CC standard developed by ESA and major space primes to unify their test procedures and enable interfacing between spacecraft and test equipment.

The beauty of Skytek’s solution, said Kiernan, is its ability to stream live data relating to various components on a space vehicle undergoing testing before launch to a test engineer, revolutionising AIT activities.

Skytek’s softward is platform-agnostic, running on untethered mixed reality headsets such as the Microsoft Hololens 2 and Apple Vision Pro. “It’s a new emerging world,” said Kiernan, noting that new commercial space station operators have reported interest in new AR devices and could potentially open another market.

STEP funding will support Skytek through writing the proof of concept for its application and set it on the road to commercialisation, work that Kiernan said would be “hard to do without a project”. It has also enabled the firm to add two software developers to its staff of 30 spread across its sites in the UK, Poland and Romania.

“There’s a lot of excitement in the space domain with commercial operators entering the market,” he said. “A lot of companies are building space stations and they will all need similar support.

“ADS has been very good in supporting us with introductions to primes. It can be difficult for SMEs to get in.”

Developing a relationship with a prime and gaining its trust take time: reliability and delivery are big considerations. “We’re lucky to have worked with [a prime] for two decades, so hopefully that would make adoption [of new technology] easier.

Skytek – Space To Innovate

NATEP funded projects feted at this year’s ATI conference

Posted by & filed under Events, Aerospace, News & Events.

Sensor Coating Systems (SCS) and Toffee X – took centre stage at this year’s ATI awards ceremony that took place during the conference earlier this month.

The judging panels awarded SCS the MAKING THE DIFFERENCE AWARD for the most impactful small R&D project making a tangible difference to UK aerospace.

The research project reviewed by the ATI was the SCS led project MULTICOAT – co-funded through the National Aerospace Technology Exploitation Programme (NATEP)  and Innovate UK.

A multitude of technology advances were achieved during this project by the SCS core team, in collaboration with Cranfield University and Monitor Coatings Ltd.

The MULTICOAT project uses Thermal History Coatings (THC’s) that enable temperature mapping by combining a luminescent, temperature -sensitive coating, a non- destructive and optical read-out device and an automated scanning system to provide accurate readings over a wide temperature range. The novel technology can measure temperatures of 1,600 degrees centigrade and above with an impressive accuracy of plus/minus 25.  The project successfully demonstrated that thermal mapping technology can be utilised under multi-cycle test conditions where engine load conditions are changing. Multi-cycle testing provides customers a more cost-effective and faster way of testing engines, hence speeding up development times to meet demands for the design of new, more fuel-efficient engines.

The technology also wins on the sustainability front

Existing thermal paints and coatings usually contain toxic materials, and the judges were particularly pleased to see that the Sensor Coating Systems solution is fully REACH compliant.

More information and technical insights can be found by visiting www.sensorcoatings.com

Our second NATEP winner Toffee X can now add winning the ATI HUB BREAKTHROUGH AWARD for most promising startup to their list of achievements. This award celebrates UK-based startups that have been active in the aerospace sector since 2020 that are supporting the journey to Net Zero 2050 for commercial flight.

ToffeeX, is revolutionising the design of heat exchangers. Effective thermal management and efficient coolant systems are critical for, among other areas, the electrification of aircraft systems and hydrogen fuel cells. Originating from Imperial College London, ToffeeX’s software has enabled the design of heat exchangers that are 31% to 50% more efficient than current solutions, resulting in more compact designs, reduced weight, and a volume decrease of over 50%.

Hear direct from Toffee X’s CEO Marco Pietropaoli interviewed by Aerospace Global News

ToffeeX software will cut design cycle ‘to weeks’ – AGN (aerospaceglobalnews.com)

 

The success of these companies proves that innovation funding really makes a difference to SMEs undertaking R&D to solve complex problems.

Although the NATEP programme is now closed to new applications, the ATI SME programme will be open to new applications in January 2025

Visit https://www.ati.org.uk/funding/smeprogramme/

to find out how you can take your ideas forward

Supply Chain Excellence at Advanced Engineering 2024

Posted by & filed under Events, News & Events.

Advanced Engineering is the UK’s largest annual gathering of engineering and manufacturing professionals

SC21 and the wider SCS Framework will be represented over the two full days at Advanced Engineering along with participants of the SC21, NATEP and DTEP programmes. Come along to meet the SCS team and hear firsthand from the SMEs benefitting from these programmes.

KEY EVENTS

Day 1 – Wednesday 30 October

12.30 – 13.30

New technologies from the NATEP Projects and funding opportunities

In this session, some of the technologies the projects have been engaged in and their relevance to a future aerospace supply chain will be explained.  Funding opportunities for SMEs in aerospace will also be showcased.

13.30 – 14.30

SC21 & SCS and Aero Excellence unpacked

Hear from ADS’ Harriet Wollerton and Colin Hart as they discuss the SCS Framework.

We will also celebrate recent SC21 award winners who will be there to pick up their awards

Where:  Aerospace & Satellite Engineering Forum which – N190 Hall 3

Day 2 – Thursday 31 October

13.40 – 14.40

DTEP/NATEP: Technologies developed by SMEs for the Defence and Aerospace supply chains

Hear from projects providing cutting-edge answers to aerospace and defence problems

Defence projects are funded through the Defence Technology Exploitation Programme (DTEP)

DTEP is currently being delivered by the MOD’s Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA), in partnership with Innovate UK, and ADS as the industrial panel provider.

Where:  Aerospace & Satellite Engineering Forum which – N190 Hall 3

Not registered for Advanced Engineering yet? Register for your ticket here:

Why quality matters and its role in supply chain competitiveness improvement.

Posted by & filed under Aerospace, Defence, News & Events.

With ever increasing demands on the supply chain, quality remains a fundamental cornerstone in determining value, supply chain performance, and safety.

It is the absolute lifeblood of continuous improvement – constantly reviewing performance gives you the opportunity to change things for the better. It is vitally important that companies understand where they currently stand against a benchmark or standard and have a plan to get better.

Colin Hart, SCS Competitiveness Director explains more:

We saw athletes at the top of their game at the recent 2024 Olympics. Reaching that standard will have taken tremendous resilience and continuous effort to keep improving. In a similar way, businesses need to focus and drive incremental improvements to perform at their best and win in a competitive landscape.

We can all identify a standard we wish to achieve whether that be a weight loss goal in our personal life or obtaining a formal business accreditation such as AS9100. But, without firstly benchmarking where you are and then having a structured time-based plan we are unlikely to achieve it. This is where structured continuous improvement programmes such as SC21 come in.

Knowing how much you have improved is interesting, knowing how far ahead of the competition you are, in the eyes of your customer, is essential.

The interesting thing about competitiveness is that it means slightly different things to different people. It is a bit like value – what is value to one person may not always be exactly the same to the next person. It’s the same with a supply chain – what capability is deemed higher value to one customer may be different to another. However, quality always remains an essential element.

The demands and expectations on the supply chain are growing and increasingly multi-faceted and diverse. What was deemed “world class” just three years ago is merely average today. The expectations that a product or service will work first time, every time have also grown – whether that be a Wi-Fi network, or a mobile phone. You only have to look at reviews on social media for proof of this.

Feedback is vitally important and shouldn’t make your heart sink. It should be welcomed as an opportunity to make improvements when shortcomings are highlighted. Many successful businesses have recognised that link. They take their input from their number of returns, customer feedback, or employee surveys and they feed it into their business improvement plan.

What looks competitive to one customer can be different for the next. This is increasingly more complex with the future challenges of social value, sustainability and net zero targets. Having that input and collaboration with the customer to understand why they come to you is really important. The question we need to ask is, where do I need to focus my improvement efforts to add value and retain business, and then hopefully you can go a little further to offer that extra value. You have to know where you are, and benchmark that.

Expectations are also increasing every day in terms of, not only how companies perform, but also how they behave.

Ethical procurement is increasingly important – that understanding of not only where your supplies come from, but also from where your suppliers source them and to set expectations for them to operate in ethical conditions, to demonstrate sustainability, and so forth. The best businesses have the right behaviours, not just in terms of their staff, but also their supply chain.

Five top tips for an organisation to gain a competitive advantage

  • Benchmark where you are and understand where your position is in the market, using an evidence-based toolset.
  • Listen and research what is going on around you before you decide what to do. Listen to as many people as you can but ultimately you have to decide what is best for your business, department or for your personal development.
  • Collaboration is key, both on a micro level and a macro level. Spend time looking at other departments and invite them to give feedback on yours.
  • Don’t just focus on the big things. They can make a huge impact but often it is the smaller incremental changes that matter.
  • Don’t let achieving perfection immediately stand in the way of progress – have a plan and make an improvement list. If you know what you want to do, plan out what you have to do to get to what you want to achieve. Doing something is almost always better than doing nothing!

 

Understanding CBAM: What It Means for Aerospace and Defence

Posted by & filed under Aerospace, Defence, News & Events.

The Cross Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) marks a significant milestone in the EU’s environmental strategy, directly impacting UK SMEs in the aerospace and defence industries. Understanding the framework and preparing for the forthcoming reporting and financial obligations become paramount.

What is CBAM?

The Cross Border Adjustment Mechanism is designed to prevent carbon leakage by imposing a carbon price on imports of certain goods into the EU.

This innovative mechanism aims to ensure that ambitious climate efforts within the EU do not lead to a disadvantage in the international markets, by levelling the playing field between EU producers subject to carbon pricing and producers in countries with less stringent emissions standards.

Phases of CBAM & Implications for Non-EU Importers

October 2023 – December 2025: CBAM transitional phase.
  • Goods falling within CBAM’s scope are required to report the greenhouse gas emissions embedded in their imports.
  • For non-EU importers in the UK aerospace industry, this phase necessitates a proactive approach to understanding and preparing for the upcoming reporting requirements. This ensures that goods entering the EU market are competitively priced by accounting for the carbon costs associated with their production.
January 2026: Mechanism’s full implementation to commence.
  • Financial adjustments in the form of carbon tariffs will be applied.

CBAM process steps for SMEs

In April 2024 we published a GHG Guidance document – a comprehensive guide based on the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, specifically tailored to the aerospace and defence sectors.

In this publication we included an overview of CBAM and the process steps for SMEs to achieve compliance.

We identified seven process steps that SMEs should follow, from understanding the scope through to calculating imports and certification, as shown below:

  1. Understand the scope and Requirements: Identify if your imports are covered by CBAM
  2. Register with the CBAM Authority: Register your business for CBAM reporting
  3. Collect Data on Imported Goods: Gather data on the CO2 emissions of imports
  4. Calculate CO2 emissions: Calculate your imports total CO2 emissions
  5. Submit the Emissions Report: Report emissions via the EU portal during the transitional phase
  6. Verification: Get the emissions report verified by an accredited third party
  7. Purchase CBAM Certificates (when required): Buy certificates for the embodied emissions of your imports starting in 2026

By following these steps for reporting greenhouse gas emissions, UK SMEs can navigate the complexities of CBAM, ensuring their products remain competitive in the EU market while contributing to the global effort to mitigate climate change.

Want to learn more about how to report greenhouse gas emissions including a worked example here?

Express your interest in our ESG programme on the attached form to receive a link to the full document here.

 

Aero Excellence™ International: The Importance of Collaboration in Strengthening Our Supply Chains

Posted by & filed under Aerospace, News & Events.

ADS CEO Kevin Craven spoke recently at Farnborough International Airshow about the benefit of Aero Excellence™ International for the UK supply chain. This is his speech….

In today’s rapidly changing geopolitical environment, industries must navigate a complex landscape to meet the surging demand for products, capabilities, and services.

Our industries are buoyant, yes, but the demand for our products, capabilities and services far outpaces the amount we are able to fulfil.

Without the great work of trade bodies like ADS, GIFAS and BDLI, it would be easy to forget that, no matter how big your business is, you are part of a wider sector with shared interests and shared challenges. Success in securing our collective advantage lies in fostering resilient and efficient supply chains through collaboration and commitment to long-term solutions.

The power of collective effort

Our sectors thrive on the innovation and risk taking of our SMEs. Without this passion, our industries could not develop as successfully as they do now. That is why it is so important we support smaller businesses to continuously improve their efficiency and ability to weather shocks, for all our sakes.

We must also look at what an improved supply chain does for our broader economic impact. Recent ADS data showed that our sectors increased their economic value for the UK by 50% over the last decade, far exceeding the rate of growth of the rest of the economy. Our productivity per worker is staggeringly 46% higher than the UK average, a testament to the hard work within our supply chain.

The SC21 Programme: A Proven Model

In the UK, we have a history of collaborative efforts to enhance supply chain performance. The SC21 programme, launched in 2006, is a prime example. Over 18 years, SC21 has welcomed over a thousand businesses, significantly enhancing operational resilience, agility, and effectiveness within the supply chain. We are (rightly) immensely proud of it).

To keep growing we must keep improving. For our supply chain to continue thriving it cannot remain stationary.

Over the last 12 months, we have collaborated extensively with our French and German colleagues to ensure the leading practice from SC21 is captured within the Aero Excellence™ International framework, delivering for UK businesses within an increasingly competitive global environment

Introducing Aero Excellence™ International: A Global Standard

Aero Excellence™ aims to foster operational excellence across national borders by enhancing operational, environmental, and cybersecurity standards.

This global system will bring several key benefits:

  • International Recognition: Aero Excellence™ will provide businesses with a mark of quality recognised worldwide, opening doors to international markets and opportunities.
  • Unified Standards: By aligning standards across countries, Aero Excellence™ ensures a consistent level of excellence and reliability, making it easier for businesses to collaborate across borders.
  • Enhanced Competitiveness: The framework supports businesses in improving their operational practices, making them more competitive on a global scale.
  • Operational Resilience: By adopting best practices, companies can better withstand economic and geopolitical shocks, ensuring long-term stability and growth.

Moving Forward with SC21 and Aero Excellence™ International

We know that a global system as ambitious as this is not developed in isolation, and nor is it developed overnight.

Building up Aero Excellence™ International in the UK will take time, meanwhile the SC21 programme continues to operate at full speed. Companies are encouraged to act now enrolling in the SC21 to build evidence of their delivery and quality output and start to gain operational benefits from an established framework. This approach ensures that businesses are well-prepared for adopting Aero Excellence™ in the future.

All the improvement support provided through the SCS/SC21 framework will absolutely continue to support UK competitiveness.

Indeed, Aero Excellence™ will not be relevant for all businesses.

We will work with you to establish which path is the most appropriate. Running this dual system will ensure that our programmes will continue to provide value for industry.

For those in the Airbus supply chain that will have to adopt the Aero Excellence™ programme, we are working diligently to ensure a smooth transition, with existing SC21 award performance gaining visibility within the Aero Excellence™ system. Further engagement with industry will happen over the coming months to keep you informed.

Supply chain improvement programmes, forged in collaboration with GIFAS and BDLI, will ensure our sectors will continue to prosper in a fast-developing world.

Together, we will continue to drive innovation, enhance our resilience, and deliver immense value to our economies and society.

You can view details of the launch event for Aero Excellence™ International hosted at Farnborough International Airshow here.

Kevin Craven

ADS CEO

Aero Excellence™ at Farnborough International Airshow: UK, France and Germany announce new initiative to improve supply chain resilience

Posted by & filed under Aerospace, Defence, News & Events.

  • The UK, French and German aerospace and defence trade associations are partnering to develop Aero Excellence™ International.
  • The initiative will be a dynamic, resilient approach to supply chain improvement across international borders.
  • Aero Excellence International™ is designed to streamline evaluations and increase productivity – strengthening supply chains and supporting the aerospace industry’s ramp-up.

Farnborough International Airshow (23 July 2024) – The UK, France and Germany today jointly announced Aero Excellence™ International. The initiative is designed to improve supply chain resilience through a new and universal standard of operational excellence for the aerospace and defence community.

Fortifying their commitment to best-in-class supply chain improvements, Aero Excellence™ International is created by the leading national trade associations in Europe: ADS, which represents 1300 organisations in the UK; GIFAS, which represents over 480 organisations in France; and BDLI, which represents over 260 in Germany.

The Aero Excellence™ programme was launched in June 2023 at Paris Air Show by GIFAS. Its expansion into the UK and Germany, through a partnership with ADS and BDLI respectively, will create Aero Excellence™ International. The joint association will remain open to further partners.

Aero Excellence™ International promises to be a standardised assessment of supply capability, improving the entire supply chain across borders. Operational Excellence, Environment, and Cyber Security are assessed with a progression from Bronze, Silver towards Gold status, thus fostering transparency, comparability and quality.

Guillaume Faury, GIFAS Chairman and CEO of Airbus, said:

“Aero Excellence™ International is designed to strengthen the operational, environmental and cyber excellence of our industries in order to meet future challenges and improve competitiveness. The aim is to establish a universal maturity benchmark recognised by the aeronautics, space and defence community.

“Aero Excellence™ has been operational in France since January 2024. It is now time for its internationalization. Aero Excellence™ International, launched jointly with ADS and BDLI, is open to other countries. Let’s make it a European standard that could be adopted worldwide!”

David Lockwood, ADS President and CEO of Babcock International Group said:

“I am delighted that Aero Excellence™ will be coming to the UK. A united set of standards that has the support of both customers and suppliers in multiple countries will turbocharge efficiency and support supplier improvement activities for our businesses.

“Efficient and robust businesses across the supply chain will allow both customers and suppliers in the UK aerospace and defence sectors to thrive, while also becoming increasingly competitive in the global marketplace.

“The value of effective, efficient collaboration and trade between the industrial bases of the UK and its allies in this uncertain geopolitical environment also cannot be ignored. This programme is a vital part of expanding that collaboration.

“As we look to the future and navigate an increasingly complex global landscape, our partnership with GIFAS and BDLI will be instrumental in this journey, providing SMEs with the tools and insights to prosper.”

Dr. Michael Schoellhorn, BDLI President and CEO of Airbus Defence and Space said:

“We welcome Aero Excellence™ International as a promising contribution to the stabilisation of the supply chain. This is of particular importance at a time when our industry tackles the challenge of the ramp-up amidst increasing geostrategic risks. Initial trial runs of Aero Excellence™ in Germany give us confidence that the needs of all our businesses, including small and medium-sized enterprises, will be met and that we can establish a reliable, efficient, and universally accepted standard – while maintaining a balanced distribution of the costs. Given the spirit of collaboration among our three associations, Aero Excellence™ International has the potential to shape not just European but global supply chains for the better.”

Media Contacts:

ADS Group

  • Freya Lewis
  • Head of External Communications
  • Comms@adsgroup.org.uk
  • +44 7880 190 529

BDLI

  • Dr Patrick Keller
  • Head of Communications
  • +49 3020614014
  • pressestelle@bdli.de

GIFAS

  • Christophe Robin
  • Communications Director
  • +33 (0)1 44 43 17 50
  • +33 (0)6 07 51 86 23
  • christophe.robin@gifas.fr

 

Silver lining without the cloud: Righton Blackburn’s quality shines through

Posted by & filed under News & Events.

If getting an SC21 Silver award is cause for celebration, getting 12 Silvers in 12 consecutive years at Righton Blackburns (RB) Plymouth, 10/10 at RB Fareham, 7/7 at RB Bristol, 5/5 at RB Manchester and Glasgow, has to be off the chart, but that’s what Righton Blackburns has achieved.

The stockholder, distributor and processor of safety critical metals and plastics is taking things in its stride. On time in full (OTIF) deliveries and exceptional levels of quality and service have become second nature.

The Silver award, says Andy Gauler, RB’s Aerospace and Defence business manager, “is testament to our consistent performance as a supply chain partner to customers working in the challenging industries of aerospace and defence.”

“It’s good to have awards and be associated with major OEMs and their tiers, but essentially SC21 is a very good box of common sense tools, that if used correctly, will improve your business and bring you closer to your customers and suppliers. Why wouldn’t you want to do it?”

Why indeed. It’s a question perplexing Gauler, who has been associated with the programme administered by ADS since 2008.

“The SC21 award criteria has a number of elements that are pre-requisites of the AS9100D Quality Management System, so if you are doing it right, you are not going to need to completely reinvent the wheel for your AS audits.

“What would be advantageous to all SC21 award winners would be a greater recognition by the OEMs and tiers of the value of SC21 in reducing total acquisition costs and for buying communities to create environments that allow for collaborative dialogue and for invitations to tender, to be at least granted.”

As he sees it, what is the downside for the primes and the tiers, who want to work with a supply-chain company in an open and transparent partnership and receive consistent year on year SC21 Silver performance or better? Even today however, whilst the fierce global battle rages for improved competitiveness and market share, “some companies still put no weighting on it,” Gauler added.

RB’s network of 10 strategically located UK service centres supplies all manner of Ferrous and Non Ferrous metals to the Aerospace, Defence, Power Generation, Marine, Process plant, and Automotive industries; these include Stainless Steels, Alloy Steels, Aluminium Alloys, Copper Alloys, Titanium Alloys and Nickel Alloys and a host of contract specific items.

An SC21 Gold award, said Gauler, is “probably beyond us” because RB’s international supply chain of mills face their own massive challenges caused by a surge in demand for Safety critical metals, especially in the aerospace and defence sectors, which is highly regulated and where demand continues to charge ahead of supply.

Maintaining Silver status is down to having strong relationships with both customers and suppliers alike –  “continually talking, updating things, providing market information, planning ahead, can we do this in a better way”.

“SC21 is the template for all our business and process improvements and is fundamental in all our decision making, incorporating ethics, relationships, supply chain partnerships, risk, opportunity and sharing best practice at all times.”

https://www.rightonblackburns.co.uk/

ADS Celebrates 2024 CQI International Outstanding Achievement Award for its SC21 Competitiveness Programme

Posted by & filed under Events, News & Events.

London (21 June 2024) – ADS today celebrates the 2024 CQI International Outstanding Achievement Award for its SC21 Competitiveness Programme at the CQI Awards last night.

This prestigious award from the Chartered Quality Institute (CQI) acknowledges the programme’s exceptional impact on enhancing quality throughout the UK aerospace and defence supply chains.

  • Award recognises programme’s role in transforming quality for SMEs working in the aerospace and defence supply chains.
  • SC21 programme strengthens UK supply chain resilience and increases competitiveness by achieving excellence in quality and delivery every time

Recognised for Transforming Quality

The SC21 Competitiveness Programme was honoured for its contribution to improving quality standards within the supply chain to empower UK SMEs to become more competitive and resilient in a global market.

Built on 18+ years of success, the programme operates using continuous improvement. Through a new self-assessment tool and full assessment followed by the deployment of an individually focused Continuous Sustainable Improvement Plan and enhanced learning from a comprehensive library of 110+ improvement modules, participants can systematically build capability for improved operational excellence through quality and delivery performance..

Built on Customer Trust

SC21 Programme optimises the customer-supplier relationship for mutual benefit and is supported and recognised by leading Primes and OEMs and our regional partners. This award recognised the programme’s dedication to fostering industry buy-in and supporting supplier development to position the programme as a leading model for quality excellence and innovation.

Colin Hart, ADS Competitiveness Programme Director says of the award.

We are delighted to receive the 2024 International Outstanding Achievement Award from the CQI. As we strive to meet the future challenges of net zero and global insecurity, the demands for competitive supply chains are multi-faceted and ever increasing. Quality remains a fundamental cornerstone in determining value, supply chain performance, and safety.

Since its launch, the SC21 programme has helped over 1,000 SMEs achieve international recognised supply chain performance, not only by help them thoroughly understanding their own businesses performance but also identifying and implementing the right steps to improve their efficiency, productivity and resilience.

We take immense pride in the SC21 programme’s focus on evidenced quality performance, so this award not only recognises that success but more importantly the achievements of its participants who achieve consistent high-performance standards, not only of quality but also delivery and business capability.

Vince Desmond, CEO the Chartered Quality Institute says.

“This is a richly deserved and, some might say, overdue recognition of the impact of the ADS Competitiveness Programme. In addition to acknowledging the great work by ADS, we hope this initiative provides a benchmark for other sectors in the development of quality management especially in terms of how to gain industry buy in, how to make it accessible to the supply chain, and how to develop and promote good practice through capability development support services.”

ADS is committed to driving quality improvements and competitive standards in UK supply chains. As our sectors look to the future, the SC21 Competitiveness Programme will continue to play a pivotal role in shaping resilient, high-performing supply chains.

SC21 becomes ‘your sanity check’, says programme practitioner

Posted by & filed under News & Events, Aerospace.

Ask George Wilson what’s so good about SC21 and he’ll tell you it’s the programme’s integrated approach to structured improvement over time.

With more than 20 years experience of helping others improve their businesses, Wilson, a senior executive of the Centre for Competitiveness (CforC) in Belfast, knows what the benefits are.

For a start, the SC21 assessment process is very good, he said. “Irrespective of the maturity of the business, the programme’s breadth of criteria is good and the assessment methodology challenging – it’s very useful in terms getting an organisation to reflect on itself.

“Because it’s underpinned by diagnostics which generate an improvement plan, it becomes your sanity check over time.  I’ve seen a lot of benefit for organisations who come through the different levels.”

SC21 entered Wilson’s life in 2013 when CforC gained practitioner status on the programme. That was about the time when Invest Northern Ireland (NI) came on board with financial support to help companies through the SC21 process which was seen as a way to help local engineering companies better meet the needs of the region’s cluster of aerospace prime and Tier 1 contractors.

It was a “neat fit”, said Wilson. “Our remit has always been process improvement. We were approved as practitioners and, as we were local it was a more cost-efficient option for local companies. It also helped that Invest NI developed a support package to encourage participation.”

The SC21 journey from Bronze to Silver to Gold awards reflects the programme’s impact on performance; everything from how a business measures up against core methods, to its sustainability as a business and its focus on employees.

Wilson said it’s been his “good fortune” to have helped organisations work through the SC21 process and achieve the highest level achievable under the programme. Pro rata, he said, Northern Ireland is punching above its weight in the UK with five Gold organisations – at least 50% of the total across the UK.

The process can be quite powerful for organisations in terms of setting them on their improvement journey over time. Said Wilson: “More mature businesses will say of course that their SC21 award helps get them through the door to talk to primes, but equally they talk about how it makes them think about how to manage all aspect of their business, how to measure performance in the round.

“It makes them think about how they look at different opportunities and different markets.”