A Case Study on How to Remove Waste from Lean Six Sigma Projects at a Large-sized Company

Six Sigma projects are not associated with quick solutions. In general defect free products are requested by the customer. Therefore companies can easily fall into the pattern of treating end of line symptoms of problems by using band aids, instead of finding more robust solutions to their problem.In this poster the current situation regarding Six Sigma usages at parts of GKN Aerospace Sweden as well as provide and evaluate solutions to incorporate the new Lean philosophy in the current Six Sigma usage. A focus will be put on how reducing waste in the Six Sigma projects and thus shortening the time needed to complete the projects while still getting more benefit out of them. One success factor has been identified by focusing the early define discussions on a better scoping of the project that is more strategic relevant, which also facilitates a higher degree of consensus and buy in of local organisation

Data Driven Continuous Improvement by Six Sigma in Aircraft Industry

Continuous improvements initiated by unsatisfactory output variation often require data or combinations of data from other up-stream variation sources than previously monitored. Three Six Sigma projects have been recently carried out in order to improve the process capability of welded components at GKN Aerospace. Common to these three projects are problems with the measurement systems and sub-sequent analysis related to the Key Characteristics (KC) evaluation. Parameters are traditionally monitored relative their individual requirements but not to the combined set of measures that form the KC. All three projects identified a need to establish a standardized procedure to develop data collection and analysis procedures relative specific KC based on downstream requirements in order to be able to evaluate KC baseline capability.The aim with this article is to recognize the development of an overall measurement system (containing probes, data collection routines and analysis procedures) as enabler of Continuous Improvement of downstream KC capability requirements.Note: GKN Aerospace is a Tier 2 supplier in the Aerospace business with a large variety of components that is available on more than 90% of all new engines

A Nineteenth-Century National Prussian Macroseismic Questionnaire

We recently discovered in the regional record office of North Rhine-Westphalia (Landesarchiv Nordrhein Westfalen) in Duisburg (Germany) numerous original documents organized and distributed during the nineteenth century by the Prussian authority. These documents constitute a series of completed surveys very similar to present-day macroseismic questionnaires that were ostensibly used to gather information about felt earthquakes in the Kingdom of Prussia. This article presents an overview of these documents and discusses their importance for broadening the knowledge base of nineteenth-century earthquakes in this part of Europe. Indeed, for some earthquakes, answers to the questionnaires furnish original historical sources that were never scientifically exploited; for other earthquakes, the surveys formed the basic source of information, utilized but not referenced in two nineteenth-century scientific studies. Detailed examination of a small sample from these historical documents definitively demonstrates the necessity for a reevaluation of the nineteenth-century earthquakes

Bridging the gap between point cloud and CAD: A method to assess form error in aero structures

One barrier to the successful implementation of probabilistic design methods is the lack of methods for characterizing form error. Form error, defined as the irregular deviations in geometry, is hard to describe in a virtual environment. This paper showcases a method that uses a simulation platform to assess the effects of form error on the aerodynamic, thermal and structural performance of an aero structure. Particularly, it looks at how bridging the gap between nominal CAD-geometries and point-cloud-based scanned geometries, creates a unified model where physical geometrical deviations can be isolated from model uncertainties. In a sample fatigue life problem, the effects of geometrically deviated parts is assessed. Further, a permutation genetic algorithm is implemented to optimize deviated part configuration. From a research standpoint, the showcased method contributes to addressing the genesis problem inherent in uncertainty quantification. From and industrial point of view, this method provides a precise, cost-effective tool for dealing with effects variations, which in turn increases both product quality and development process efficiency

Designing simulation platforms for uncertainty—An example from an aerospace supplier

Variation poses a serious threat to the functionality, safety and reliability of aircraft. As the aerospace industry depends ever more heavily on modeling and simulation in their product development, there is an increased need to assess the effects of variation in a virtual environment. This paper outlines the methods proposed by a Swedish aerospace supplier to incorporate robust design methodology into platform-based product development. These methods evaluate how geometric variation affects the aerodynamic, thermal and structural performance of turbofan engine components. The results of the study show that simulation results are heavily affected by variations in geometry. Moreover, this study showcases automated simulation platforms as a powerful tool for robustness analyses. In addition to optimizing the robustness of products, these tools are equally effective as a tool for allocating engineering resources to optimize quality-to-cost ratio. \ua9 2015 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc. All rights reserved

Designing simulation platforms for uncertainty—An example from an aerospace supplier

Variation poses a serious threat to the functionality, safety and reliability of aircraft. As the aerospace industry depends ever more heavily on modeling and simulation in their product development, there is an increased need to assess the effects of variation in a virtual environment. This paper outlines the methods proposed by a Swedish aerospace supplier to incorporate robust design methodology into platform-based product development. These methods evaluate how geometric variation affects the aerodynamic, thermal and structural performance of turbofan engine components. The results of the study show that simulation results are heavily affected by variations in geometry. Moreover, this study showcases automated simulation platforms as a powerful tool for robustness analyses. In addition to optimizing the robustness of products, these tools are equally effective as a tool for allocating engineering resources to optimize quality-to-cost ratio. \ua9 2015 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc. All rights reserved