Chelmsford-based Currock Engineering Co Ltd specialises in using ‘state of the art’ CAD, CAM and CNC manufacturing technology to offer precision engineering solutions for the aerospace industry, and it prides itself on supporting its customers throughout the production process.
To remain competitive as a business, Currock (
www.currock.com) looked to the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) (
www.npl.co.uk) for help in achieving AS9100C accreditation.
Throughout the auditing process, it was vital that Currock demonstrated the highest manufacturing standards, which required the effective control of information.
Achieving this relies heavily on the human element of the process, and Currock asked NPL to apply its expertise in manufacturing methods to help improve the efficiency of procedures on the shopfloor.
NPL worked in conjunction with SiG to develop a bespoke training package for Currock employees.
To help implement a cultural change, the team also investigated ways to engage and empower the workforce to own — and be accountable — for ensuring compliance. The team first identified areas for improvement.
Then, theoretical workshops and practical staged methods were introduced to establish cultural change. This included briefings to communicate the importance of the processes to staff, and to highlight the significance of maintaining these standards for Currock Engineering as a business.
Daily job checks at workstations were implemented, with a list of 10 items that needed to be checked each day.
The items covered areas of focus, including: whether the team have the right materials to hand; the matching of lot numbers between parts; appropriate re-setting of machines for a new batch of work; and ensuring the right people had approved the right elements, and that the ‘stamps’ are in place as proof of process.
The team also acted to make the advice readily available to Currock employees and developed practical tools, such as a ‘Top 10’ poster, so that a reminder of the process was always within reach.
With these resources in place, the team empowered the workforce to own the checks, ensuring that compliance ran through the heart of the process on the shopfloor. This set Currock on the path to achieving the AS9100C accreditation.
The company passed the audit with flying colours, impressing the auditor with its efforts to better inform its staff and proactively fix any potential problems.
Quality manager Timothy Waite said: “Using a trusted independent organisation like NPL helped to lay down the law internally.
“It also made it easier to have an open dialogue on the ways we could improve, and how we could then fix any problems — way before we reached the auditing process.
“The most valuable thing for us as a business was to know how to improve; this is where NPL came in.”