IMPROVING ON TIME, ON QUALITY PERFORMANCE THROUGH PEOPLE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

Background

EADS is the largest European Aerospace and Defence Group. Superior designs and effective marketing have driven up global market share and given an order book that is the largest in the world. To enhance their ability to deliver sophisticated products and services on time and on quality, a Quality and Operational Excellence Programme (QOEP) has been launched. Championed by the Chief Quality Officer (CQO) and his team, this programme has three main elements: a Customer Review Process, improvements in the end-to-end Supply Chain and in Product Realisation, and the development of skills and knowledge in the key personnel who will lead improvements in operational performance

 

Assignment

Oakland worked with the CQO on the QOEP strategy. Following this he assigned to Oakland the task of developing an “EADS Black Belt” (EBB) programme that would incorporate best practice and focus on improvement, fit the EADS culture and align with ongoing initiatives to develop Project and Change Management capabilities. The requirement was for a programme that would include learning sessions built around projects that deliver auditable business benefits of at least €150k per project. Oakland’s Consultants were also tasked with delivering the classroom sessions and providing some coaching for the participants.

 

Approach

Building on previous programmes developed for Airbus, Lean and Six Sigma methods and tools were integrated from the start. The structure was to have core modules plus optional ones, with time built into the learning sessions to review participants’ progress on projects and coaching as required. EBB accreditation demands not only the testing of knowledge learned in the classroom but also completion of a project that will deliver real business benefits.The first task was to engage the various business units (BUs) within EADS in the QOEP and EBB programme. This is ongoing but most of the major BU sites were engaged through a series of two-day visits by the QOEP/Consultant Team. The background and objectives of the programme were explained to the BU senior management team, together with the role of the EBB programme.

 

Achievements

Business Units around EADS have been sending their people on the EBB programme and are now beginning to see delivery of the benefits. The response from the participants has been universally positive. EADS is making an investment in its people that will pay back many times over in a matter of months and their customers will feel the benefit of this critical contribution to Quality and Operational Excellence at EADS.