SMART ramp-up: methods to secure production ramp-up in the aircraft industry

Abstract

Aircraft industry ramp-up is characterized by a combination of a new product with a new production technology, both developed in parallel. This results in a high level of uncertainty at planning, which needs an appropriate level of mutability in the entire industrial system to react on. In the framework of the project SMART (Supply Management and Aircraft Ramp-Up Technologies) as part of the Hamburg excellence cluster “Neues Fliegen” Airbus and its partners, EADS—Innovation Works, TU-HH Harburg, the Helmut Schmidt Universitat as well as the companies case4de, Franke Engineering, and PPCI are developing methods and concepts to facilitate production ramp-up in the aircraft industry. The focus lies on two major levers: (1) scalable production principles for a fast ramp-up; (2) advanced methods, processes and tools. In this paper, first results from the analysis and concept phase from the area of “Advanced Methods, Processes and Tools for Ramp-up” are presented. From the scientific and industrial analysis of the best practice in ramp-up management suitable measures for the ramp-up in automotive industry of Kuhn and Schuh have been adopted to the challenges in the aerospace industry. The main methodological approach is to develop methods specific to the ramp-up for handling disturbances and design-changes towards an overall maturity gate management with respect to balancing the production/protection efforts. The approach will lead to the definition of a clear set of criteria for the management to validate the risk before and during the ramp-up.