Aerospace & defence
Configuration-aware quality for low volume, zero tolerance
Aerospace production is low volume, high consequence and heavily documented. The platform keeps traveller operations, first article inspection, nonconformance disposition and special-process evidence in one configuration-aware record, so quality escapes and paperwork escapes are equally visible.
- NCR cycle time
- -48%
- traveller digitisation
- 100%
- FAI package assembly
- -2.5 days
- aligned evidence model
- AS9100D
Standards supported
- AS9100D
- AS9145 (APQP)
- NADCAP
- ISO 9001
Typical monitored characteristics
- Dimensional CTQs
- Surface treatment
- Weld and braze quality
- Torque
- NDT results
- Heat treat lot
Where the cost sits
The problems we start from
These are the recurring findings from discovery workshops in this sector. If none of them describe your operation, a pilot is probably premature — and we will say so.
Operational problems
Paper travellers slow disposition
A nonconformance stops physical paperwork moving, and each approval waits for the next available signatory.
First article packages take days
FAI documentation is compiled manually from measurement reports, certificates and drawings for every new configuration.
Special-process evidence is fragmented
Heat treat, plating and NDT certificates live with suppliers and in email, not attached to the part record.
Configuration changes create risk
When a drawing revision changes, it is hard to prove which produced parts were made to which revision.
Engineering constraints
Low volume, high variety
Statistical methods designed for high volume need adaptation for small runs and one-off builds.
Long product lifecycles
Records must remain retrievable and interpretable for decades, across system generations.
Export control and defence restrictions
Data classification and residency requirements frequently mandate on-premise or sovereign deployment.
Deep supply chains
Multiple tiers of special-process suppliers each contribute evidence that must be verified and retained.
Platform capabilities
How the platform is configured for aerospace
Same architecture, same modules — configured against the characteristics, sampling logic and evidence expectations of this sector.
Digital travellers
Operation-level sign-off with buy-off gates, so disposition no longer waits for paperwork to physically move.
NCR and disposition control
Use-as-is, rework, repair and scrap dispositions with the required approvals and full configuration context.
Configuration awareness
Every record carries the drawing and process revision in force, so an engineering change never orphans production evidence.
Special-process evidence
Supplier certificates for heat treat, plating and NDT captured against the part and lot rather than an inbox.
Small-batch statistics
Capability methods suited to short runs, including individual and moving-range charting with configuration grouping.
Business outcomes
What changed for operations like yours
Customer-reported figures measured against documented pre-deployment baselines. Ranges, not single numbers, because process maturity dominates the result.
- NCR cycle time
- -48%
- FAI package assembly
- -2.5 days
- Configuration linkage
- 100%
- Paper travellers
- 0
NCR cycle time
Digital routing and approval
FAI package assembly
Generated from captured records
Configuration linkage
Revision recorded per operation
Paper travellers
On digitised work centres
| KPI | Typical movement | Measurement note |
|---|---|---|
| NCR cycle time | -35% to -50% | From raise to disposition |
| FAI preparation | -60% | Automated package assembly |
| Right-first-time paperwork | +30 pt | Fewer documentation escapes |
| Audit finding closure | -50% cycle time | Evidence retrieved on demand |
| Supplier certificate completeness | 100% | Enforced at receipt |
Expected ROI
A value case your controller can interrogate
Every line below is an assumption, not a promise. During a pilot each one is replaced with a measured figure from your own baseline, which is what makes the business case defensible in a capital review.
| Value driver | Assumption | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| NCR handling effort | 140 NCRs, 48% faster cycle | €165k |
| FAI and documentation | 40 new configurations per year | €120k |
| Rework and concession cost | Earlier detection on monitored features | €180k |
| Audit and customer surveillance | 8 audits per year, evidence on demand | €70k |
| Indicative total | Before platform and integration cost | €535k |
Payback
8–14 months
From first connector to cumulative break-even
How we validate it
- Baseline recorded before any change
- Success criteria written into the pilot scope
- Measured comparison in the pilot report
- Exit conditions agreed up front
Illustrative model. Aerospace value cases are usually dominated by cycle time and documentation effort, not scrap.
Digital travellers and configuration-linked records cut NCR cycle time by 48% and removed the manual assembly of first article packages.
Related sectors: Automotive, Battery manufacturing, Semiconductor
Start the evaluation
Find out where quality drift is hiding in your plant.
Bring one line, one defect family or one audit workflow. We will map the available data sources, quantify the cost of the current detection delay, and show the fastest route to measurable control.
45-minute technical walkthrough
With a solution architect who knows manufacturing data, not a scripted demo.
NDA before any data review
We can assess feasibility from sample exports without production access.
Written pilot scope
Baseline metrics, success criteria and exit conditions agreed up front.