Relieving compliance pressures with electronic systems
The Problem
Smiths Aerospace is a world leader in advanced avionics. Throughout the world over 25,000 aircraft in military and commercial service are flying with Smiths Industries avionics onboard. Its Aerospace division enjoyed a turnover of £1.2 billion and expects robust growth from a strong order book with both Boeing and Airbus.
However, Smiths and all other suppliers to the leading aircraft manufacturers have been under increasing pressure to comply with rigidly applied standards and procedures. The Civil Aviation Authority, International Quality bodies and the manufacturers themselves each apply different sets of rules and standards with which Smiths Industries must comply.
Smiths Industries were faced with two problems: -
-
The growing mountain of procedural documentation was inconsistent and in some instances incomprehensible to anyone but the author.
-
The explosion of paperwork made documents difficult to find and control.
Nigel Moody of Smiths had the task of finding the solution.
The Solution
Nigel asked Qualsys to provide consultancy help on a project to find an electronic solution.
4TQ Flow, a process documenting toolkit, was purchased from Axion Corporation. In close co-operation with Axion, Qualsys consultants were retained to translate Smiths Industries documentation into a coherent, consistent set that would satisfy all the compliance requirements of the external bodies.
EQMS from Qualsys was then used to deliver the documentation to the desktops of over 200 staff from Smiths in 3 locations. EQMS was installed on Smiths' networks allowing all staff to navigate the system and access the documentation that they are looking for. The database allows the forms associated with a document to be shown and selected directly.
Revision to procedures and forms are controlled centrally by Nigel using the Document Manager module.
"Since the completion of the project, not only have we improved compliance levels dramatically, but we have eliminated 30% of the administrative burden associated with our quality systems" says Nigel.
The Benefits
Audits by its customers have demonstrated increased compliance levels and have delivered a tangible competitive advantage.
The combination of effective documentation with an electronic delivery system has improved communication.
The time taken to process and implement procedural change has reduced from weeks to days.
Absolute confidence over document control has been achieved reflected in problem free audits by the CAA and the external auditor of its ISO 9001 Certification.
The administration cost in paper, distribution and handling has been reduced substantially. Prior to the introduction of EQMS, over 400 copies of 800 documents and any updates had been copied and distributed several times over the course of the year.
