Aerospace & Defense Case Study
B/E Aerospace Refrigeration Products
The Anaheim Refrigeration Products facility is one of several world-wide facilities of B/E Aerospace, a $700 million corporation. The facility designs and
manufactures state-of-the-art aircraft galley wine and beverage chillers for commercial aircraft. B/E Aerospace products are used by virtually all commercial
passenger jet manufacturers. Prior to the CMTC project there were 280 employees at the Refrigeration Products facility. The Anaheim facility had annual
sales of $52 million.
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“We increased sales by $3 million after working
with CMTC and achieving AS9100 registration.”
Majd Abassi
Quality Manager
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Issue/Needs
The commercial aerospace market served by the Refrigeration Products
facility started to require AS9100 registration from all key suppliers. The
facility embarked upon AS9100 implementation during a period of
intense design and development activity on new products. This activity
restricted the time that the Engineering Department, and others, could
invest in the implementation effort, resulting in an increased workload
for all involved. The Refrigeration Products facility made a strategic
decision to employ the services of an outside firm with AS9100
expertise. CMTC was chosen to assist in augmenting local resources and
leveraging their considerable experience with AS9100 registration.
Implementation Highlights
Commencing in August 2003, the CMTC Quality Group focused on
the Engineering Department to develop a series of comprehensive Flow
Charts that mapped out and detailed their activities. This structured view
allowed the identification of document and record needs that the AS9100
Standard required. CMTC developed the new procedures and assisted in
upgrading existing ones. The Flow Chart development activity was so
successful that it extended beyond Engineering to the entire enterprise.
As different functions were mapped out, personnel from the applicable
departments became increasingly aware of the interdepartmental
functions leading to a more efficient process flow. After the necessary
documentation was developed and implemented, CMTC trained the
new Internal Auditor team tasked with maintaining the integrity of the
Quality Management System. The project was completed in February of
2004 and the facility attained its AS9100 registration.
Improvement Description
Prior to this project, there was variability in the detailed understanding of
departmental and interdepartmental functions. This understanding was
significantly improved by the CMTC developed Flow Charts, resulting
in the various departments taking more ownership for the quality of their
activities. Such actions led to improved responsiveness to customer and
market needs, resulting in customer retention and the acquisition of
several new customers
Financial and Investment Impact
The Refrigeration Products facility invested approximately $50,000 to
raise its employee quality skills during the AS9100 implementation and
successful registration to the Standard. This resulted in a sales retention
and increase of $2 and $3 million respectively. Not only were 25 jobs
retained, but an additional 20 more were created. The facility also noted
a measurable increase in customer satisfaction.
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