Access all areas – AE Aerospace’s uncompromising approach to business improvement

AE Aerospace is enjoying incredible growth, yet it’s been hard earned, and we know that nothing can be taken for granted. Our success is the result of a lot of hard work. From machine operatives to senior directors, everyone has played their part in repositioning the business, driving efficiencies, boosting productivity and embracing innovation. As a leadership team, we leave no stone unturned in exploring ways to work more effectively. From scrutinising internal processes to seeking support from experienced advisors, we must continue to take a holistic approach to business improvement if AE Aerospace is to fulfil its potential.

It is too easy for SMEs to get caught up in day-to-day trouble shooting, trying to find quick fixes to deep rooted problems. Manufacturing is a fast-changing world and businesses are continually having to adapt to customer demand, supply chain pressures, shifts in trading arrangements and new regulatory requirements.  

The answer isn’t to apply a sticking plaster, which is often only ever a short-term fix; business improvement requires a great deal more thought and commitment.

Secret of our success

Over the last 5 years, AE Aerospace has more than doubled productivity and seen a seven-fold increase in sales. We have grown at such a rate that we needed to move premises to increase capacity. Our new facility will allow us to continue on that growth trajectory, accommodating new staff and equipment.

Yet this growth has only been possible because of our commitment to business improvement. We have looked beneath the surface and broken down the barriers of our operation. Our priority has been to resist quick fixes, which is not always easy to achieve when you have myriad demands placed on the business. Instead, what we have strived to do is to put a spotlight on what drives our operation, thus exposing our pain points.

Gaining insight

Before you can go about improving your business, you must get back to basics. As a leadership team, we’ve focused on gaining insight into every nook and cranny of the business so that we can determine whether our processes and systems are fit for purpose.

If you need to improve productivity on the shop floor or encounter a problem completing a job on time and within budget, there is a temptation to focus attention on individual workers or machines. That rarely gets to the real cause of the issue. It is more important to ask why problems were not identified earlier on, how processes might have been improved, better decisions made, and more effective strategies put in place.

Our new ERP system will provide us with much greater visibility into our operation and that is integral to strategic decision making. We don’t work in silos. An effective manufacturing business understands that it is driven from the bottom up and the top down. Every decision made, from the board room to the shop floor affects our outcomes and we must continually optimise the way we operate to succeed in a competitive global market.

Right skills for the job

We value our staff as our greatest asset and provide a comprehensive training programme to give them the tools they need to work most effectively. We guarantee a minimum of 10 hours training per employee per year, either delivered in-house or through our machine provider Mazak. We are also investing in future talent through our apprenticeship programme and we work with budding engineers through the STEM Challenge, which encourages schools and their students to consider manufacturing and engineering as positive career choices.

Ensuring our workforce is ready to confront the challenges ahead does not stop at the board room door. As a leadership team, we are always reflecting on what we as directors could do better, how we can develop new strategies and skills sets to take us to the next level.

Helping hand

That means seeking support from individuals and organisations outside of the business. For instance, our work with the Advanced Services Group at Aston Business School has allowed us to embrace transparent production and move to a model of servitization. Aston has helped us develop a glass factory where customers will eventually be able to utilise machining time by the hour.

Similarly, our growth mindset has led us to seek mentoring support from leading industry figures. We recently embarked on the Be the Business Mentoring for Growth Programme, an initiative designed to pair leaders of ambitious SMEs with an experienced business mentor to help them through expansion and improvement challenges.

Shaun McInerney, Engineering Director at BAE Systems Land UK, has already got to know our business and led an inspirational visit to BAEs manufacturing site at Radway Green to demonstrate the OEM’s own process control and continual improvement programmes.

I was encouraged to see how our holistic approach to business improvement was endorsed by their own scrupulous self-analysis. For instance, BAE shared best practice around Hoshin Kanri, otherwise known as policy deployment. This is a method for ensuring a business meets its strategic goals by driving productivity and progress at every level. This drills down to individual actions and brought home to me how attention to detail is critical in boosting productivity. It was particularly pleasing that we shared our Hoshin Kanri methodology, which is much simpler and easier to understand than the traditional Toyota format.

Over the next two years, I anticipate doubling the size of the company and key to that will be the ability to share knowledge and best practice. The mentoring programme facilitates an open and honest exchange of experience and expertise which will help shape the future of our business.

Finally, and probably most important of all, we are proud to be one of the first companies to benefit from the Government funded Supply Chains 21st Century Competitiveness & Growth (SC21 C&G) improvement programme, developed and delivered by Aerospace, Defence, Security & Space (ADS Group), our industries trade body.

Following a National Manufacturing Competitiveness Levels (NMCL) Audit, we will embark on a structured 3-year improvement programme which we anticipate will revolutionise the company.

Embracing growth

The aerospace sector has huge growth potential. According to the ADS Industrial Trends Survey 2019, the UK aerospace sector boasts a turnover of ￡35.9bn, up 45% since 2010. Air traffic is doubling every 15 years and it is anticipated an extra 33,000 aircraft will be required over the next two decades.

If we’re to benefit from that surge in global demand, we can’t rest on our laurels. When it comes to business improvement, our work is never done, and I look forward to doubling efforts as AE Aerospace exploits the opportunities and confronts the challenges ahead.