Quality is a team effort at UTC
By Tom Stundza -- Purchasing, 9/7/2006 2:00:00 AM
Receipt of world–class quality materials is taken very seriously at the various United Technologies Corp. businesses. That’s why purchasing and quality personnel often use a team approach to develop best-practice, cross-divisional systems that are designed to develop and monitor supplier-quality excellence. More often than not, Susan Armstrong is involved in the supplier continuous improvement or supplier quality development projects being tackled by these teams.
“We constantly evaluate the performance of the suppliers--whether they’re being reviewed on fit, form and function issues, delivery performance, presenting the proper paperwork or following purchase order instructions correctly,” says Armstrong, UTC supplier quality manager. “We also work with them to become the best because UTC can not achieve competitive excellence without them.”
Quality guidelines are taken seriously, even if they’re sometimes revised to stay current with new regulations or industry practices. “Sometimes, standards need to be created,” Armstrong says. “Sometimes, standards need to be revised.” That’s because the corporate credo for suppliers under the company’s Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) continuous improvement process program is that they must deliver defect-free materials, products and services at competitive prices that meet specific UTC customer demands for on-time delivery.
To achieve the high quality requirements, key suppliers to the aerospace businesses, for example, have to adhere to the applicable standards from the International Aerospace Quality Group, Americas Aerospace Quality Group, National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program, Aerospace Industries Association, International Standards Organization and the Coordinating Agency for Supplier Evaluation (CASE).
These standard-setting organizations impact supply and manufacturing operations at Hamilton Sundstrand, Pratt & Whitney, Pratt & Whitney Canada, Sikorsky Aircraft and UTC Power. Another group of standard-setting organizations provide necessary guidelines for quality standards that impact the commercial and industrial firms of Otis Elevator, Carrier, UTC Fire & Security and Hamilton Sundstrand Industrials’ units of Sullair, Sundyne and Milton Roy.
The latest Pratt & Whitney worldwide procurement organization message to suppliers about quality, for example, reminds them that they must adhere to purchase order and delivery schedule agreements that follow“P&W Specification ASQR-01, Aerospace Supplier Quality Requirements," as well as other specified industry standards, military specifications, aerospace material specifications and other P&W requirements.
Armstrong’s job is to help the corporate Supplier Quality Councils and their supplier quality management teams to develop best-practice operating and benchmarking systems that meet all those industry standards, which then are communicated to the suppliers. “Of course, we want suppliers who exceed their commitments and provide products and materials with uncompromising quality of reliability and durability,” she says, “and that’s why we work so closely with supplier development personnel and the ACE staff.”
The various quality and manufacturing councils and purchasing and supply chain councils are working to achieve a 10% reduction in the overall cost of poor quality this year and a 25% reduction in defective supplier parts per million. That’s why Armstrong is working with numerous internal teams to adopt national standards to as close to a single quality guideline as possible for all UTC operations.
“Standards are good, but there also are special circumstances that have to be handled when you’re dealing with all the specific UTC manufacturing companies,” she says. “That’s why we have to work with our internal quality, purchasing and manufacturing organizations to ensure that the suppliers are using the systems based on those standards to add value to what they provide UTC,” she says. Still, the UTC Quality & Manufacturing Division’s goal for this year is that all key suppliers must achieve no lower than a 5.5 quality rating out of 7 on the general procurement global supplier scorecard.
Actually, Armstrong isn’t a purchasing person although she spends a lot of time coordinating with supplier development program manager Leon Veretto. She is a virtual two-in-a-box on quality assurance with ACE’s program manager, John Papadopoulos. They both work for Dr. Tesfaye "Tes" Aklilu, the vice president of quality and manufacturing, who reports to Jothi Purushotaman, vice president of operations.
Armstrong came to the UTC quality organization which is based in Farmington, Conn., after two decades with Hamilton Sundstrand in Windsor Locks, Conn., lastly as the aftermarket compliance manager who developed a worldwide quality audit program for the company’s aftermarket repair stations. She has two master’s degrees, several professional certifications, and has had additional training as an ISO, American Society for Quality and CASE auditor and conducts Federal Aviation Administration regulatory training. At present, she is president of the CASE board of directors.
“In my old job, I was a quality cop,” she says. “Now, I’m a quality consultant with some influence to make a difference, helping create good industry relations throughout the company by helping mold standardized quality guidelines that fit with ACE and Lean manufacturing requirements no matter what operating company is involved.” She also works to ensure that quality compliance procedures progress properly from the ACE, Quality and Supplier councils through divisional managers to the divisional vice presidents of operations.
She points out that “suppliers need support and they want standardized requirements.” So, she is also working with the Supplier Quality Council to develop the first UTC Supplier Quality Recognition program, which will be based on past performance against specific criteria starting in 2006.
The next frontier in cost control: Quality
01/14/2009Senior Buyer
07/09/2007Supplier quality
03/11/1998Supplier quality
01/14/1998
Now Playing: 