EADS: Six Sigma Improvement

Background
EADS is Europe’s largest Aerospace, Defence and Security Group. Superior designs and
effective marketing have driven up global market share and given an order book that is the largest in
the world. To enhance their ability to deliver sophisticated products and services on time and on
quality, a Quality and Operational Excellence Programme (QOEP) was launched, championed by
the Chief Quality Officer (CQO), and Oakland was engaged from the outset.

This programme has three main elements: a Customer Review Process, improvements in
the end-to-end Supply Chain and in Product Realisation, and the development of skills and
knowledge in the key personnel who will lead improvements in operational performance, based on a
new improvement methodology.

Assignment
Oakland worked with the CQO on the QOEP strategy. Following this he assigned to Oakland the
task of developing the EADS improvement approach “(DRIVER”) and the “EADS Black Belt” (EBB)
programme that would incorporate best practice and focus on improvement, fit the EADS culture and
align with ongoing initiatives to develop project and change management capabilities. The
requirement was for a programme that would include learning sessions built around projects that
deliver improvements in On-Time, On-Quality Delivery (OTOQD) and auditable business benefits of
at least €150k per project. Oakland was also tasked with delivering the learning sessions and
providing coaching for the participants. Included was an “Executive Black Belt” (ExBB) programme.

Approach
Building on a previous programme that Oakland had developed for Airbus, Lean and Six
Sigma methods and tools were integrated from the start. The structure was to have core modules
plus optional ones, with time built into the learning sessions to review participants’ progress on
projects and coaching as required. EBB accreditation demands not only the testing of knowledge
 learned in the classroom and through e-learning but also completion of projects that deliver real
business benefits and cost savings.

The first task was to engage the various business units (BUs) within EADS in the QOEP and
EBB programme. The BU sites were engaged through a series of two-day visits by the QOEP Team.
The background and objectives of the programme were explained to the BU senior management
team, together with the role of the EBB programme.

Achievements
Oakland had a four year frame contract (2007-2010) for the delivery of the EIP (EADS
Improvement Programme) which have delivered the following benefits:

 In excess of 4,500 employees from various Business Units around EADS have been trained
and coached to deliver enhanced OTOQD performance of processes ranging from Finance, HR,
IT, Procurement, Quality, Facilities, Marketing, Customer Services to Manufacturing and
Design leading to audited annual benefits in excess €100 million at the rate of €400k per
project.

 The response from the participants has been universally positive. EADS is making an
investment in its people who in turn are making a critical contribution to Quality, Operational
Excellence and Customer value which in turn provides an ROI measured in months.

 The programme is now supporting the new Power 8+ programme in EADS and is forecast to
make a €300 million pa contribution by 2015. Oakland has been working with the CQO in
executive briefing sessions and follow up activities to engage their top level commitment and
funding for the programme.

Source: http://oaklandconsulting.com/case-study/eads-six-sigma-improvements/

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Airbus Defence and Space’s Lean Product

Development Journey
By Myrna Flores

In 2011 Airbus Defence & Space began to implement lean thinking counting with the
commitment from senior management. The company has focused on the implementation of
Hoshin Kanri, Value Stream Mapping and Visual Management to improve the engineering
capability throughout the organization.

Airbus Defence & Space is one of three companies within the Airbus Group. The lean
thinking approach has integrated all the functions required in the end to end product development
process and is based on three pillars: 1) leadership, 2) environment and 3) processes. In addition,
guidelines and tools were deployed aligned with the lean strategy, including practical problem
solving and Gemba walks.
Continue reading to discover more details of the lean practices Airbus Defence & Space
has implemented to increase its innovation success.

Airbus Group creates cutting-edge technology and is a global pioneer in aeronautics,

space and defense-related services. Combining a European past with global outreach, the
diversity of the company’s talent and technology drives innovation, integration and
internationalization.

Airbus Defence & Space was created in June 2014 as a result of the integration of Airbus
Military, Cassidian and Astrium, all of which were previously part of the EADS group. This
division has a presence in 18 European countries and in more than 30 countries worldwide. It is
organized into four business lines, including Space Systems, Communications, Intelligence and
Security, and Electronics and Military Aircraft.

Airbus Defence and Space is highly committed to promoting a cultural change and has
created “Lean Airbus DS Network”, a network of Lean Experts, Change Agents and Lean
Improvers to share the best practices within the company. Also, the Lean Network facilitates the
transfer of Lean knowledge and promotes continuous improvement philosophy.

In 2012, a Lean Network of Experts and Change Agents was established. Starting in 2013,
the company began to incorporate Hoshin Kanri, defining it as the key tool for setting out the
company’s vision, implementing objectives at all levels and establishing improvement priorities.
Since 2014, Practical Problem Solving is used as an everyday tool, lean objectives are included
in Visual Management, and Kaizen events are defined according to the objectives and priorities
established in the Hoshin Kanri.
 Through its journey, Airbus Defence & Space established best practices in several
aspects of Lean Product Development. These practices were identified and structured according
to the four building blocks of the Lean Innovation Model. Below are just some of the best
practices identified and described in the Airbus’ chapter of the Lean Product Development Best
Practices Book.

1) STRATEGY AND PERFORMANCE

Airbus lean strategy is based on 3 pillars: leadership, environment and processes.

To enable the Leadership Pillar, Airbus began to implement Hoshin Kanri (HK) in 2013
to align the daily management of activities with senior management objectives producing results
based on system-wide efforts.
The Environment Pillar is supported by several approaches, but in particular by Visual
Management, facilitating work and performance for both team members and project leaders
since it allows the identification of risks, and anticipates problems, sets priorities, takes action
and bumps matters requiring intervention up to a higher level.
Last but not least for the Lean Processes pillar, focusing on providing value to the
customers and identifying Business Improvement Projects after carrying out SIPOC analysis.

2) SKILLED PEOPLE AND COLLABORATION

Lean knowledge is spread along the organization through the Lean Academy that offers
a number of trainings on Lean Business Processes, Practical Problem Solving, Value Stream
Mapping, etc. Other activities are also organized by the Lean Network to increase awareness and
speed up the lean mindset across the organization.
In addition, and in order to foster cultural change, some activities are empowered to break
silos between different organizations by improving the communication and collaboration among
them. Some examples are:
 Concurrent engineering
 Cross-functional visual management
 Cross-functional Kaizen events

3) EFFICIENT PROCESS AND KNOWLEDGE BASED ENVIRONMENT

All Business Improvement Projects at Airbus are managed with the Lean Business
Improvement Projects (LBPI) methodology, building upon Airbus’s lean improvement mind-
set and giving project teams what they need to improve the likelihood that their project is
completed in accordance with time, cost and performance objectives.
Airbus Defence & Space classifies the waste that can occur under eight types. One of
them, and according to the top management the most dangerous one, is “Not using the Human
Potential available within the company”. Therefore, it is the responsibility of employees at all
levels to promote a work environment, which ensures that:
 All competences and skills of the teams are utilized
 Team potential usage is optimized
 All teams are involved in continuous improvement
 Improvement ideas are supported and implemented
 All employees’ knowledge and experience is shared

4) CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT AND CHANGE

Lean Experts, Change Agents and Lean Improvers are part of the Lean Airbus Network,
which was created in order to share best practices. Lean Days are periodically organized
allowing various business areas to share their projects. In addition, Lean Days include teams
identifying organizational needs, analyzing challenges and defining action plans.
Creating the Lean Network has facilitated the dissemination of lean knowledge. Along
with lean events that are also organized in the different functions, the Lean Network has also
helped to promote cultural exchange and stimulate a philosophy of continuous improvement
within the organization.

Consolidated best practices as identified in Airbus Defence & Space, structured around LAA’s Lean Innovation Model

Keeping in mind that the engineering area consists of more than 2,800 employees, its
main lean management achievements include implementing Visual Management in 132 teams
and, with the application of Practical Problem Solving, solving more than 50 problems. Only
during 2014, 13 Kaizen projects were launched, saving €3 million, and 20 Hoshin Kanri sessions
were held in order to define objectives for the following year.
Airbus Defence & Space’s Best Practices are presented and described on more than 30 pages in
the Lean Product Development Best Practices book. Airbus Defence & Space’s chapter is only
one out of the 10 chapters presenting the real-world application of lean product development in
multinational companies.
The hard copy of the book with the 10 cases is available for only 74.99 EUR.

Source: http://lean-analytics.org/airbus-defence-and-spaces-lean-product-development-journey/

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https://www.airbus.com/company.html