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There is an increasing sensitivity to the challenges posed by the language of examination papers and of instruction in scientific subjects, especially for non-native speakers of English. It has been observed that in addition to technical subject-specific vocabulary, non-technical words such as instructional verbs have been sources of difficulty, and there are indications that other ‘ordinary’ English words cause problems. For many years the aerospace industry has striven to make its manuals understandable and unambiguous to non-native speakers, a goal shared by writers of examination papers. To achieve this, the industry uses Simplified English, a controlled language with limited vocabulary and restricted grammatical rules. While recognising the limitations of this approach, the authors considered that by testing examination papers against the rules of Simplified English, it might be possible to identify areas of potential difficulty for non-native speakers. This paper describes the results of a study which tests past examination questions using software based on AECMA Simplified English, the controlled language in established use in the British aerospace industry. The results identified many lexical items which were not in the original list of ‘Approved words’. Some of these were technical words and others were non-technical terms which are in common use in an engineering context. However, some were potential problem sources, including implicit instructions and vague or ambiguous words. Software alerts that related to sentence structure, in particular those related to sentence complexity, indicated that some sentences had additional problems. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper uses discourse theory to obtain a broader understanding of how research impact of sustainable tourism research develops in the environmental policy domain. Discourse theory shifts emphasis from the substance of science versus policy to the use of science in policy processes and explains the political dimensions of policymaking. We first review a well-documented science-policy gap in sustainable tourism research on climate change to develop an alternative conceptualisation of research impact. Then, using a case study approach, we investigate this framework by evaluating the impact of a PhD thesis about aviation's global CO2 emissions on the Dutch aviation policy process. The case study shows research impact is entwined with various other elements, and embedded in a specific governance context. Research influenced contrasting science-policy interactions and contributed to conflicting policy actions and reactions. The impact of research in this case was manifested through the formation and interplay of multiple knowledge objects that were both embraced and marginalised. In settings like this, research is used to legitimise pre-existing policy positions rather than to develop new policies. We discuss the implications of narrow conceptions of research impact. The paper highlights the need for advanced policy analysis in sustainable tourism research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ball-end milling is widely used in industrial applications, such as mold manufacturing and aerospace industries. One of many difficulties in milling research is the milling force, which is often crucial to the component's processing efficiency and quality. In this paper, a method for predicting ball-end cutter milling force and its probabilistic characteristics is presented. First, a model of milling force prediction is established by integrating the differential milling forces. Then, a method of identifying milling force coefficients is suggested based on the proposed model, which considered both the mean value and the amplitude of the milling force. Based on the proposed milling force prediction model, milling force probabilistic analysis while considering randomness of cutting parameters is performed. To improve computational efficiency, the function relationship between cutting parameters and the milling force is reconstructed by adaptive Kriging model. Furthermore, trained Kriging model is employed to analyze the probabilistic characteristics of the milling force. Both experimental and computational results indicate that the method proposed in this paper has high accuracy and efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Product development projects, especially in the aerospace industry, still suffer from significant cost and schedule overruns. Many researchers and scientists focused first on process and tools to shorten the time and reduce the cost of new product development projects. The results were far from resolving this issue. Thus, the focus was reoriented toward enhancing the accuracy of estimates. Thereby, a large number of research papers were published regarding effort and time estimation in new product development. Most of them are modeling based on the use of some specific drivers for estimation matter. However, to the best of our knowledge, there are no rules or frameworks about which drivers are relevant to use and which are not. This paper proposes a new and original framework that characterizes and organizes effort and time drivers in aerospace product development. The aim is to identify and support the understanding of most relevant drivers for aerospace product development effort and time. The framework was developed based on an extensive literature review and a postmortem analysis of cost and time overruns of a significant product development program in the aerospace industry. The final list of the frameworks' drivers was validated and refined using a survey. Results suggested that, beside risks and uncertainty, technologies maturity, degree of change in design, ambiguity of requirements, functional decompositions, severity of standards, process overlapping and variety of key stakeholders drive effort and time as complexity drivers while processes maturity, experience with technology, risk management, change management, level of trust in suppliers and team skills drive effort and time as proficiency drivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A systematic continuous improvement model (SCIM) is described in this paper. This model responds to improvements opportunities that were identified in the literature and aerospace companies to aim in variation management of KCs and for developing solutions to improve issues in KCs. This approach helps to identify and improve key characteristics (KCs) in products that most influence in rework and scrap costs, especially in material removal processes. SCIM complies with two purposes; a mathematical method to calculate the rework cost for KCs as a variable in function of expected amount of material to be removed. This cost plus scrap cost is used to prioritise KCs running with low capability; this prioritisation is performed by predicting rework and scrap costs based on historical data of manufacturing processes performance, costs associated to rework and scrap parts out of specification and forecast for product demand. Once critical KCs are identified, the second purpose of this model helps engineers to develop solutions to eliminate what is causing KCs running with low capability; this is possible using knowledge management methodologies to capture, structure and storage solutions developed, in order to reuse them in future similar issues. A case study is presented in this paper to apply this model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrial robots have been increasingly adopted in precision manufacturing applications such as aerospace drilling. However, achieving the strict tolerance requirements of the aerospace industry has been a major challenge due to the relatively poor accuracy of robots. One of the major sources of error which has a detrimental effect on the quality and circularity of drilled holes is the static friction in robot joints. These errors are particularly pronounced when one or more joints reverse direction. To improve robot motion for better hole quality, this paper proposes an optimization framework to eliminate or minimize joint reversals throughout a drilling motion. A general robotic drilling motion with a redundant degree of freedom due to the twist of the tool is first modeled. Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is then used for strategic pose selection considering the entire drilling motion. Experimental tests performed on a KUKA KR 6 R700-2 show a 40% reduction in the tool deviation envelope. The proposed technique can be readily implemented on any commercial robotic drilling cell without interfering with the controller. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, many companies designing and manufacturing products have to develop collaborations with various partners. This situation involves increasing information exchanges between industrial partners and generates many related problems of data transfers, transformations or misunderstanding due to interoperability. This paper deals with enterprise modelling for studying interoperability in product design. This paper presents a research work carried out within the framework of ISTA3 (3rd generation interoperability for aeronautical sub-contractors) project and concerning interoperability between collaborating aeronautical subcontractors. We initially describe the generic ISTA3 methodology used for studying interoperability. Then we focus on design companies and develop their interoperability specificities, especially with PLM (product lifecycle management) systems. An adapted methodology based on multi-level modelling is proposed then illustrated through an industrial case study within two collaborative companies, involved into a subcontracting relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The manufacturing industry needs to increase productivity and flexibility to stay competitive. This requires more adaptable and versatile production capabilities. It is expected that dynamic systems, consisting of mobile robots, will be particularly prominent in manufacturing environments where it is difficult to move components and products in a flexible manner. This paper compares the relative advantages of a dynamic, mobile robot-based system with traditional dedicated automation systems. The study uses simulations to evaluate several representative scenarios with different product supply bottlenecks, interference among mobile robots and mixes of products inspired by the aerospace industry. The results show that mobility enables higher resource utilisation and increased flexibility. This highlights the potential operational advantages mobile robot-based systems would offer and gives clear justification to continue the development of dynamic, self-organising production systems based on mobile robots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Batch servicing is a common way of benefiting from economies of scale in manufacturing operations. Good examples of production systems that allow for batch processing are ovens found in the aircraft industry and in semiconductor manufacturing. In this paper we study the issue of dynamic scheduling of such systems within the context of multi-stage flow shops. So far, a great deal of research has concentrated on the development of control strategies, which only address the batch stage. This paper proposes an integral scheduling approach that also includes succeeding stages. In this way, we aim for shop optimization, instead of optimizing performance for a single stage. Our so-called look-ahead strategy adapts its scheduling decision to shop status, which includes information on a limited number of near-future arrivals. In particular, we study a two-stage flow shop, in which the batch stage is succeeded by a serial stage. The serial stage may be realized by a single machine or by parallel machines. Through an extensive simulation study it is demonstrated how shop performance can be improved by the proposed strategy relative to existing strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last two to three decades, the balance of influence within the electronics industry has shifted decisively toward the consumer electronics and information technology products, away from the defense or aerospace markets. This shift toward the commercial markets has changed certain ground rules in the electronics industry. Reliance of the aerospace industry, in particular, on components from supply chains dedicated to other products, or cross-vertical product integration, creates a supply web and introduces significant risks that are not necessarily present for volume-driven electronic products. Many of the unique risks in the aerospace industry emanate from the key characteristics of this industry. Although selection and usage of commercial electronics in NASA flight hardware is possible at a comparable (and in many cases lower) level of risk to that of employing parts that are screened to military or NASA specifications, for a large majority of flight projects it is difficult to distinguish the difference in on-orbit performance or reliability for parts screened at any level, or commercial parts that have no additional screening performed by the government. This paper identifies several bases for establishing context and developing unique or alternative approaches for successful parts selection and application within NASA and across the commercial space community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

No matter what condition an organisation may be in, assessing performance finds marketing management's day-to-day energies mostly devoted to matters of efficiency--that is doing things right--e.g. generating sufficient sales and profit, allocating the marketing budget, and controlling the marketing mix components etc. However, an organisation's performance and success depend more on effectiveness--that is doing the right things--than on doing thing right. Indeed, whilst organisations should be both efficient and effective, the starting point should be measurement of marketing effectiveness, for doing the wrong things efficiently is pointless. A review of the academic literature reveals that several marketing effectiveness models exist but that there is no consensus as to which the best measures are, or even agreement on one model that pulls the various strands into a convincing whole. This paper aims to provide a better measure of the construct, by up-rating an existing instrument's scale and adapting it to include items of structure, culture and learning in a sector specific measurement of marketing effectiveness in the UK aerospace industry. This paper is designed to meet the needs of the practitioner who may not be satisfied with current measures, and the academic who is seeking empirical testing of new dimensions that add to and provide further debate on marketing effectiveness' body of knowledge. Based on a redeveloped scale the findings successfully captured eighteen items comprising marketing effectiveness in four discrete factors--Customer Philosophy, Strategic Perspective, Information Processing Capability, and Operational Marketing Proficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The large thin-walled components in aerospace industry, such as wing panels of aircraft, are usually shaped with peen forming process by blasting numerous shots on the component to introduce compressive residual stresses in the surface layer. To obtain an objective shape, peening parameters are designed to introduce reasonable peening stresses, which are determined with physical trial and error traditionally. In this paper, an automatic numerical approach based on ABAQUS software is proposed to determine the peening stresses inversely from the objective shape. The approach consists of representation of peening stress field, monitoring of simulating shape, and performance of automatic calculation. With the approach, peening stresses in strip peened plates are inversely determined from measured bending curvatures. The variations of the peening stress field with peening parameters are obtained. The obtained peening stresses are compared with the results of regularly impacting simulations. The comparison shows an acceptable agreement and indicates the potential of the approach to determine the needed peening stresses for forming the aerospace components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates which intermediary practices among European aerospace clusters support their diverse membership. Using a configurational approach, we find nine successful sets of practices spanning cluster members with varying levels of internal resources. We unpack important trade-offs, with no single approach to intermediation being ideal in every context. However, the presence of mutual trust is necessary, hinting that its importance in brokered networks has been understated by past research. Furthermore, equifinality exists even for similar types of members, suggesting the need for future research to be attentive to the existence of multiple viable approaches to cluster intermediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explains the spread of Industry 4.0 technologies in two globalized, manufacturing industries. It then goes on to suggest ways in which the widespread adoption and integration of these technologies may impact upon their geographical distribution – not least engaging new regions and perhaps altering the significance of established ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the development of a novel knowledge-based engineering (KBE) framework for implementing platform-independent knowledge-enabled product design systems within the aerospace industry. The aim of the KBE framework is to strengthen the structure, reuse and portability of knowledge consumed within KBE systems in view of supporting the cost-effective and long-term preservation of knowledge within such systems. The proposed KBE framework uses an ontology-based approach for semantic knowledge management and adopts a model-driven architecture style from the software engineering discipline. Its phases are mainly (1) Capture knowledge required for KBE system; (2) Ontology model construct of KBE system; (3) Platform-independent model (PIM) technology selection and implementation and (4) Integration of PIM KBE knowledge with computer-aided design system. A rigorous methodology is employed which is comprised of five qualitative phases namely, requirement analysis for the KBE framework, identifying software and ontological engineering elements, integration of both elements, proof of concept prototype demonstrator and finally experts validation. A case study investigating four primitive three-dimensional geometry shapes is used to quantify the applicability of the KBE framework in the aerospace industry. Additionally, experts within the aerospace and software engineering sector validated the strengths/benefits and limitations of the KBE framework. The major benefits of the developed approach are in the reduction of man-hours required for developing KBE systems within the aerospace industry and the maintainability and abstraction of the knowledge required for developing KBE systems. This approach strengthens knowledge reuse and eliminates platform-specific approaches to developing KBE systems ensuring the preservation of KBE knowledge for the long term. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In recent years, to stimulate the development of Lean Supply Chain Management (SCM) in SMEs, the UK aerospace industry has developed a change programme named 'Supply Chains for the twenty-first century' (SC21). This programme promotes the use of a simple standard improvement framework, which defines performance goals and standardises the approaches and tools for continuous sustainable improvement. However, its effective impact on Lean SCM and performance measurement systems (PMS) has not been widely covered in the literature. Adopting a qualitative research methodology approach, this study investigates five significant organisations to explore and contribute to knowledge on Lean SCM and PMS challenges related to the adoption of the SC21 programme. From an academic point of view, the paper highlights the key role of SC21 in accelerating the competitiveness of the aerospace industry by fostering managerial development of supply chain partners. In particular, it highlights the importance of PMS as well as collaboration between supply chain partners for efficient and effective SCM. From a practitioner's perspective, the SC21 performance award is highlighted as a very successful approach in bridging the gap of differing agendas between supply chain partners. SMEs, with support from their larger supply chain partners, can embrace performance measurement practices to improve their performance. More established SMEs with a headcount of more than 50 employees are capable of developing and documenting strategic plans and more sophisticated PMS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faced with increasingly strict carbon emission control, high-emission enterprises need scientific and rational management systems and methods to strengthen carbon emission reduction management. Among the many management systems and methods, the carbon budget has become an effective emission reduction management tool, allowing the planning of carbon emissions and emission reduction activities and rational arrangement of economic inputs. However, judging from the research status and business practices in China and abroad, there is no general carbon budget system to guide the development of carbon emission and emission reduction activities. Based on this background, this paper first attempts to construct an enterprise carbon budget system comprising four sub-budgets: carbon emission, carbon emission reduction and cost, carbon emission rights trading, and carbon emission reduction net profit/loss. It draws on the idea of interactive control to consider the impact of changes in carbon prices, energy prices, and policy guidelines on carbon emission reductions and losses. A carbon budget management system based on interactive control is then constructed and applied to China National Aviation Holding Air China Group (AC Aviation). The research results show that the carbon budget system based on interactive control can dynamically adjust carbon emission reduction behavior based on changes in carbon and energy prices to make carbon budgeting a more viable carbon reduction tool and institutional arrangement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Piezoelectric materials have a capability to absorb energy from surroundings and transform it into electrical energy. Energy harvesting is an absolute task in the aerospace industry to drive wireless sensors. In this paper, multi-state reliability risk assessment based on importance measures for aeroelastic piezoelectric energy harvesters (APEH) is carried out. The risk assessment evaluates the system based on its different states of operation and enables a reliability risk analyst to access dynamically the risk associated with the components of the system. A multi-state importance measures based APEH risk assessment system is not just capable of evaluating the risk at system, subsystem and component level but also takes into account the relative states of the system, subsystem and components. The proposed risk assessment gives a relative importance factor to each input thus identifying the most important subsystem for the system and most important component to the subsystem. Such risk results can be very useful for the maintenance engineers and risk analyst of the aerospace industry so that the respective maintenance actions can be made more targeted and proactively anticipated. The results indicate the proposed methodology to be highly effective and efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lean production (LP) consists of very useful techniques; however, its implementation can significantly vary from one sector to another or from one practitioner to another. Although several lean experiences exist in aerospace, no specific method has been developed to adapt lean tools to the characteristics of the aerospace sector. This study uses a case based approach to analyse the implementation of lean practices in a company operating in the aerospace industry. The overall characteristics that motivate current aerospace companies to pursue lean conversions are identified – market demand, product diversification, product complexity, safety focus and agile supply chain. This paper aims at building a methodology including identified steps and their analysis to sustain the lean implementation. It is based on the analysis of the industrial context, which is linked to different practices and tools issued from LP. Apart from the aerospace sector, the methodology can also be adjusted and adopted by other sectors. Lean practices, such as the cellular layout, the one-piece flow, visual management, takt time, standardization, multiskills, poka yoke and SMED, were used in the proposed model and yielded significant gains. The defect rate dropped by 66%, the cycle time was reduced with 43% of savings, waste elimination was achieved, and the work-in-progress (WIP) inventory decreased. Furthermore, the illustrated impact of the lean manufacturing implementation on extending lean thinking to the logistics department presented 50% savings in transportation-truck costs. It serves as a proof of concept for the expansion of lean thinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the last few decades, the piezoelectric materials are playing a vital role in the field of aerospace engineering. One of the major factors to reduce an aircraft's malfunctioning is its health monitoring. In doing so multiple types of sensors are required to be designed specifically for an aircraft. A large amount of energy source is required for operating all those sensor therefore harvesting techniques are made. This paper discusses the use of piezoelectric materials in health monitoring, aircraft's sensors and energy harvesters. It gives an elaborated idea of how piezoelectric materials can be used in various stages at aerospace industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) techniques are emerging more and more in aerospace composite structure applications. Validation of the SHM techniques is one of the issues to be addressed yet. Moreover, cost-efficient and reproducible ways to compare SHM methods can be attractive for researchers and end users. NLR has recently developed ways for automated production of rib-stiffened composite panels using an Automated Fibre Placement (AFP) machine. Without human interference and a fully automated manufacturing process, multiple panels can be cost-effectively laid-up with limited quality variation. In this paper, Modal Strain Energy Damage Index (MSE-DI) method is applied on two impact-damaged panels manufactured in this new way. The results show that the panels have slightly deviating natural frequencies even though the C-scan revealed no major quality variation. Secondly, the presence of the impact damage can be successfully detected by the MSE-DI algorithm, but the localization was inaccurate, contradicting the expectations. This is attributed to the specific characteristics of the panel and indicates a dependency of the performance of algorithms on structure to which they are applied. Future work will include a further exploration of this dependency. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The paper reviews the technical options available for reducing the impact of air travel on the Earth's climate. The three main impacts come from the emission of CO2 and NOx and the creation of contrails and cirrus cloud. The long-term potential for reducing CO2 emission is considerable, though bounded by the laws of physics. There is still greater potential for reducing NOx emission and contrail formation, although a measure to reduce any one emission can in some cases increase one or both of the others. Ideally, a balance has to be struck which minimises the total climate impact of all three. There is not yet a robust scientific basis for judging this balance. Even so, the paper outlines the technical possibilities for reducing climate impact and offers a conjectural estimate of their potential effect, when deployed in combination, on the future emissions of the world civil aircraft fleet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nano-Cu-based materials have many applications in the microelectronics and aerospace industries, which not only maintain the advantages of copper materials, but also make up for the shortage of copper. In this paper, the precursor powder of silica-reinforced copper matrix composites was prepared by chemical coprecipitation method, which main ingredients are Cu4SO4(OH)6 and SiO2. The precursor powder was reduced by hydrogen in 450 °C for 4 h to obtain SiO2-Cu composite powder, and then treated by cold press pressing and solid phase high temperature sintering to obtain nano-silica copper matrix composite. The results show that that the reinforcing phase and matrix are mutually dispersed in the process of coprecipitation, and the composite gains more homogeneous size and higher hardness as the dispersion effect of reinforcement on the copper matrix achieves the best. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tube hydroforming (THF) technology is mostly used in automotive and aerospace industries because of its benefits like high precision, less weight and forming capability of complex shapes. Formability of the tube is the main factor for the consideration of the THF technologies in the industries. Thickness distribution in the bulged area is the key factor for the consideration of hydroformed parts. In the present paper, effects of coefficient of friction and corner radius of the die on bulge height and thickness distribution of the bulged area are studied using finite element method. Mechanical properties required to carry out the numerical simulations are evaluated by tensile, R-bar and pin-on-disc tests. Pin-on-disc experiments are carried out on the chosen material to find the wear and frictional coefficient with varying normal loads. Both numerical and analytical solutions are compared for the internal pressure required to bulge and burst the tube and observed to be in good agreement with each other. This study helps the researchers and industrialists for further understanding of the mechanics involved in the THF process in terms of die design and frictional effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper, intended to stimulate debate, suggests that we are at a turning point in the history of the UK military aerospace industry. It argues that there is urgent need for a fresh vision as to how the UK military aerospace industry can both prosper and make its maximum contribution to the defence of Britain. Further, the resulting plans and policies must emphasise the robustness of defence capabilities in a future in which the only thing we can be certain is that it will be very different from the present – especially whenever defence most matters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union (EU) is the newest actor in the European space sector and is cultivating the political will to make Europe a world class space power comparable to the United States (US). The Galileo satellite system and the Global Monitoring for the Environment and Security space program are the most visible manifestations of this will. This article suggests that Europe can approach comparable space power if capabilities are considered rather than just budgets. The paper discusses the catalysts driving EU space initiatives, and assesses the EU's nascent European Space Policy and European Space Program, and EU organization and funding for space. Of importance are the asymmetric means for Europe to increase its space capabilities and the implications this has for the trans-Atlantic relationship with the US. The analysis is directed to the security, civil, and dual-use space sectors within the security aspects of EU space initiatives. This article also provides a baseline to track changes in EU space policy, organization, and funding dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different manufacturing environments, such as aerospace, automotive, shipbuilding, and railway, reveal their interest in large scale metrology (LSM) instruments, to provide support in assembly, alignment, inspection, and robot tracking tasks. Notwithstanding different levels of portability, the overall measurement procedure actually involves a direct interaction between the measuring equipment and the operator, as well as a strong dependence on human skills. This paper presents a novel metrological system, scaling down this interaction to a mission management task and aimed at making system performance uniform. The proposed architecture entrusts an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with the task of carrying the sensor equipment and of moving the measuring probe. The design process of the proposed system is detailed and faced with a two-level approach. The first level is directed to identify the available start-up technology, its limitations and sensitivity to the design parameters, while the second level is focused on the experimental testing of a preliminary test-bed to investigate the overall system performance. An actual implementation of the proposed architecture is herein discussed, focusing on system feasibility and presenting some preliminary experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes the concept of the virtual enterprise broker as an innovative model to design and create build to order supply chains. The build to order supply chain responds to the demands of new global manufacturing economy offering high level of customisation, high customer driven design, volume flexibility, short cycle time, no inventory costs, minimal total cost and supply chain integration. A review of different manufacturing operational models, including make to stock, make to order, assembly to order, engineer to order and configure to order, is presented to set the context for the requirements of build to order operations. The virtual enterprise broker is proposed as a structure driven strategy to support the creation of dynamic supply chains to satisfy build to order requirements. The virtual enterprise broker strategy is described in terms of core processes and competencies. We also demonstrate of how the virtual enterprise broker strategy has been implemented in various industrial scenarios related to supply maintenance tooling for the aerospace industry, standard parts for capital goods equipment, and design and manufacturing of medical devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lean Six Sigma (LSS) has established itself as one of the key business process improvement strategies available to companies today. With roots based in the single strategies of Lean and Six Sigma, LSS offers a dual strategy towards systematically reducing waste and increasing value whilst resolving Critical to Quality (CTQ) issues that affect consistency and repeatability in a product and process. However, the predominating LSS approach is to employ the DMAIC cycle as the key driver in the implementation process. The authors argue that this reduces the effectiveness of LSS since a systematic lean thinking does not take place through this approach. This paper proposes a new Strategic Lean Six Sigma Framework (SLSSF) that attempts to create a more balanced and integrated approach between the Lean and Six Sigma elements and one that is capable of achieving greater efficiency of production whilst also ensuring variation reduction and CTQ issues are eradicated from the production process. The case study involves the application of the SLSSF in an aerospace manufacturing company. The work highlights the key stages of the framework before closing with an analysis of its effectiveness and the difficulties encountered in its application. When the LSS model was implemented, it achieved significant improvements in business performance. The key improvements were seen as; Build time reduction of 20.5%, improved on-time-in-full delivery to customer by 26.5%, reduced value added time by 5% and reduced Non-value added time by 44.5%. Also, estimated financial savings of over £2 Million are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Astonishingly 3D printing has excited the world of aerospace. This paper takes stock of the popular 3D printing processes in aerospace. Reasons for their popularity over the traditional manufacturing processes are dwelled upon. Materials developed specially for aerospace applications along with their characteristics are discussed. Ongoing activities related to 3D printing at various companies and organisations around the world are looked into. Project works in the area of extra-terrestrial printing are also highlighted. Even though 3D printing processes are operationally simple, they do have limitations in terms of the type, quality, and quantity of the materials they can handle. This paper underlines these points while discussing drawbacks of the printed components. Challenges associated with 3D printing in microgravity are also touched upon. Finally, a glimpse is taken into the future appearance of aerospace industry with 3D printing. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

While emerging market economies have developed significant technological capabilities and increased their share of global value-added in aerospace, they have done so largely through utilising foreign direct investment (FDI) and offset arrangements to enter supply chains that remain dominated by European and American firms. The paper examines whether emerging markets are developing indigenous technological capability in aerospace technologies. Drawing on patent data from the Thomson Innovation database, the study seeks to understand whether anchor tenant capability is indeed forming in emerging markets. A tech-mining method is applied. The study suggests that China, in particular, has dramatically increased its innovative capacity in the area. However, the data also demonstrate the significant advantages enjoyed by incumbent firms from Europe and the USA, suggesting that the complexity of aircraft R&D remains a formidable barrier that can only be surmounted by determined government policies and anchor firms equipped with substantial innovation capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The paper deals with the geometric and elastostatic calibration of robotic manipulator using partial pose measurements, which do not provide the end-effector orientation. The main attention is paid to the efficiency improvement of identification procedure. In contrast to previous works, the developed calibration technique is based on the direct measurements only. To improve the identification accuracy, it is proposed to use several reference points for each manipulator configuration. This allows avoiding the problem of non-homogeneity of the least-square objective, which arises in the classical identification technique with the full pose information (position and orientation). Its efficiency is confirmed by the comparison analysis, which deals with the accuracy evaluation of different identification strategies. The obtained theoretical results have been successfully applied to the geometric and elastostatic calibration of a serial industrial robot employed in a machining work cell for aerospace industry. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Wire electrical discharge turning (WEDT) process was developed to generate cylindrical form on any electrically conductive material applied in aerospace and automotive industry. The mechanism of metal removal in WEDT process is by means of successive spark discharge. Each spark results in the formation of crater. In the present work, a new model is proposed to predict the erosion rate of each spark for a given discharge energy. A new method is proposed to measure the crater depth from 2D roughness profile of the machined component. The proposed model is validated by conducting experiments on AISI 4340 steel and the results obtained are presented in the paper. It is observed that the results are in close proximity with the experimental values at low discharge energy. The stochastic erosion mechanism of WEDT process is analyzed using scanning electron microscope images of spark eroded wire. Using the proposed model the erosion rate can be controlled and better surface characteristic of machined surface can be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This article measures and discusses the continuities and changes in the procurement process in Europe by examining the influence of national preferences in terms of sovereignty, industrial issues, and strategic needs on procurement strategies. We focus on the aerospace defense industry and study four aircraft markets (fighter aircraft, transport aircraft, helicopters, and UAVs) in 30 European countries during the post-Cold War era. Our results reveal significant heterogeneity in terms of strategies. They suggest that European countries lack coordination in their aircraft procurement strategies; if a country has sufficient industrial capacity, it will seek to maximize national industrial benefits in its procurement choices, to the detriment of its European partners; conversely, if a country has no industrial capacity, transatlantic suppliers would be preferable to European ones. Members of the former USSR and Warsaw Pact have phased out old Soviet-era aircraft at different rates, depending on the market, with European suppliers benefiting more from this process than American ones. Overall, our study provides a comprehensive and nuanced perspective on the defense aircraft industry in Europe that can inform policymakers and stakeholders in this sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environmental challenge facing the aerospace industry is a significant one. Despite consistent, continued efforts by industry to reduce the fuel burn, emissions and noise produced by aircraft, concern over climate change means that further advances in technology are required to mitigate the climate impacts of aviation. This paper outlines the current status of the industry, the current understanding of aviation's climate impacts and technology's progress to environmental targets, before investigating opportunities for further emissions reductions. These include technologies to improve the engine's propulsive and thermal efficiencies, technologies enabling reduced thrust requirements and alternative fuels. This paper discusses how Rolls-Royce's Technology Strategy, 'Rolls-Royce Technology Visions', enables these innovative technologies to be brought to market, the timescales and challenges associated with their development, and the partnership required between industry and government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continuous improvement (CI) has been developed so far mainly within single companies, but today competition is moving to the level of extended manufacturing enterprises (EMEs). This paper proposes a model of collaborative improvement (CoI), i.e. CI at the EME level, developed and tested through an action research process in the aerospace industry in Italy. CoI is described in terms of organization—partially derived from consolidated CI concepts—and process—a cyclical sequence of phases, derived from the PDCA (plan, do, check, act) cycle of CI. Similarities and differences with CI are discussed, in the light of the successful implementation in a real case. CoI, in particular during its first implementation, is more likely to be structured and directive instead of emergent and spontaneous. A project structure is needed, at least at the beginning, and specific attention should be devoted to the alignment of the goals of the various companies involved. The EME dimension of CoI allows one to exploit the experience of all the companies of the learning network, disclosing a higher potential for improvement compared to CI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of this paper is the future of the defence firm within the context of the UK aerospace industry and its supply chain. The analysis considers aerospace markets and the aerospace industry in the UK before assessing the future of the defence/aerospace firm as a case study. The paper concludes that its future in terms of the strategic and important aerospace industry is uncertain. The corporate governance of the defence firm will have to change to reflect the hollowing-out of the firm as the industry experiences significantly less vertical integration. The emphasis of the future defence/aerospace firm will be on 'buy' and not necessarily 'make'. There will also be fewer independent defence aerospace firms as horizontal integration will occur across air, land and sea platforms as well as civil and defence aerospace firms. Indeed, conglomerate integration may even occur with cost pressures and market forces ensuring that merger activity goes beyond defence and aerospace into wider manufacturing industries and, in some cases, service industries in global markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strategy has become an increasingly important theme within the management of innovation. This is reflected in the increasing amount of attention given to topics such as technology strategy within the innovation literature. However research into technology strategy has tended to focus on technology acquisition rather than technology exploitation. This paper focuses on one often neglected way in which companies can exploit the technological resources at their disposal, namely through the use of a derivative strategy where new technology is combined with old products or parts of old products in order to develop new products. The paper explores this type of strategy by means of a case study from the commercial jet engine sector of the aerospace industry. The case study provides an opportunity not only to explore the nature of derivative strategies in detail it also highlights the benefits, both direct and indirect, to be gained from this type of strategy as a means of exploiting an organisation's technological resources. The paper shows how a derivative strategy can contribute to the broader strategic goals of companies in technology based industries through strategies designed to ensure the most effective utilisation of the technology base. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the dilemma that firms face with respect to knowledge sharing in strategic alliances. On the one hand, alliance success is associated with high levels of interaction and co-operation between partners. On the other hand, full and open co-operation exposes a firm's distinctive knowledge and skills and makes it vulnerable to opportunistic moves by alliance partners. Hence firms experience a fundamental paradox: to gain the greatest benefits they must exchange information and knowledge with external parties yet, at the same time, they must protect themselves against knowledge appropriation. This dilemma is particularly acute in the aerospace sector where political imperatives strongly influence partner choice and collaborators are often strong rivals in other contexts. In this paper we use data drawn from four collaborative agreements in the aerospace sector to explore the ways in which a focal firm has sought to protect its strategic knowledge and manage knowledge flows in alliance relationships. We find that existing theoretical lenses provide valuable but partial insights into the question of knowledge appropriation in alliances and offer limited guidance to managers charged with making alliances work. We suggest that some rich insights can be gained by focusing on the overlaps and interstices between existing theories and that greater exploration of the everyday working practices in alliances may offer a useful starting point for improved theorising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies how firm performance is influenced by the strength of the industrial cluster (or industrial district) in which it is located. The paper presents estimates of firm-level employment and patent growth models for a range of '5-digit' aerospace industries in the UK. In these models, employment in the firm's own sector and employment in other sectors is taken as a measure of the strength of the cluster. Strong positive clustering effects are found in many sectors, but nevertheless some clustering effects are negative. Entry into clusters of this industry is also examined and some sectors are found to attract new entry while others are only attracted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Composite plates play a very important role in engineering applications, especially in aerospace industry. Thermal buckling of such components is of great importance and must be known to achieve an appropriate design. This paper deals with stacking sequence optimisation of laminated composite plates for maximising the critical buckling temperature using a powerful meta-heuristic algorithm called firefly algorithm (FA) which is based on the flashing behaviour of fireflies. The main objective of present work was to show the ability of FA in optimisation of composite structures. The performance of FA is compared with the results reported in the previous published works using other algorithms which shows the efficiency of FA in stacking sequence optimisation of laminated composite structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-cell thin-walled structures have recently gained attentions in aerospace and automotive industries for their excellent energy absorption capacity with lightweight. This paper introduces a novel 3D-multi-cell design to enhance energy absorption capability of multi-cell thin-walled tubes by performing a new arrangement of the internal webs and dividing them into multilayers with different angles of orientation. A comparative study of energy-absorbing performance of single-cell, conventional multi-cell and the proposed three-dimensional multi-cell (3D-multi-cell) of thin-walled circular tubes under axial impact loading is carried out using the non-linear finite element code ANSYS-WORKBENCH/LS-DYNA. The numerical results show that the 3D-multi-cell configuration can achieve a significant improvement in the energy absorption per unit mass (SEA) up to 40%, the crush force efficiency (CFE) up to 42.5%, and the energy absorption effectiveness factor (ψ) up to 30.7% in comparison with those of circular tube. Furthermore, it can significantly improve the SEA up to 20%, the CFE up to 36.8%, and the ψ up to 20% in comparison with those of conventional multi-cell configuration. Furthermore, it is found that the number of layers and angle of orientations have a distinctive effect on the energy absorption capacity and the CFE. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The extended enterprise (EE) paradigm has been adopted in the civil aerospace industry to enhance collaboration and product innovation among supply chain partners. Nevertheless, key aspects of this collaborative form remain poorly understood. In particular, the interrelation of strategic and operational considerations has received little attention in the literature. Our study aimed to investigate this area, using two dyads as case studies, where three companies were involved in an EE form of collaboration. The primary case company was a leading manufacturer in the civil aerospace industry that employs EE principles on both upstream and downstream sides of its supply chain. The other two case companies were key suppliers embedded in the EE. This paper aimed to develop a more complete understanding of how sharing risks and rewards results in effective collaboration among EE partners with key strategic and operational results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased complexity in large design and manufacturing organisations requires improvements at the operations management (OM)–applied service (AS) interface areas to improve project effectiveness. The aim of this paper is explore the role of Lean in improving the longitudinal efficiency of the OM–AS interface within a large aerospace organisation using Lean principles and boundary spanning theory. The methodology was an exploratory longitudinal case approach including exploratory interviews (n = 21), focus groups (n = 2), facilitated action-research workshops (n = 2) and two trials or experiments using longitudinal data involving both OM and AS personnel working at the interface. The findings draw upon Lean principles and boundary spanning theory to guide and interpret the findings. It was found that misinterpretation, and forced implementation, of OM-based Lean terminology and practice in the OM–AS interface space led to delays and misplaced resources. Rather both OM and AS staff were challenged to develop a cross boundary understanding of Lean-based boundary (knowledge) objects in interpreting OM requests. The longitudinal findings from the experiments showed that the development of Lean Performance measurements and lean Value Stream constructs was more successful when these Lean constructs were treated as boundary (knowledge) objects requiring transformation over time to orchestrate improved effectiveness and in leading to consistent terminology and understanding between the OM–AS boundary spanning team. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers a class of assembly systems with long cycle times (low volume of output) and highly expensive components or subassemblies. Systems such as these are typical for companies in the aerospace industry assembling missiles and airplanes. As each unit of the product moves along the assembly line, its value increases owing to additional parts or components installed and the additional work performed. We show that sequencing activities according to ascending values of the ratios of the 'value added' to activity duration minimizes inventory holding cost within a given workstation. A branch-and-bound procedure is then used to allocate activities optimally to a given number of workstations. The objective function used in this paper is to maximize the net profit of a production line, which comprises net revenues minus inventory holding costs and fixed costs of workstations. The design of the assembly line is affected by two decision variables: number of workstations and cycle time. Finally, it is shown that a 'balanced' line is not necessarily an optimal one and 'pushing' activities to the right (the end of the assembly line) may reduce total holding costs and improve the profitability of the line. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Air-coupled ultrasonic testing (ACUT) technique has been viewed as a viable solution in defect detection of advanced composites used in aerospace and aviation industries. However, the giant mismatch of acoustic impedance in air–solid interface makes the transmission efficiency of ultrasound low, and leads to poor signal-to-noise (SNR) ratio of received signal. The utilisation of signal-processing techniques in non-destructive testing is highly appreciated. This paper presents a wavelet filtering and phase-coded pulse compression hybrid method to improve the SNR and output power of received signal. The wavelet transform is utilised to filter insignificant components from noisy ultrasonic signal, and pulse compression process is used to improve the power of correlated signal based on cross-correction algorithm. For the purpose of reasonable parameter selection, different families of wavelets (Daubechies, Symlet and Coiflet) and decomposition level in discrete wavelet transform are analysed, different Barker codes (5–13 bits) are also analysed to acquire higher main-to-side lobe ratio. The performance of the hybrid method was verified in a honeycomb composite sample. Experimental results demonstrated that the proposed method is very efficient in improving the SNR and signal strength. The applicability of the proposed method seems to be a very promising tool to evaluate the integrity of high ultrasound attenuation composite materials using the ACUT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing use of advanced composites in the aerospace industry has led to the development of new methods and equipment for manufacturing these new materials and structures. In this relatively new field of design, behaviour of production costs relative to different design variables is a challenging task. Carbon "pre-impregnated" (prepregs) composite fibres are costlier and are widely used as main load bearing members in the aircraft structures. As a result of this, 40% of a structural part cost is about its prepreg material. As prepreg material is expensive it is necessary to optimise its usage by avoiding wastages and implementing nesting program in automated prepreg cutting machines. The primary goal of this study is to find out an alternate solution to optimise material usage and to use primary dry fibres in between prepreg layers during lay-up and to evaluate the mechanical and ultrasonic properties. Different lay-up schemes are used to mix dry fibres in between prepreg layers to prepare test specimens as per DIN 29971 standards. This research reveals a method whereby companies can reduce their product cost by 18-20% . This concept has considerable scope for application in industry as the companies can make parts at minimum cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the manufactured parts in aerospace and automotive industries tend to be larger and more complex, the inspection process becomes a difficult and timeconsuming one. To decrease inspection costs and time, the optimisation of the required Surface Sampling Points (SSP) is crucial. This paper describes a data sampling technique (DST) for the inspection of waving surfaces of parts. This technique provides the minimum number of SSP required to reconstruct accurately the waving surface. The developed DST comprises two steps: (1) trigonometric polynomial approximation of the curvilinear segments, at certain orthogonal sections on the waving surface, and (2) estimation of the critical frequency of the approximated waving sections, leading to the minimum number of SSP. The pilot implementation of the DST has been performed on a waving wing surface and has been tested using industrial data. The accuracy and the efficiency of the DST has been estimated through (1) the comparison of theoretical (CAD) profiles with the surface profiles measured using the current sampling method and with the ones derived using the developed sampling technique, and (2) the comparison of the sampling intervals extracted by DST and the ones extracted by analysing past measurements with Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]