aeronautical engineer

5/26/2018 Aeronautical Engineer

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June 2013 AEROSTRUCTURES

Around

Volume 5, N

Introducing Martin Beaulieu

We need to look at cost the same way we look at aproducts performance, reliability and weight

(Continued)

Martin Beaulieu brings 24 years of business development, operations, supply chain and

legal experience to his new role as Aerostructures Operations Strategy & Cost Managemen

vice president. Asked what his definition of success in his new role will be, Beaulieu said:

Success will be implementing processes and tools that are sustainable for the entire

Aerostructures organization in managing its product costs for all new programs. It will also

include developing people that are capable of managing complex projects and interfacing

with a global supply chain. (Photo by Patrick Palmer)

W

ith content on a number of

new aircraft platformspoised for entry into service,Aerostructures is very well

positioned for growth. But while thenext few years will be exciting ones,there is also great pressure to executeon schedule and cost on all of thesenew programs over the next 24-36months. Helping ensure our businessunit is successful on the cost side of theequation is the role of Martin Beaulieu.

Beaulieu joined Aerostructures in

February as vice president ofOperations Strategy & CostManagement. While the title maysound a lile intimidating, Beaulieusays cost management is all aboutmaking sure Aerostructures is able tomaintain its healthy growth curve.

The intent here is to generate higherprot margins on the programs wevewon so we can reinvest in newprograms to meet our customersfuture needs, he said. To do that, weneed to look at cost the same way welook at a products performance,reliability and weight.

Around Aerostructuresasked Beaulieu todiscuss how our business unit will

benet from having a sharpened costfocus.

He started his 24-year aerospace careerin the early 1990s at a law rmrepresenting Bombardier. He was


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involved in the Canadian companys acquisitions of De Havilland in Toronto,Learjet in Wichita, Kansas, and Shorts Brothers in Ireland. He then joinedBombardiers supply chain organization. In 1998, Beaulieu became supply chaindirector for Pra & Whitney Canadas turbofan and turboprops product line. Hewent on to run the companys international operations, where he was responsiblefor developing manufacturing sites and Pra & Whitney Canadas supply chain inEastern Europe & Asia. In 2010 he accepted an assignment in San Diego at theHamilton Sundstrand APU business as director of Operations.

What attracted you to a career in aerospace/aviation? Why did youwant to work in this industry?

Aerospace was very aractive to me because it is a global business You have thechance to do business with all kinds of dierent cultures.

Also, aerospace requires long-term perspectives in terms of strategy and businessplans. And Ive always been passionate about strategic thinking!

I was fortunate to be part of Pra & Whitney Canadas aggressive growth from 2003to 2008, when the business quadrupled its sales to $4 billion.

To my knowledge, Aerostructures has never had a leader focused

specifically on cost management. What benefits do you anticipate our

business unit will derive from having this sharpened focus?

First, cost management should involve everybody: from engineering, programmanagement, operations, supply chain, quality and all the value streams andsupport groups. My role is to work with the key stakeholders and make sure wehave a clear understanding of our cost structures for the next ve years and that wehave projects to drive cost reduction for all our products.

The business requires this focus to accelerate our cost reduction especially onnew programs. We need to continue using Lean, the ACE operating system, valueengineering and low-cost country sourcing, but we need do it more ecientlyand do it right the rst time.

Are you introducing any new systems or tools to help Aerostructuresfunctions or programs identify cost reduction opportunities and track

success in meeting them?

Theres no silver bullet its a multitude of projects and programs.

I want to leverage some of the processesand tools used by other UTC divisions that have been at cost reduction for many ye

For example, by establishing a cost reduction war room and cost managementsystems linked to SAP, we can drastically reduce the time required for reportingcost data. Also, weve started to implement weekly value stream meetings focuseon product cost and projects or ideas to reduce product cost.

We also have to manage our key transition projects the transfer of program wofrom one location to another in a low-cost region of the world with clearaccountability from the project leader and with the support of operations,engineering and programs. Increased training on UTCs Standard Work for transitiand program management will help us execute eectively on those key projects.

In addition, Aerostructures has an outstanding Lean culture that we need tocontinue leveraging every day to drive product cost reductions.

Have you seen any examples of effective cost management/reducti

at Aerostructures that have impressed you?

Ive participated in alot of team sports,such as hockey. As a

result, I believe a lot inteamwork and team

success We win as a

team or we lose as a

team. Aerostructures is

clearly a winning team!

Iwant to leveragesome of theprocesses and tools

used by other UTC

divisions that have beeat cost reduction for

many years. For

example, by establishin

a cost reduction war

room and cost

management systems

linked to SAP, we can

drastically reduce the

time required for

reporting cost data. Als

weve started to

implement weekly valu

stream meetings focus

on product cost and

projects or ideas toreduce product cost.

(Contin


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Yes, I have been impressed by thedeployment of Lean and StandardWork in every Aerostructures facilitythat I have visited so far. I have not seensuch detailed work by the manufacturingengineers to reduce labor hours in anyother UTC aerospace division.

You will also be focusing on

reducing commodity costs. Whatare some of the ways you will be

going about achieving that goal?

First, we need to establish commoditystrategies to achieve our program goalsin terms of cost, quality, capacity andoverall performance. Those strategiesneed to be linked to UTC and UTCAerospace Systems strategies so we canleverage the UTC supplier base as muchas possible. In fact, UTC is currentlylaunching a One Company supply

chain initiative to optimize and integrateits supply chain for enhancedperformance from its suppliers. Oursupply chain commodity leaders atAerostructures will play a major role inthis eort.

The intent is to have our supply chain people spending more time on strategy andless on place and chase of commodities.

What do you see as Aerostructures greatest areas of opportunity and

biggest challenges in terms of cost reduction?

The biggest challenge clearly will be to meet our target costs on all of the newprograms at entry into service the A350 XWB, the CSeries, the A320neo, the MRJ,the new Embraer platforms, and the 787.

In order to do that, we have to integrate our internal sites and supply chain in thedesign and development process as early as possible. Also, we will have to managea lot of transitions from our traditional suppliers to new suppliers in emergingmarkets such as Malaysia, China and Vietnam. And we must do all of this within ashort period of time.

The biggest opportunity is to leverage all the new programs that we won over the last couple of years and get very competitipricing from the supply chain due to increased volume.

How would you sum up your general leadership philosophy and expectations of employees in a few sentence

Ive had the chance to travel around the world over the last 15 years and have observed that, with globalization, any asset,technology, infrastructure, or piece of equipment is now available anywhere. But what truly makes the dierence are thepeople. So my philosophy is very simple: we have to focus on developing the right people and give them an environmentwhere their talent will be used eciently If we give them the right tools, they will make the dierence.

Also, since a young age Ive participated in a lot of team sports, such as hockey. As a result, I believe a lot in teamwork and tesuccess We win as a team or we lose as a team. Aerostructures is clearly a winning team!

On a personal level what makes you say: Today was a good day at work?

On a personal level, a good day at work could be a lot of dierent things: meeting new people, resolving issues or learning new thin

In Operations a good day is when nothing unpredictable happens: no shortages, no quality issues, only a good ow of produgoing out the door.

Aerostructures haan outstandingLean culture that we ne

to continue leveraging

every day to drive

product cost reductions

New Operations Strategy & Cost Management Vice President Martin Beaulieu belieone best practice for managing costs eectively is to make the process visual.(Photo by Patrick Palmer)


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A profile of the Aerostructures Europe Hamburg facility

June marks the 20th year of operations for Germansite and its unprecedented approach to engine/nacelle/aircraft integration

The Airbus A321 is the largest member

of the A320 Family. And Airbus launchof the stretched version of its bestsellerin the late 1980s played a large role inthe evolution of AerostructuresHamburg, Germany facility.

Following commitments from 10customers to buy 183 stretched A320aircraft, Airbus formally launched theA321 program in 1988. With a fuselage22 feet and 9 inches longer than the A320,the new plane was designed toaccommodate 185 to 220 passengers.

Following debates within Airbus mostof them between the French and Germanconsortium partners the decision wasmade to assemble the A321 at AirbusHamburg Final Assembly Line withthe A320 assembly line remaining inToulouse, France.

Accustomed to the comprehensive nacelle system support Aerostructures (Rohr at the time) supplied for A300, A310 and A320 aircassembled in Toulouse, Airbus set the expectation for similar customer service next to its Hamburg A321 Final Assembly Line (FA

(Contin

While the capabilities and production output of Aerostructures Hamburg, Germanysite have expanded dramatically since 1993, it maintains its original 33,000 square-fo

facility footprint.

Aerospace is anindustry of passionand technology, where

people make a

difference. Our team in

Hamburg takes pride in

being on the front line

with our Airbus customer

on a daily basis. Such

proximity helps us listen

to and delight our

customer, while also

participating as a partner

in its successful story.


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As a result, Rohr decided to build a33,000 square-foot facility in Hamburg.The initial menu of services included:

n mechanical installation of hydraulic,pneumatic, electrical and otheressential equipment systems to thecore engine system;

n painting and rigging of the nacellecowlings; and

n installation of completed powerplantson aircraft pylons by Rohr aircraftmechanics and techniciansembedded at the Airbus FAL

Oering such close support to theairframer at the aircraft FAL was novelfor a nacelle supplier at the time andsoon proved to be a formidable asset indelighting the customer. As aconsequence, the successful model wassubsequently exported to Toulouse

for the original A320 program. Theembedded support model is now partof Aerostructures overall capabilitiesand is oered to aircraft makers otherthan Airbus.

From two annual nacelledeliveries to 220

In those early years, Hamburgs outputwas not overwhelming with twonacelles delivered in 1993 and six in1994. But fast forward two decades andthe evolution of production volume andscope is dramatic. Last year, theHamburg site and its 67 employees andcontractors built 220 nacelles (150 forthe V2500 engine conguration and 70for the CFM56 engine conguration)and delivered 526 total nacelles for theA319/320/321 platforms.

Along the way, Hamburg has added toits list of capabilities. Today, theHamburg team also performs:

n nacelle painting and decoration,including application of logos,markings, safety warnings, etc.;

n logo positioning by laser; and

n A-Frame podding (installation ofnacelle system components on anA-frame for aerodynamicmeasurements and rigging, V2500thrust reverser sleeve operationtesting and other measurement tasks) Hamburgs Final Assembly Line support team is pictured at Airbus installing a CFM

powerplant on an A321 aircraft.(Continued)


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Starting next year, the Hamburg facility will begin performing Pra & Whitney PW1100G engine/nacelle integration forA320neo Family aircraft.

An engaged workforce commied to continuous improvement has driven this evolution, according to Hamburg GeneralManager Klaus Zimmer.

Passion and technology

Thanks to a successful Lean journey, together with the eort and strong engagement of all of our employees, weve been abto absorb much more work into the same facility footprint, achieving excellent quality levels and almost 100% on-timedeliveries, Zimmer said.

He continued: Our biggest customer is Aerostructures Toulouse thats where the Hamburg story began. Weve been traineand coached on the job by our French friends since 1993. Thanks to them, weve learned how to operate and achieve our goalWeve always worked very closely together from a business perspective, as well as in implementing Continuous Improvemenand now, the ACE (Achieving Competitive Excellence)operating system. Our other main customer, of course, is Airbus Germanyfor powerplant installation onto A321 aircraft.

In addition, by virtue of its close proximity to Airbus Hamburg FAL, Aerostructures Hamburg team also supports other UT

Aerospace Systems products and the businesses that manufacture them. These include landing gear, interior/cargo systems aevacuation slides for the A380 platform, as well as de-icing systems, sensors, wheels and brakes, and cabin aendant seatsfeatured on all Airbus platforms.

Aerospace is an industry of passion and technology, where people make a dierence. Our team in Hamburg takes pride inbeing on the front line with our Airbus customer on a daily basis. Such proximity helps us listen to and delight our customewhile also participating as a partner in its successful story. Were ready for more! concluded Zimmer.

Thanks to asuccessful Leanjourney, together with

the effort and strong

engagement of all of ouremployees, weve been

able to absorb much

more work into the same

facility footprint,

achieving excellent

quality levels and almost

100% on-time

deliveries.


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2013 Aerostructures College Scholarship/Grant winners

With the companys help, these 10 students that leftindelible impressions on their high schools are out tomake their marks on the world

Foley Commodity Administrator ChrisFent sensed he had done somethingright as a parent when one of theteachers of special needs students at hisdaughters high school called him oneday to inform him of an action SummerFent had taken.

I was deeply touched when the teacherinformed us that my daughter bought aWii video game console with her ownmoney and donated it to the specialneeds class, he said. Watching my

child develop into someone who wantsto help other people is wonderful.

Summers seless act is an indication ofjust how commied she is to helpingothers, a goal she hopes to achieve byopening her own physical therapypractice specializing in children withspecial needs.

She has been volunteering withSpecial Olympics and also has been apeer tutor for handicapped childrenand special needs kids at her high

school, explained her proud father.She says that she has decided topursue working with these kids

because they appreciate just being ableto do the simple things that other kidscan do and also because seeing them so happy is very rewarding.

Chris added that he is very thankful that Aerostructures will be aiding Summer in the pursuit of her dream job with ascholarship grant that provides $1,500 annually for four years.

With the soaring cost of education, its geing harder for kids today to continue on with their career goals this grantprovides some much needed relief, he said.

Chula Vista Engineering Technician Jorge Fernandez is also grateful for the nancial boost the Aerostructures Scholarship

Program will provide his son, also named Jorge. Jorge Fernandez will be aending the University of California, Irvine to studcomputer science with the assistance of a four-year scholarship that provides $5,000 annually for tuition and fees associatedwith tuition along with $1,500 in discretionary funds.

A yearning to learn

Jorge Fernandez describes his son as perseverant. And his teachers couldnt agree more.

In a leer of commendation that accompanied Jorges scholarship application, his English teacher who is also Mater Dei HigSchools vice principal wrote: Jorge was my student for Honors American Literature last year. Although he started out slowly in theclass, he worked hard and came to me for extra help. It was a rewarding experience for me to see him focus on his writing and work hard atimproving it. Around the middle of the rst semester, he put it together and started to produce high quality work and, by the second semes

Aishah Abdala,

daughter of Chula

Vista Senior

Technician

Gerardo Abdala

College Plans:

Majoring in

cognitive science

at UC Berkeley

Ultimate

Career Goal:

Becoming a

doctor

Quote:Ever

since her very

first day of

school, she

could not wait

to start. I

dont think

she slept

much that

night because she was so excited.

She could not understand when she

sat down at her desk why all the

other kids were crying since this was

the greatest day for her. (Gerardo

Abdala, father)

(Continu


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Jorge Fernandez,

son of Chula Vista

Engineering

Technician

Jorge

Fernandez

College

Plans:

Studying

computer

science at the

University of

California, Irvine

Ultimate

Career Goal:

Developing

programs and

applications for a

company such as

Google, Apple,

Microsoft, or

NASAQuote:Maintaining a balance of

academics, setting goals and

enjoying time with his family and

friends was an important factor in

his success. He understood the

importance of a good education and

how much it would affect his future.

(Jorge Fernandez, father)

he consistently performed near the top of theclass. His dedication was remarkable as hemade great strides as a writer and overallstudent Jorge takes on everything from

AP courses to diverse co-curricularactivities and does incredibly well ateverything, never venting frustration in thewrong places or trying to take the easy wayout He is leaving an indelible impression

on both the school and his teachers.Jorges father believes his sons academicsuccess stems from surroundinghimself with friends with similar studyhabits and educational goals.

Another of the 2013 scholarship grantwinners summed up the feelings of allof this years scholarship and grantwinners when asked what the awardmeant to her.

Commented Soa Ramirez, daughter of

Chula Vista Engineering TechnicianJaime Ramirez: This scholarship meansto me what a chance for an incredibleeducation means to someone with ayearning to learn. It means opportunityand gratitude, hard work andcompensation. This scholarship is anhonor for myself and for my parents.

Soa will aend the University of SanDiego, where she will major inInternational Relations. Her dream job?To become an ambassador to a foreign country representing the United States.

In addition to Jorge Fernandez, the other four-year scholarship recipients for 2013were Aishah Abdala, daughter of Chula Vista Senior Technician Gerardo Abdala,and Brandon Morse, son of Chula Vista Project Engineer Ed Morse.

Besides Soa Ramirez and Summer Fent, this years other scholarship grant winnersawardees were:

n Arya Channaveeraiah,son ofRiverside General Manager ShirinFolsom and Riverside Controller,Operations Chetan Channaveeraiah;

n Caitlin Gassner,daughter of FoleyAssembler Jason Atkins;

n Emma Inman,daughter of ChulaVista A320neo Value Stream LeaderPeter Inman;

n Rachel Meserve, daughter of ChulaVista Business DevelopmentManager Mark Meserve; and

n Mark Saddler,son of Chula VistaEngineering Manager ChristopherSaddler and Chula Vista Staff StressEngineer Christina Saddler

Brandon Morse,

son of Chula Vista Project Engineer

Ed Morse

College Plans:Majoring in pre-

medicine at Chapman University

Ultimate Career Goal: Working in

the medical field

Quote: As a

person, I believe I

have an obligation

to help people in

some way. So

choosing a career

job in the medical

field is a great startAt the end of the

day, I know I have

made someones

standard of living

increase in some

way. That is the bes

feeling a person can

ever experience.

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