60 second interview:
PRI
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The Performance Review Institute (PRI) was formed in the US to serve the aerospace industry on the evaluation of global suppliers. We speak to , PRI's executive director of global business operations and corporate strategies, about the organization's Nadcap programme. |
What is the Nadcap programme?
Originally Nadcap was known as the National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program (NADCAP). Then we decided that, as we were international, the name isn’t right as it wasn’t just a national program anymore. So we got our heads together and said, let’s call it Nadcap as an acronym and a noun, and now it’s a recognized brand name within the aerospace industry. PRI is dedicated to looking at the competency of suppliers in the industry to make sure that they can comply with the very complex specifications of the customers. Nadcap is the largest programme for evaluating suppliers – we carry out more than 4,000 on-site audits each year in more than 60 different countries. Typically, we have close to 10,000 active certifications at any one time.
Which sectors of the aerospace industry do you give accreditation in?
We have a very specific niche of aerospace manufacturing that we cater to. In manufacturing there are sub-processes in between processes, so when you produce a part, for example, you may have to heat treat it, weld it or plate it to prevent corrosion. Our niche is in this specialized region of what we call ‘special processes’. The main ‘special processes’ include: aerospace quality standards, coatings, chemical processing, composites, distributors, elastomer seals, electronics, fasteners, fluids, heat treating, materials testing, nonconventional machining and surface enhancement, non -destructive testing, sealants and welding.
Why is it companies must achieve accreditation? How do they follow the programme?
Typically, companies such as Rolls Royce, Boeing or Airbus, that are part of the Nadcap program, will send a letter to their suppliers and say that, as part of continuing business, the supplier must get Nadcap accreditation in order to prove the quality of its manufacturing process. Suppliers then apply to PRI and start the process of accreditation. We send them the requirements needed for accreditation and they prepare their processes for auditing. Typically a new supplier will take around six months to prepare for an audit. In total it usually takes about nine months for everything to be completed and for the supplier to receive certification.
How hard is it to gain Nadcap accreditation?
Accreditation is like reading a detailed document and making sure all the 'i's are dotted and all the 't's are crossed. It’s making sure that when the suppliers are producing a part for their customer they’re following the customer’s specification to the letter. In the past controls haven’t been as tight but with Nadcap, all the people who are evaluating are specialists: they know all the details so it’s very stringent.
What do companies gain by having Nadcap accreditation?
Currently we work with companies including Boeing, Airbus, General Electric, Goodrich, BAE Air Systems, Eurocopter and Volvo, and with Nadcap accreditation suppliers can continue to work with these companies. It also opens up other doors to new businesses who see their accreditation as a sign of quality. An accredited Nadcap supplier has tracked a 97 per cent reduction in rework resulting from improvements to his system stemming from Nadcap requirements. Surveys performed on the Nadcap accredited supplier base indicate an average 40 per cent reduction in audits following Nadcap accreditation. There are benefits for primes as well: a participating prime contractor reports a saving of over US$1m annually while achieving technically superior audits.
What are PRI's and Nadcap’s plans for the future? Are you looking to expand to other industries?
We definitely see opportunities in other industries and we’re exploring that. We have a model that works very, very well and we feel that it could be applicable in the automotive, medical and nuclear industries and maybe even the energy industry.
We also offer three quality-related professional development initiatives: eQuaLearn, eQuaLPrep and eQuaLified. All the Nadcap audits that we perform give us a wealth of information and we want to try to give it back in the form of knowledge so that suppliers can get better. We’re finding that in countries such as Singapore, Mexico, India and China there is a significant growth opportunity and PRI’s goal is to offer infrastructure for new programmes or for existing programmes globally. We’re very much a multi-cultural organization for the cause of giving the best quality in the industry.
For more information on the PRI visit www.pri-network.org
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