Improvement of the Design Process of Assembly Equipment for Aircraft Engines

Abstract

This project focused on improving the design process for aircraft engine assembly and disassembly equipment within an aerospace engineering department. The existing process was structured around broad phases without detailed activity definitions, resulting in inconsistent execution, process variability and frequent rework. The objective was to redesign the workflow by developing a detailed, standardized process flow map. The methodology followed the PDCA cycle and incorporated process mapping, root cause analysis and data analysis techniques. The redesigned process reorganized the workflow into five structured phases composed of 45 detailed activities and incorporated inspection decision points to improve process control. Based on estimated rework metrics, the redesigned workflow demonstrated the potential to reduce annual rework time from 1,600 to 667 hours, representing an estimated 58.3% reduction.