I was a group quality manager for an engineering company that made aero-engine parts. As part of the culture change program, I gave a presentation on examples of aircraft crashes and causes. A poorly machined blisk that caused an in-flight turbine failure, an oil-pipe with a thin wall in one area that cracked and leaked causing a fire, and an incident I personally saw, the crash of a military helicopter in Germany which was due to a series of quality failures. It made people reflect on what they do, how they do it. If the process says the speeds and feeds are x and y, stick to it. Don’t increase them just to get the batch finished earlier. It was no longer a part, it was an aircraft part, for an engine that might power my holiday flight.
How does certification fit in? Why do we need that? We get a certificate on the wall which gets us approved to supply to aerospace companies, but—and here’s the oft-heard lament—“we don’t get any value add.”