Constructing Excellence in Wales

Client of the Year – Airbus

Overview

Airbus Operations’ North Factory Project at Broughton, north Wales, is a vast, technically challenging scheme to design, engineer and build a 52,000m² composite wing assembly facility for the next generation of the world’s aircraft. It is expected to be pivotal in the development of the UK’s aviation industry.

Airbus envisaged a project that would deliver a fully integrated and industrialised ‘factory of the future’ while meeting high safety, quality, cost, delivery and people (SQCDP) targets. The planned facility was to comprise a steel frame in a three-bay configuration with a maximum single span of 203 metres, supporting an extensive system of remotely operated cranes. Highly complex machine bases would be needed to support the wing assembly process. There would be some 220,000m³ of concrete floor slabs, supported by 8,000 concrete piles. And the entire facility had to be completed in a timely fashion, enabling Airbus to bring the A350 wing to market as quickly as possible.

Airbus opted for an integrated design and build approach that embraced Rethinking Construction principles. Its support of its prime contractor, commitment to building a strong project delivery team and efforts to engage the workforce drew praise from the judges, who said that the company had demonstrated vision, strong leadership and clear strategy throughout.

Process

From the start Airbus took a strong lead in establishing an integrated project team and supply chain committed to collaborative working. The company departed from its traditional approach to project management (which would normally involve bringing in an external consultant) to appoint a representative from within its own business. This was hugely beneficial in facilitating a close working relationship between the Airbus team and the prime contractor, in which knowledge and management tools could be shared.

Having selected AMEC (later Morgan Sindall) as prime contractor to manage, design and construct the new facility, Airbus was heavily involved in the early selection and engagement of the supply chain partners. In particular, the early appointment of the manufacturing systems contractor allowed Morgan Sindall’s design team to understand crucial complex machining and materials handling issues at an early stage.

The Airbus Land and Buildings team, working with Morgan Sindall, helped to drive the development of working models to achieve the demanding SQCDP objectives set by Airbus. The targets included zero reportable incidents, ‘right first time’ quality and costs within 10% of monthly cash flow. Airbus also insisted on ambitious waste minimisation and recycling targets, appointing a waste manager to oversee the programme.

The Airbus team also took the lead in opening paths of communication to the project workforce, for example through ‘Voice’ meetings providing feedback to the management team, start of shift meetings, weekly site visits, value engineering reviews, risk reviews and popular ‘face to face’ briefings. Airbus succeeded in instilling in everybody the importance of their role in bringing the A350 wing to market as quickly as possible. The company also supported the development of a project behavioural charter to encourage openness, trust and transparency between the suppliers.

Results

The project was delivered on time on 20 January 2010, having achieved its cost targets. At its peak some 300 people were involved, employed via 15 supply chain partners, many of whom were locally based. All the key SQCDP targets were achieved; remarkably, over a five-year period and one million man hours, there were no reportable incidents. In addition, the waste minimisation initiative resulted in almost total recycling of all waste materials on site (99.8%) – an improvement of nearly 50% on government targets for the construction industry.

The judges attributed much of this success in large part to Airbus’s leadership, vision and clear strategy. They commented that the overall management of the process was very impressive, demonstrating a holistic approach that was difficult to improve upon. The commitment to build the team came over clearly; the ‘no blame’ culture the project team aspired to was genuine, not just lip service, and it was clear to the judges that the entire workforce supported this approach.

Supporting Quotes

Steve Fowles Head of Building & Construction UK

“This was a truly cradle to grave project. Right from the concept design the “team” were focused and engaged on the vision, strategy and targets. Much of the success goes down to the early integration of the supply chain and clear leadership of the integrated management team. Communication was key in involving each level of the workforce and the feedback was imperative to understand and improve the ways of working. Instilling confidence and ownership made everybody realise the importance of the project, which in turn gave clear motivation and transparency between suppliers.

Because of the development of “Lean” Manufacturing Principles for reporting (SQCDP), the project was visible for everyone, making it easy to see its status.”

I have to say it was a real pleasure and satisfying outcome, shared with everybody who was involved that on the 13^th November 2011 the facility was officially opened by the Prime Minister David Cameron with all the feedback and applause that took place