Mike Howell
EASA Technical Support Specialist

As service organizations, we should examine every phase of our projects and the related decisions we make in terms of SQDC (safety, quality, delivery and cost) every time and in that order.

• Safety – keep people safe
• Quality – fulfill requirements
• Delivery – meet time commitments
• Cost – achieve strong business results

When operational excellence principles have been adopted, organizations typically find that if they properly and intentionally attend to safety, quality and delivery, then cost can more easily be controlled leading to predictable and satisfactory business results.

Often times, the projects that are most difficult to manage properly are the ones that divert from the norm, removing us from our standard business activities. Approximately 48% of EASA service centers report providing at least one type of fieldservice as a standard business activity. These fieldservice activities are primarily vibration analysis, alignment, balancing and thermography.

A less common activity is the on-site stator rewind. Certainly, there are classes of machines (e.g., large generators) that are almost always wound on-site and there are service organizations that specialize in these activities. However, most service centers perform on-site stator rewinds infrequently and even then, many of the personnel required for the scope of work are not the personnel usually involved with fieldservice work. When working on-site and out of our element, how do we ensure the safety of all people affected by our work while delivering a quality product on-time and on-budget?

One way to mitigate risks associated with these types of projects is quality planning.

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