Summary of key ESI actions and observations’ impact of supplier activities on performance
| Project identifier | Key activities and observations |
|---|---|
| Amsterdam | The Buying contractor reached out to the Supplier early in the process to provide fabrication recommendations. Supplier developed a prototype for RF performance evaluation and manufacturability assessment performed by producer. Some issues with manufacturability were worked out by Supplier before solidifying the final design. From the Supplier perspective, material options were provided prior to start of project and not heeded; options would have had a major impact on quality. More time should have been spent on the front end of the project working to understand the quality goals. The job ended up being reworked because of lack of understanding of the materials. Note that perspectives differed between Procuring contractor and Supplier contractor |
| Canada | The Buying contractor obtained preliminary quotes and feedback from Suppliers on tolerances and recommendations to improve manufacturability and lower cost. The Buying contractor actively used design to cost targets. The Buyer’s engineering team engaged in follow-up with Suppliers after receiving feedback. There were technical interchange meetings organized with technical experts from Suppliers to review drawing feedback jointly and brainstorm ways to achieve the tolerances that could not be relaxed. This also helped Suppliers understand why some tolerances were tighter |
| Gibraltar | The Buying contractor discussed general fabrication options with the Supplier. The Supplier met in person with the Gibraltar team to discuss more detailed options to reduce cost, ensure producibility in the antenna dip braze process, reduce part count (which reduces touch labor) and reduce fabrication time. However, technical baseline inconsistencies existed. From the project engineer’s perspective, there were no design to cost goals set up within the program and the entire brazed antenna design should not have been the baseline; it was eventually abandoned for an alternate solution |
| Kimberley | The Buying contractor issued fixed price order to the Supplier for components. Based on changes not executed through purchasing, the Supplier overran by 200 per cent over 12 months and stopped work, pending payment for work performed. In an effort to move forward, the Buying contractor approved payment of charges. However, the Buyer then changed revision of the applicable component drawing and the Supplier proposed an additional charge and extended lead-time to support the revision change. The Buyer then identified an alternative contractor, provided part and directed purchasing to terminate the order. Buying contractor disconnects were observed between the program engineering and purchasing teams relative to Supplier interaction |
| Liverpool | The program had a unique chassis requirement. The Buyer’s engineer reached out to various chassis suppliers inquiring if they could meet unique ANSI/VITA 46.0 standards. The engineer then contacted those suppliers that could meet the specification to ask for their proprietary Computer Aided Design (CAD) files to form a supplier partnership that would result in a custom chassis. Supplier X agreed to release their proprietary CAD files to the Buyer. The Prime then involved purchasing to request a quote and signed a non-disclosure agreement with Supplier X for their files. The Buyer ordered two prototype units from the Supplier, then worked with them to create the custom chassis design. Purchasing remained involved with emails and conference calls until the prototypes were received. From there, engineering created and released drawings. Over 80 of these specialized units have been delivered with only one quality write-up |
| Madagascar | Engineering and purchasing worked closely with the enclosure and filter suppliers during design and manufacturing. This involved system design, project kickoff and early supplier engagement. Although formal supplier agreements/partnerships were not created, the Procurer discussed quantity pricing options, supplier material purchase requirements and other supplier cost drivers at length during the component design process. For enclosures, requirements were subsequently added that were not reflected in original drawings; requiring modifications. These were Buyer Contractor defects. For the filter, airflow requirements were initially inadequate. Resolution drove some increase in production material costs |
| Montreal | Early supplier engagement by engineering (mechanical design and electrical interfaces) and purchasing occurred with both printed wiring board vendors. ESI was viewed as a definite contributor to success. Success factors also included selection and dialog with the correct vendors (2 of 5 were selected)—relevant experience was essential. Qualification testing of the system was successful. Note this was more complicated than what the Procurer usually performs due to the space qualification of the components |
| Ontario | Working with the design engineer, the purchasing organization obtained design for manufacturability input from Suppliers prior to data release and order placement. Valuable input was obtained, such as incorrect circuit card vertical interconnect access (VIA) hole quantities. VIA hole size tolerance increase and a stack-up was provided for reference/review. Collected data was reviewed and incorporated into the released design, where applicable, with a goal of reducing issues during fabrication. The purchasing organization also suggested and set up a fabrication readiness review at the Supplier’s facility after order placement and prior to the job being released on the shop floor. The results were positive with some key takeaways. One standout item involved removing the plated pedestals, as they created a high processing risk well into the fabrication process. The Procurer’s team reviewed the design, and removed all pedestals to create a much more producible product with much lower risk. This action was performed without added time to the delivery schedule. Despite the favorable ESI activities, a several month schedule slip on the boards was still encountered, related to process and material selection |
| Rivoli | For hybrid housings, Supplier X participated in drawing reviews prior to release. For the printed wiring boards, the Buyer had Supplier Y review preliminary drawings to help with rigid-flex-rigid printed wiring board designs. Supplier Y also helped the electrical engineers figure out line widths, hatching, etc. for impedance issues. Suppliers built mechanical samples of the boards at its own expense before the Buyer released drawings or executed orders |
| Santiago | Examples existed of both positive early involvement and negative Engineering Change Orders (ECOs) driven by Supplier Support Requests (SSRs). The early involvement came at the beginning of the program when the drawing release curve was on schedule. The ECOs because of SSRs were in the later stages of the program as the drawing release curve slipped schedule and the Procurer didn’t have time to engage the supply chain. The ECOs driven by design changes or SSRs after drawing release were required, could have been avoided with better supplier engagement. In the end, the Procurer’s initial expectation of higher build to print items was incorrect and a higher number (approximately 80) of custom parts were required |
| Sudbury | Early technical discussions with Supplier X helped shape a producible design. The project was almost uniformly successful with no ECOs and minor development cost (writing an interface control document). One risky decision made by the Buyer was to leave Particle Impact Noise Detection (PIND) out of the specification, which ultimately resulted in an instance of foreign object damage in a device. The Procurer ultimately had to use PIND in its parts. Otherwise, this was deemed a very successful development |
| Tokyo | This printed wiring board was a redesign from a prior version but the end use of the product resulted in a design that was low yielding and difficult to manufacture. Long lead material purchase orders were let prior to the final design, which was released a month later. The Buyer purchased through Supplier X first and when they did not meet their delivery, the Procurer placed another order with Supplier Y in hopes that one of the two suppliers would be able to deliver. Supplier Y was never able to produce the design and Supplier X took much longer than they had originally quoted. The development was for high-performance boards with buried VIAs and several other challenging design implementations. Because multiple printed wiring boards of similar types existed, the intent was to procure from two separate vendors because of initial breadboard procurement challenges on earlier variants. A very high level of RF performance and sensitivity to any deviations identified on the drawing posed challenges to both vendors. In retrospect, the team believes a dual-source approach from the beginning would have yielded better results |
| Project identifier | Key activities and observations |
|---|---|
| Amsterdam | The Buying contractor reached out to the Supplier early in the process to provide fabrication recommendations. Supplier developed a prototype for RF performance evaluation and manufacturability assessment performed by producer. Some issues with manufacturability were worked out by Supplier before solidifying the final design. |
| Canada | The Buying contractor obtained preliminary quotes and feedback from Suppliers on tolerances and recommendations to improve manufacturability and lower cost. The Buying contractor actively used design to cost targets. The Buyer’s engineering team engaged in follow-up with Suppliers after receiving feedback. There were technical interchange meetings organized with technical experts from Suppliers to review drawing feedback jointly and brainstorm ways to achieve the tolerances that could not be relaxed. This also helped Suppliers understand why some tolerances were tighter |
| Gibraltar | The Buying contractor discussed general fabrication options with the Supplier. The Supplier met in person with the Gibraltar team to discuss more detailed options to reduce cost, ensure producibility in the antenna dip braze process, reduce part count (which reduces touch labor) and reduce fabrication time. However, technical baseline inconsistencies existed. From the project engineer’s perspective, there were no design to cost goals set up within the program and the entire brazed antenna design should not have been the baseline; it was eventually abandoned for an alternate solution |
| Kimberley | The Buying contractor issued fixed price order to the Supplier for components. Based on changes not executed through purchasing, the Supplier overran by 200 per cent over 12 months and stopped work, pending payment for work performed. In an effort to move forward, the Buying contractor approved payment of charges. However, the Buyer then changed revision of the applicable component drawing and the Supplier proposed an additional charge and extended lead-time to support the revision change. The Buyer then identified an alternative contractor, provided part and directed purchasing to terminate the order. Buying contractor disconnects were observed between the program engineering and purchasing teams relative to Supplier interaction |
| Liverpool | The program had a unique chassis requirement. The Buyer’s engineer reached out to various chassis suppliers inquiring if they could meet unique ANSI/VITA 46.0 standards. The engineer then contacted those suppliers that could meet the specification to ask for their proprietary Computer Aided Design (CAD) files to form a supplier partnership that would result in a custom chassis. Supplier X agreed to release their proprietary CAD files to the Buyer. The Prime then involved purchasing to request a quote and signed a non-disclosure agreement with Supplier X for their files. The Buyer ordered two prototype units from the Supplier, then worked with them to create the custom chassis design. Purchasing remained involved with emails and conference calls until the prototypes were received. From there, engineering created and released drawings. Over 80 of these specialized units have been delivered with only one quality write-up |
| Madagascar | Engineering and purchasing worked closely with the enclosure and filter suppliers during design and manufacturing. This involved system design, project kickoff and early supplier engagement. Although formal supplier agreements/partnerships were not created, the Procurer discussed quantity pricing options, supplier material purchase requirements and other supplier cost drivers at length during the component design process. For enclosures, requirements were subsequently added that were not reflected in original drawings; requiring modifications. These were Buyer Contractor defects. For the filter, airflow requirements were initially inadequate. Resolution drove some increase in production material costs |
| Montreal | Early supplier engagement by engineering (mechanical design and electrical interfaces) and purchasing occurred with both printed wiring board vendors. ESI was viewed as a definite contributor to success. Success factors also included selection and dialog with the correct vendors (2 of 5 were selected)—relevant experience was essential. Qualification testing of the system was successful. Note this was more complicated than what the Procurer usually performs due to the space qualification of the components |
| Ontario | Working with the design engineer, the purchasing organization obtained design for manufacturability input from Suppliers prior to data release and order placement. Valuable input was obtained, such as incorrect circuit card vertical interconnect access (VIA) hole quantities. VIA hole size tolerance increase and a stack-up was provided for reference/review. Collected data was reviewed and incorporated into the released design, where applicable, with a goal of reducing issues during fabrication. The purchasing organization also suggested and set up a fabrication readiness review at the Supplier’s facility after order placement and prior to the job being released on the shop floor. The results were positive with some key takeaways. One standout item involved removing the plated pedestals, as they created a high processing risk well into the fabrication process. The Procurer’s team reviewed the design, and removed all pedestals to create a much more producible product with much lower risk. This action was performed without added time to the delivery schedule. Despite the favorable ESI activities, a several month schedule slip on the boards was still encountered, related to process and material selection |
| Rivoli | For hybrid housings, Supplier X participated in drawing reviews prior to release. For the printed wiring boards, the Buyer had Supplier Y review preliminary drawings to help with rigid-flex-rigid printed wiring board designs. Supplier Y also helped the electrical engineers figure out line widths, hatching, etc. for impedance issues. Suppliers built mechanical samples of the boards at its own expense before the Buyer released drawings or executed orders |
| Santiago | Examples existed of both positive early involvement and negative Engineering Change Orders (ECOs) driven by Supplier Support Requests (SSRs). The early involvement came at the beginning of the program when the drawing release curve was on schedule. The ECOs because of SSRs were in the later stages of the program as the drawing release curve slipped schedule and the Procurer didn’t have time to engage the supply chain. The ECOs driven by design changes or SSRs after drawing release were required, could have been avoided with better supplier engagement. In the end, the Procurer’s initial expectation of higher build to print items was incorrect and a higher number (approximately 80) of custom parts were required |
| Sudbury | Early technical discussions with Supplier X helped shape a producible design. The project was almost uniformly successful with no ECOs and minor development cost (writing an interface control document). One risky decision made by the Buyer was to leave Particle Impact Noise Detection (PIND) out of the specification, which ultimately resulted in an instance of foreign object damage in a device. The Procurer ultimately had to use PIND in its parts. Otherwise, this was deemed a very successful development |
| Tokyo | This printed wiring board was a redesign from a prior version but the end use of the product resulted in a design that was low yielding and difficult to manufacture. Long lead material purchase orders were let prior to the final design, which was released a month later. The Buyer purchased through Supplier X first and when they did not meet their delivery, the Procurer placed another order with Supplier Y in hopes that one of the two suppliers would be able to deliver. Supplier Y was never able to produce the design and Supplier X took much longer than they had originally quoted. The development was for high-performance boards with buried VIAs and several other challenging design implementations. Because multiple printed wiring boards of similar types existed, the intent was to procure from two separate vendors because of initial breadboard procurement challenges on earlier variants. A very high level of RF performance and sensitivity to any deviations identified on the drawing posed challenges to both vendors. In retrospect, the team believes a dual-source approach from the beginning would have yielded better results |
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