TriMech Enterprise Ensures Customer Meets Boeing Supply Chain Requirements

Boeing is the world’s largest aerospace company and leading manufacturer of commercial jetliners and defense, space and security systems, supporting airlines and U.S. and allied government customers in 150 countries. The Boeing Supply Chain requires stringent digital product definition (DPD) data.

Boeing Supply Chain Challenge

To ensure their products are of the highest possible quality, suppliers in the Boeing supply chain must provide detailed specifications for control of Boeing digital product definition (DPD) data, which are intended to facilitate supplier deployment of DPD processes and to achieve technical coordination between the customer and any suppliers and/or sub-tier suppliers.

One of our Enterprise customers—a producer of innovative custom-engineered components, speciality packaging, and end products—wanted to be considered as a potential supplier to Boeing, but was having some issues proving they could comply with Boeing’s exhaustive standards for quality assurance and quality control of DPD data. The customer had created some of the necessary operational procedures, but assembling a full DPD package was out of scope of their daily operations. They were falling short in some areas and needed help. That’s when TriMech Enterprise Solutions stepped in.

“Achieving DPD compliance in the Boeing ecosystem is challenging for many aerospace suppliers. Becoming a certified supplier opens up many doors, but few manufacturers are fully prepared to support that level of documentation to meet Boeing’s DPD D6-51991 quality assurance standards,” stated Peter Tavis, DPD consultant, TriMech Enterprise.

“Boeing wants to be able to know exactly how a part was made from production to quality to finished part. We helped our customer document their processes for compliance, and we are ready to help other suppliers meet Boeing’s D6-51991 quality assurance standards.”

The solution was to create a DPD Quality Assurance Plan

We worked with the customer, as well as with Boeing auditors, to respond to every section in Boeing’s DPD specifications. To create a DPD quality assurance plan for Boeing, a potential supplier will typically refer to their own pre-existing processes for regular operations. But many companies have never needed to create policies and procedures to quite the level of detail or rigour as Boeing requires, which was the situation for this specific customer.

DPD Aerospace Part

But our specialist team was able to help its customer fill in the gaps, showing them where they needed to shore up existing procedures to meet Boeing standards and even writing some new processes for the customer to implement and follow. One of the key services Adaptive was able to provide was helping them standardize on CATIA V5 CAD software, to streamline the data exchange process and minimize the amount of file conversion and potential loss of data integrity, as well as meet Boeing’s requirements. With their new DPD in hand, the customer is currently working through the audit process with Boeing to qualify as a supplier.

Both the customer and Boeing are pleased with the results — the customer because they’re close to their goal of working with Boeing, and Boeing because another potential supplier was fast-tracked to success. TriMech Enterprise Solutions are prepared to support other Boeing suppliers who need help meeting the DPD standards.