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Nadcap Column
in Vol. 9 - September Issue - Year 2008
Nadcap Meeting Review
Mark Rechtsteiner presenting at the NMC meeting in Rome, Italy in February 2008. The NMC meeting is open to all attendees and allows all the different Nadcap bodies to report out on their recent activities and achievements.
PRI management at the Nadcap meeting in Istanbul, Turkey in July 2007
Pyrometry training taking place in conjunction with the Nadcap meeting in Beijing, China in April 2007. Professional development opportunities are frequently scheduled to coincide with Nadcap meetings for the convenience of all participants.
At the Nadcap meeting in Rome, Italy in February 2008: Mark Rechtsteiner of GE Aviation, incoming Nadcap Management Council (NMC) Chairperson giving Chet Dat
Nadcap auditor training taking place in conjunction with the Nadcap meeting in Pittsburgh, PA, USA. Approximately 150 auditors gather from all around the world to participate in training conducted by industry representatives and PRI staff.
In July, the second of three Nadcap meetings scheduled this year took place. This was notable for two reasons:
- 2008 marks a reduction of Nadcap meetings from four to three per year. This has been made possible because of the efforts of all Nadcap stakeholders to streamline their activities and improve efficiency. As a consequence of having fewer meetings, the associated annual cost and resources have gone down, which benefits all participants.
- The July Nadcap meeting took place in Pittsburgh, PA, USA in conjunction with annual Nadcap auditor training. Traditionally, the Pittsburgh meeting – and auditor training – took place in October. However, this year they have both moved to July while the October Nadcap meeting will take place in Yokohama, Japan.
The purpose and intent of the Nadcap meetings has not changed, however. They remain an open forum for honest and constructive dialogue amongst government and industry representatives for the continual improvement of the global aerospace and defence special process and product quality industry.
“The growing integration of Nadcap into the aerospace industry and its role in quality assurance is indicative of the commitment to excellence that is represented throughout the global aerospace community.”
Chet Date Honeywell Aerospace, Former NMC Chairperson
Nadcap meeting delegates – government, primes and suppliers – can participate in technical Task Group activities such as audit checklist development and revision and auditor candidate interviews. Attendees also have the opportunity to attend the Nadcap Management Council (NMC) and Supplier Support Committee (SSC) meetings, which provide an overview and discussion of the non-technical issues that are important to the industry, such as flowdown, standardization and globalization.
“The SSC supports all suppliers that are either Nadcap accredited or working towards achieving Nadcap accreditation. The primary way in which we do this is via supplier-focused sessions at the Nadcap meetings, which all suppliers are welcome to attend.”
Dave Michaud, Fountain Plating, SSC Chairperson
There are typically around 800 representatives from government and industry at the Nadcap meetings. This makes them great for networking and attendees often use the meetings to talk to their customers and their potential customers.
Professional development courses are often scheduled in conjunction with the Nadcap meetings to facilitate attendance. Topics such as Internal Auditing and Root Cause Corrective Action, which are highly relevant for the industry, are among the courses offered at the Nadcap meetings. Last month, Problem Solving Tools was launched at the July Nadcap meeting in Pittsburgh.
Nadcap meetings are free to attend and provide many benefits, not least the sense of contributing to the continual improvement of the industry through cooperation. Nadcap meetings summarise what the Nadcap program is all about: cooperation over competition for quality.
