AVIATION NEWS02/2013 – GOALS AND PROSPECTS

AVIATION NEWS 2 | 2013

AVIATION DIVISION

Under the official motto “Align to Cruise”, representatives of FERCHAU AVIATION met with their Indian offshore partners from Tech Mahindra in Hamburg during the early part of this year. The workshop’s objective was to specify the framework conditions for further cooperation and to clarify questions regarding technical integration, quality as-surance and organisation. “Tech Mahindra is greatly experienced in, for example, cabin monuments and galleys, while we score as specialists for cabin equipment”, says Chris Köhler, Site Manager of FERCHAU AVIATION in Laupheim, with regard to the alliance si-gned and sealed at the end of 2012. According to Köhler, both companies would seamlessly complement each other in providing service to existing customers such as EADS and Diehl Aircabin together with strong performance and acquiring

new customers with attractive offers. Furthermore, both Tech Mahindra and FERCHAU AVIATION were recognised by EADS as E2S Suppliers - another reason why combining these companies would

make strategic and economic sense. Tech Mahindra employees are currently sta- tioned at FERCHAU in Bremen and Toulouse to serve as a direct contact for their Indi-an colleagues and are already assigned to customer projects, such as in pipework for air-conditioning systems. Offshore teams

are also successively formed in Bangalore for various tasks. While FERCHAU will act as front-end partner for the customer with special refe-rence to quality assurance and project ma-nagement, Tech Mahindra is able to provide experienced resources relatively quickly. “The art”, says FERCHAU Manager Köhler, “is in the optimal compilation of all work packages”. Tasks in 3D design, for instan-ce, requiring a close contact to Production, would be processed in Germany. “In cont-rast, calculations and drawings are easier to outsource to India, and our partner can work outside of the customer’s network connection”, explains Köhler. His conclusi-on regarding the workshop is appropriately positive: “We qualified and now we must manage to form the players from India and Europe into one team.”

ALLIANCE FOR IMPROVED CABINS

TECH MAHINDRA AND FERCHAU COME TO AN AGREEMENT FERCHAU AVIATION and the Indian offshore partner Tech Mahindra have created an operative foundation for cooperation. The central focus of the alliance is the development of modern cabins for existing as well as for new customers.

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02 AVIATION NEWS 2 | 2013

FERCHAU AVIATION continues to develop its business in India: following strategic agreements, the plan for 2013 is now focused on safeguarding the effective cooperation with offshore partners such as QuEST Global, for which the foundations were laid in a joint workshop during the summer.

It is no secret that FERCHAU AVIATION is drawn to India - after all, important custo-mers such as EADS unequivocally demand an offshore move abroad from their “Pre-ferred Suppliers”, and the regional offset obligations for OEMs have an effect on sup-pliers. This is joined by economic advan-tages promised by a global value-adding chain: India has a long tradition in aviation and a large pool of experts, accompanied by low personnel costs and a large poten-tial sales market. “There is no alternative to offshoring in India”, says Thomas Hucht, Chief Technical Officer (CTO) at FERCHAU AVIATION in Bremen. After the strategic ground was prepa-red at the end of 2012 and an office ope-ned in Bangalore, the current year will be focused on breathing life into the project and systematically driving it on. One step in this direction was the appointment of Jai Prakash Singh as the Managing Direc-

tor of FERCHAU Engineering in India. Al-though the Manager represents the entire FERCHAU Group, he does hail from the aviation sector and is very experienced in research as well as in the development of local subsidiaries of European aviation companies. Singh is optimistic “that we will be able to develop the connection between the partners in Germany and India relatively quickly.” One particular requirement is a closer approach on operative level. In a workshop held in Bremen, FERCHAU AVIATION em-ployees met with representatives of the partner company QuEST Global Enginee-ring, a worldwide acting service provider for product development and engineering services. Together, these experts defined their working basis, on which they proces-sed work package orders in the wing area.

“Our partnership should go beyond the ty-pical relationship between customer and supplier”, says Satya N. Iyengar, Head of Engineering at QuEST Global, who came to Northern Germany precisely for this pur-pose. His counterpart at FERCHAU AVIATION, Steffen Hauck, was particularly impres-sed by the professionalism of the Indian

experts. “They were very well prepared, were actively involved and put all facts openly on the table.” In light of the cultural and spatial distance, it is decisive that the partners work in targeted manner. “We need to specify clear lines, show up the goals and create transparency on both sides to motivate all emplyees.” Around 25 FERCHAU experts from Bremen are »

A LARGER HUB IN BANGALORE

A BETTER BOOST FOR BUSINESS IN INDIA

“There is no alternative to offshoring in India.”

03 AVIATION NEWS 2 | 2013

» Mr Singh, what can FERCHAU expect in India? Jai Prakash Singh: India is a multi-faceted country and even the Indians there need help in orientation. The languages, writings, life- styles and cultures differ from North to South and from East to West. For the first time, FERCHAU has become a part of this world, as we have previously been firmly anchored in Europe. In the aviation sector however, we need to establish ourselves globally. For me, this is a new opportunity to develop a compa-ny in India and, as an aviation engineer, I am very proud to be able to do this for FERCHAU.

» What do you regard to be your most urgent tasks? Jai Prakash Singh: In my position, it is mainly a matter of enabling the solution of prob-lems. Internal and external partners need to be coordinated, personnel issues such as recruitment and training are pending and the IT infrastructure is being set up. The most important issue however is the support of communication - Germans and Indians may mean the same, but we say it differently. “Yes” in India may mean “No”, and a German “No” is considered impolite in India. But I am still convinced that we will

be able to shorten the distance between people with a little diplomatic tact and wi-thin a short period of time.

» What makes you so confident? Jai Prakash Singh: In 1990, I spent some time in Göttingen with my family as a “Visiting

Scientist” at the German Aerospace Centre, the DLR, where I also learnt that the Ger-mans communicate on a rather direct level. Personally, I like this very much, because it follows logic and excludes misunderstan-ding. This is of decisive significance, espe-cially in a global economy. However, both sides will of course have to learn to adapt to one another, because we can only walk this road together. And a strong combination of FERCHA AVIATION and its Indian partners will also help us with our most important customers.

» What are your medium-term goals for FERCHAU in India? Jai Prakash Singh: We must first fulfil our offshore obligations and develop the custo-mers, partners and experts on the Indian aviation market with a smooth start. How-ever, I do not know of any international com-pany, which has limited itself to only one business field after its initial step to India. In the medium-term, FERCHAU can utilise its strong brand and the competences of its employees in numerous industrial sectors to complete new projects. When the deci-sion for diversification has been met, there are no limits for us in India.

working together with the Indian partners on a first work package, and a QuEST em-ployee has been stationed in the Hanseatic City as an On-site Coordinator and direct contact partner. “The most important criterion for suc-cess is communication - who talks with whom on what level”, explains Hauck. He also specifies coordination of the working level, such as secure data exchange, the permitted procedures and methods, re-porting and communication lines, process and quality requirements. “It is imperative that we harmonise the methods and pro-cedures specified by our customers and aviation law.” This also encompasses com-

munication regarding a detailed schedule, which needs to be actively and intensely reviewed so that responsibilities do not run aground.

After the joint workshop, concepts were developed to incrementally integrate the Indian colleagues from QuEST in the pro-jects. In future, Hauck will have to divide the tasks between India and Germany. “We are mainly responsible for control-

ling and safeguarding the project until its release, while sections of technical im-plementation will be rendered by our local partners and offshore companies.” This entails that German engineers will have to turn more into technical managers who develop ideas, “sell” these within the com-pany and then control their successful im-plementation. “The change”, says Hauck, “concerns all tasks along the value-adding chain.” His colleague Singh from Bangalo-re also argues that business as usual is no longer an option. “They can only survive as Preferred Suppliers in aviation if they es-tablish themselves internationally.”

Jai Prakash Singh is the Managing Director of FERCHAU Engineering in India. He is an experienced expert from the aviation sector and his main task is to support the FERCHAU AVIATION business division during its next steps onto the Indian market.

INTERVIEW WITH JAI PRAKASH SINGH, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF FERCHAU ENGINEERING INDIA

“NO LIMITS”

Jai Prakash Singh Managing Director FERCHAU Engineering India

“The most important criterion for success is communication.”

04 AVIATION NEWS 2 | 2013

FERCHAU AVIATION wants to double the number of its “Signature Delegations” for its customer EADS and in this way strengthen relations in the delivery network.

Complex delivery networks are not only kept together by processes and controls but, to a large extent, also by the mutual trust of the partners. This is exemplified by the so-called “Signature Delegations” at EADS: Preferred Suppliers, the organisations and processes of which were approved for these specific themes by the EADS, are given the right to appoint employees who are allowed to test or approve certain “Deliverables” from the En-gineering Service on assignment by Airbus. “Every Signature Delegation is a great sign of customer confidence in our organisation, our processes as well as in the competence of our employees”, says Stephan Riechmann, Quality Manager at FERCHAU AVIATION. As one of the initial first-tier suppliers for the European aviation company, FERCHAU AVIATION was launched years ago with a “Technical Checker” and a “Technical Appro- ver” in the areas Concession Work and Flight Test Instrumentation (FTI). “Meanwhile, we have delegation rights in all EADS aircraft

programmes and eleven active delegations”, reports Riechmann, who has set himself ambitious goals. “By 2015, we want to have issued 25 signing powers within five ATA chapters. FERCHAU’s excellent experts not only need to have certain professional experience, but must complete a training programme and a final examination.

Once they have passed this hurdle and once signing powers are granted, a Technical Che-cker can, for example, check on behalf of the customer, whether a FERCHAU Deliverable complies with the respective Airbus quality criteria “Design Principles”. This also entails other testing areas such as the component’s manufacturability, rigidity/fatigue or weight,

but also the consistency of data and the ques-tion whether a component collides with other installations in the virtual aircraft. In a se-cond step following these tests, a Technical Approver will check the availability, plausibi-lity and compliance of all documentation. Af-ter possible random checks, the Deliverable is either approved or rejected. According to Riechmann, the internal ve-rification process at FERCHAU AVIATION is upstream from the customer’s testing and approval process. The provider of a service for the customer and the internal or delega-ted tester are also never the same person. “The person assigned with testing or release powers (Signature Delegation) acts on assign- ment and like an employee of EADS”, exp-lains the quality manager. And, despite the great effort, Riechmann is happy about every delegation: “It characterises the competence and process quality of our organisation and shows that our experts are able to fulfil the customer’s high demands.”

SIGNATURE DELEGATIONS AT EADS

MORE TRUST IN FERCHAU AVIATION

The South Division of FERCHAU AVIATION is strengthening its profile in Software Engineering: Munich experts are co-developing a new “Main-tenance Simulator Trainer” for the Eurofighter. The client is Cassidian and the user is the German Air Force.

The new “Eurofighter Maintenance Simula-tor Trainer” (EF MST) will help the German Air Force to reduce the costs for training their maintenance technicians. Their trai-ning tasks encompass standard procedures, tests and the search and removal of errors, for example. The computer’s advantages in »

“MAINTENANCE SIMULATOR” FOR THE GERMAN AIR FORCE

IMPROVED SOFTWARE, IMPROVED MAINTENANCE

“Our experts are able to fulfil the customer’s highest requirements.”

05 AVIATION NEWS 2 | 2013

The division for aerospace at FERCHAU En-gineering GmbH is increasing its presence in Southern Germany with 50 additional specialists from the service providers ADS. For the past eight years, the company with locations in Ottobrunn near Munich and Augsburg (Donauwörth) has been specia-lising on topics around avionics, whereby the focus is on the development of embed-ded systems and safety-relevant software (DO178B), including subsequent approvals. FERCHAU has taken over the majority of

ADS and the company will initially remain independent. “Our strengths lie in avionics, where we service the entire value-adding chain regarding cockpit approach”, explains ADS Managing Director Marko Beutler. This en-compasses the inclusion of customer require- ments as well as the development of the system, the architecture and the software, but also testing and integration all the way to final inspection, qualification and certi-fication. Beutler worked in a responsible

position at Eurocopter for several years be-fore he turned ADS from a service provider to a manufacturer of own software solu-tions and products. The majority of projects stems from the helicopter division.

comparison to training in real aircraft are obvious: real jets are not blocked and da-maged; there is no risk to trainees and the efficiency of training measures is increased by the classroom situation with up to 36 trainees in three interlinked classrooms. The system can also be used for self-tui-tion purposes. “We are developing 4 of 19 work packa-ges for our client Cassidian”, reports Hans-Martin Mensch, FERCHAU AVIATION Site Manager in Munich. Eight software developers were initially assigned to the engineering project and three experts for animated 3D graphics joined during a se-cond stage. “The difficulty lies not so much in the complexity of the product itself”, ex-plains Mensch, “but rather in the ambitious schedule”. Previous similar systems had a significantly longer overall running period than three years. FERCHAU AVIATION has less than half the time to render all con- tractually agreed services. With the MST, the German Air Force is replacing an existing system, the functio-nal scope of which is no longer sufficient and which is not prepared for the upcoming versions of the Eurofighter. In future, every trainee will have more screens and be able to interact with the Eurofighter at the click

of a mouse button - “a little like a compu-ter game”, says Mensch. The virtual jet is developed on the basis of real construc-tion data, which is converted into 3D gra-

phics and enriched with photos. If required, throttles and joysticks or a cockpit module can be connected to the training station‘s basic equipment.

With immediate effect, the company Avionic Design Service GmbH (ADS) from Bavaria is now a part of FERCHAU AVIATION’s fleet. The company develops programmes and systems for the aerospace industry.

EMBEDDED COMPETENCE

FERCHAU AVIATION TAKES OVER ADS

Marko Beutler Managing Director of ADS

A short note

Our 2014 New Year’s Meeting will take place as usual on 15 January at the Hotel Hafen in Hamburg.

Save the date: Partner Meeting 2014

At the end of October, FERCHAU AVIATION in Munich moved out of the Landsberger Straße to Garching into the “Mu-nich Business Campus”. Apart from the Sales and Administra-tion divisions, the North of the state’s capital has room for the company’s Technical Office (TO). The relocation creates 16 new jobs, and the “MST – Maintenan-ce Simulator Trainer” (refer to page 04) project employees can be settled in company facilities. A dedicated graphics team for the MST project is also formed in Garching. The modern campus is located in the immediate vicinity of our customer Cassidian in Un-terschleißheim, who profits from

the seamless support rendered by our employees. Due to the campus of the Munich TU, Gar-ching is a significant university and research location with direct connections to public transport and the motorway network: not only the “Münchner Freiheit” in Schwabing but also MUC Airport are accessible within 20 minutes.

FERCHAU Engineering GmbH AVIATION Division Business Campus München, Parkring 2, 85748 GarchingContact partner: Hans-Martin Mensch, Business Manager SÜDTelephone: +49 89 546799-0E-mail: hans-martin.mensch@ferchau.de

NEW OFFICE IN MUNICH

FERCHAU AVIATION cele-brated the official opening cere- mony of the new location in Ge-tafe near Madrid on 19 Septem-ber. Site Manager Óscar Elvira was able to welcome around 50 invited guests from customer companies, partner companies and research facilities for tapas, drinks and “conversación”. “Air-bus Military, Airbus Operations, Cassidian and Astrium were re-presented by people from all re-levant divisions”, reported CEO Harald Felten. “The great atten-dance is a clear signal that our commitment is appreciated in Spain and that we are very wel-come in Getafe.” The objective is to offer the complete portfolio of FERCHAU AVIATION in all EADS divisions in Spain and to position ourselves among the three lea-ding engineering service provi-ders.

“During the first year it was mainly a matter of creating a foundation of confidence with the customer”, emphasised Site Manager Óscar Elvira. Never-theless: 22 employees are al-ready active in Getafe for Airbus Military. They are also develo-ping projects in Electric Design and Structures for transport and reconnaissance aircraft. For example, FERCHAU AVIATION is involved in the transnational project for the C 295 from Air-bus Military. The multi-purpose transport, sea reconnaissance and submarine fighter plane is to be completely modified, also in order to extinguish forest fires in the future.

Due to the expanded on-site presence at four European Airbus

locations, FERCHAU AVIATION is able to better position itself for work packages in the EADS/Airbus supplier pool, which are tendered on a transnational ba-sis. After the rapid launch, Site Manager Elvira is appropriately optimistic: “We assume that the number of our employees will exceed one hundred during the next few years.” Qualified per-sonnel is therefore still sought in Spain.

FERCHAU Engineering Spain S.L.U., C/. Miguel Faraday, 20–22, E-28906 Getafe, MadridContact partner: Óscar ElviraTelephone: +34 91 1291100E-mail: aviation.spain@ferchau.es

OPENING CEREMONY IN SPAIN

From left to right: Thierry Faysse (Site Manager Toulouse), Harald Felten (CEO AVIATION), and Óscar Elvira (Site Manager Madrid)

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