At KIMUA, we are fully committed to quality and meeting our clients’ requirements. To achieve this objective, we are constantly optimising our resources, procedures and methodologies to ensure compliance with the specifications of each project, international standards and maximum quality in each of the design and manufacturing stages. In this sense, one of the latest methodologies we have implemented in our day-to-day work in relation to manufacturing according to the highest quality standards is Advanced Product Quality Planning for the wind power industry, known by its acronym APQP4Wind.
In this post we would like to explain you about this methodology in which our team has been certified, as well as its main benefits and services.
Introduction to APQP4Wind
Let’s start at the beginning… what is APQP4Wind? APQP4Wind is a non-profit organisation that has created an Advanced Product Quality Planning methodology specific to the global wind power industry.
The APQP methodology’s origins are related to the automotive industry. However, the Wind Denmark organisation and its associated members promoted APQP4Wind years later, adapting the project from the automotive sector to the business areas and specifications of the wind power industry.
This method has therefore been designed by leading international wind turbine manufacturers and suppliers with the aim of standardising, simplifying and strengthening the quality planning and product approval process in the industry. Thus, by pre-planning the production phase, it is intended to prevent problems arising from quality failures.
In addition, this methodology provides companies in the industry with a common framework for meeting quality requirements that can replace individual company procedures, thus sharing a common language, procedure and method.
In its efforts to streamline the supply chain and drive the wind power industry forward at a global scale, APQP4Wind is also a member of the Global Wind Energy Council. This clearly supports the work that the Global Wind Energy Council is doing in established and emerging markets to maximise the reach and development of the industry.
Key advantages of APQP4Wind
The main purpose of this methodology is to strengthen the cooperation between manufacturers and suppliers to ensure that everyone has the same information, that discussions about quality processes in the wind power industry take place on an equal footing and that the supply chain is developed worldwide, from the design phase until it reaches the end customer.
This objective is in itself a major advantage, as it simplifies, harmonises and drives forward the entire quality planning and product approval process in the wind energy industry.
In addition, applying this methodology has other key advantages, both for the KIMUA team itself, as well as for our clients and the industry in general. Some of the main benefits are:
- Advanced project management and maximum compliance with client requirements.
- A preventive approach to quality through systematic risk anticipation and defect prevention, moving away from a culture of taking corrective actions when the problem arises.
- Reduce the costs of potential quality problems.
- Moving from a quality control approach to quality assurance, meeting each client’s quality, cost and schedule expectations.
- Contribute to developing and strengthening supplier relationships on a global scale, streamlining communication among all those involved.
- Support to standardise and simplify processes to reduce time to market, increasing efficiency.
- Comprehensive assessment of the use and meaning of common terms, language and culture among clients and suppliers, which streamlines management and relationships.
- Provide standards, tools, templates, advice and methods that are common to the global wind power industry.
As an engineering company specialising in the design and manufacture of load handling and lifting tools for the wind power industry, KIMUA is aligned with methodologies such as APQP4Wind, procedures or organisations whose objectives are to strengthen the industry’s global supply chain, boost the industry’s full potential and simplify the procedures and relationships among the different stakeholders involved.
