AIA: Pratt & Whitney's Computerized Product Development Initiative
One of the most advanced inspection programs implemented in the aerospace industry is Pratt & Whitney's (East Hartford, CT) Computerized Product Development (CPD) initiative. The aim of CPD is to reduce engine development lead time and cost.
Tecnomatix (Northville, MI) has worked closely with Pratt & Whitney for a number of years. Using Tecnomatix software, Pratt & Whitney has cut new engine development time in half. The company has reduced development costs by 75 percent, reduced post-certification changes by 80 percent, and put test parts out on the floor in 7 months instead of 15. On one engine part alone, Pratt & Whitney reduced manufacturing time from 10 days to 1, saving $773 per part ($557,000 annually). Pratt & Whitney produces 10,000 parts in-house each year for 800 engines. So the potential for savings is huge. "Tecnomatix is helping us reduce engine development lead-time cost, part costs and time-to-market. We are standardizing our processes with Tecnomatix, and will request that our suppliers also use these software tools," says Dave Pomeroy, manager of manufacturing systems engineering operations at Pratt & Whitney.