Browsing by Author "Leonard, Corli"

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    Quality assurance in the aerospace industry : implementation of AS 9100 Quality Management Standard at an SME
    (Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2011-03) Leonard, Corli; Treurnicht, N. F.; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Industrial Engineering.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South Africa has potential to grow extensively as a country supplying components to the global aerospace industry supply chains, as well as directly to OEMs like Airbus, Boeing and Cessna which are first tier suppliers. The economic crisis had a significant impact on the growth of small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs), also in aerospace companies. Before the recession, SMEs did not see the necessity to become certified with internationally accredited quality standards, because there were an abundance of business opportunities. In the current restricted business climate SMEs are increasingly realising the importance of certification. The standard that aerospace companies need to comply with, is the AS 9100 standard. Compliance to AS 9100 was previously considered as a competitive advantage (order winner) but has become a necessary prerequisite (order qualifier) to be considered for a contract. In the aerospace industry accountability, traceability, documentation and quality of parts are of critical importance. Quality of products according to specification is crucial as it has a profound effect on safety. The tendency in improving of a company's processes is to scale down on superfluous documentation. In the case of aerospace companies, this is an extremely challenging goal because traceability is of such crucial importance in this sector in terms of aircraft structural system and –operational integrity. For the purpose of this study, a small to medium manufacturer of aircraft and defence system parts was studied and considered to be representative of the aerospace industry in South Africa. The research gap amongst SMEs was investigated by means of a case study at an SME in South Africa where an IT-based AS 9100 quality management system was designed, developed and implemented. The investigation includes the analysis of the research partner's quality documents, the steps in the design and development of the quality management system (QMS) and a description of the implementation thereof. This study aims to provide the focus group (SMEs) with more knowledge when developing their quality management systems for implementation of the AS 9100 requirement to compete in the aerospace industry. It describes the historic background and current use of the AS 9100 standard as background. The objective of the case study will be to determine the generic validity of the method to be able to implement AS 9100 at a small to medium sized aerospace supplier when using the same guidelines which are followed in this specific case. The method's value and success are determined by means of an external audit (certification audit) of the company used in the case study. The method makes specific use of an IT-based infrastructure to facilitate the reduction of unnecessary documentation. Experiences gained by the author in applying AS 9100 to upgrade local manufacturing companies to aerospace suppliers to Volvo Aero Company in Sweden are briefly discussed as well as the validity to make use of these generic steps.
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    SAURAN : a new resource for solar radiometric data in Southern Africa
    (Energy Research Centre, 2015) Brooks, Michael J.; Du Clou, Sven; Van Niekerk, Wikus L.; Gauche, Paul; Leonard, Corli; Mouzouris, Michael J.; Meyer, Riaan; Van der Westhuizen, Nic; Van Dyk, Ernest E.; Vorster, Frederik J.
    A new resource for sun strength data in Southern Africa has been established with the commissioning of a regional network of solar monitoring stations. The Southern African Universities Radiometric Network (SAURAN) is an initiative of Stellenbosch University and the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), and consists of an initial set of ten ground stations equipped with secondary standard thermopile radiometers. SAURAN's aim is to provide a long-term record of sun strength in a region that shows excellent potential for the deployment of solar energy technologies. Instruments measuring direct normal irradiance (DNI), diffuse horizontal irradiance (DHI) and global horizontal irradiance (GHI) feed time-averaged data over 1-minute, hourly and daily intervals to a central archive from where they are accessible to the public via a website interface. Meteorological data is also provided by most of the stations. This paper gives a brief background to the SAURAN project and describes the network's operation, coverage and future expansion. Examples of solar energy irradiance plots are also provided to illustrate the information available from the SAURAN database.