Autodesk PLM 360 managing a pioneering airline trolley for the aviation industry.

Security Seal Technology lightweight trolleys 

This week I've been with the development team from Security Seal Technology Ltd, to see what great products they are creating and share some of my best practices. They are preparing for their Autodesk PLM 360 implementation so we like to share examples from other customers to help them get started. Security Seal Technology Ltd are a recent customer of Autodesk PLM 360 as part of the Autodesk® Entrepreneur Impact programme. 

The team from Security Seal Technology, with the Innovative lightweight trolley

Security Seal Technology specialises in creating cutting edge security solutions for the aviation industry. The company provides intuitive alternatives to the traditional heavier, less reliable and potentially insecure current airline trolley solutions. The security function is an electronic, multi-point lock and security seal that will replace traditional plastic disposable seals. This will enable the airline to track and record the opening, closing sealing and unsealing of the trolley, which will prevent theft while also making it easier to monitor the sale of duty-free products.

The flat-pack, modular design of the trolley allows for fast, easy repairs with minimum downtime. The 30 per cent weight reduction could deliver a fuel saving of hundreds of pounds per year, per trolley, providing airlines with a vital carbon offset.

This revolutionary trolley is already multi-award winning; earning the best onboard catering equipment prize at the Onboard Hospitality Awards in 2015, and the Made in Wales Green Award for their innovative flax-based FibriRock, a pioneering new material that is aerospace approved and 98 percent recyclable.

Part of the SST shop floor and testing/assembly cells

SST shop floor using lean assembly methods and processes

SST Bespoke Jigs and Fixtures

I thought I'd walk you through what a typical implementation looks like using the standard Autodesk PLM 360 apps. We took these first steps with Security Seal Technology as they needed to get control on the product components first.

Step 1: Upload the items and BOMS

Using the in-product upload tool, we bulk uploaded the items and BOM's using the current spreadsheets that they use to manage their products (Example shown is dummy data to protect SST Ltd). You simply create excel columns to match the fields in PLM 360, you can even upload legacy data to the current revision by simply entering the Rev letter next to each item. (See below) 

Example of excel data ready to upload

Then using the upload tool you match the excel columns with the corresponding fields in the items and BOMS workspace.

Autodesk PLM 360 Upload tool

Hit proceed and that's it, don't worry as the tool will check first for matching data and any errors before making the upload, it will even add data to pick lists if needed.

Autodesk PLM 360 upload tool

Getting under the hood and testing out Autodesk PLM 360 for the first time (lots of smiles !!)

Step 2: Change management

Next we configured the approval groups within the change management apps and added the users who needed to be part of the Security Seal Technology change management approval process.

Change Management workflow

Step 3: Create the quality procedures 

One of the advantages of Autodesk PLM 360 is that you can take full use of the standard quality apps, without the need to spend weeks customising or creating these from scratch. We simply added their procedures directly into the PLM 360 ISO 9001 register.

Autodesk PLM 360 out of the box Quality Apps

Step 4: Tracking the non conforming items 

Next we configured to NCR apps and added the users to the approval groups. Non-conformance can be found in a product, a process, from a supplier, or in the system itself. It occurs when something does not meet the specifications or requirements in some way. Those requirements might be defined by the customer, a regulatory body, or in the internal procedures of the company. This is particularly important in the aviation industry so it's important to get these processes going from the start.

Autodesk PLM 360 NCR apps

Step 5: Corrective and preventive action 

Lastly we added the users to the CAPA approval groups (CAPA, also called corrective action / preventive action, or simply corrective action) are improvements to processes taken to eliminate causes of non-conformities.

Autodesk PLM 360 CAPA apps

Managing the Items and BOM's and capturing changes with the change management apps supported up by the quality apps for NCR and CAPA, this will allow Security Seal Technology to have full traceability over their product design process. They now have a solid platform for the upcoming audits, without the need for lots of paperwork they can simply show Autodesk PLM 360 as their method for quality control.

Tablets on each cell will have Autodesk PLM 360 running on the browsers, so that each assembly line has access to the current and up to date products

Chrys Chrysostomou, director of design and manufacturing at Security Seal Technology Ltd said: 

“I've been in the design and manufacturing sector my whole career, and I'm so impressed that finally there is a PLM solution that understands the customer's pain points. Autodesk PLM 360 is helping us innovate more efficiently, while not having to worry about the issues associated with heavy IT infrastructure. Being cloud based is what makes this the perfect solution for us. Autodesk PLM 360 is enabling us to get up and running is virtually no time, with no servers to worry about, no customisation just configuration to match our current business processes...it's perfect ! ”

I'll be back visiting the guys in the next few months and I'll update you on the progress. I'm really excited to be working with such an Innovative, and environmentally-led product and company. 

Thanks for Reading...find out more about Autodesk PLM 360

Mike