APQP4Wind is going to be a requirement

At AWEA WINDPOWER 2019, the training provider DNV GL hosted a session to discuss what APQP4Wind means for your business. The panel consisted of speakers representing both the wind turbine manufacturers' and suppliers' point of view.

Henning Bach Jokumsen from Vestas Wind Systems has been a big part of the APQP4Wind journey from the beginning and is now chairman of the organization. He began by stressing the importance of maturing the industry to make wind the preferred energy source:

“It has been quite a journey to find common ground, but also amazing to see competitors joining forces and being open for a constructive dialogue that will improve the global wind industry.”

Kevin Creagan from GE Renewable Energy and Gillian Saunders from Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy endorse the APQP4Wind quality assurance methodology and agree that APQP4Wind is the way to further develop not just the individual companies, but the entire wind industry.

When discussing the key benefits of implementing APQP4Wind, Gillian Saunders highlighted that by focusing on quality assurance instead of quality control, your company gets a more proactive approach and better quality down the road:

“We are already seeing clear improvements for the flow through the entire supply chain. Recently, we had a project where we went from having 502 NCRs to 35 NCRs in the new prototypes because of initial planning with APQP4Wind.”

Kevin Creagan adds that getting employees trained in the APQP4Wind methodology is an investment in knowledge to get it right the first time:

“It is our expectation that manufacturers go through a similar journey as the suppliers. We all benefit from upfront planning that sets the requirements and communicates the expected level of quality assurance activities.”

APQP4Wind Certification requirement for both suppliers and sub-suppliers

GE Renewable Energy, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, and Vestas Wind Systems are currently partnering with their suppliers to apply the standards of APQP4Wind as it will be a requirement in future projects. Kevin Creagan emphasized that GE Renewable Energy has now made the APQP4Wind standard a requirement:

Within the supply chain, quality assurance has proven to be a crucial topic between the end-customer all the way to the sub-supplier to reduce risk. This was evident when Pamela Lynch from TPI Composites revealed how they have embraced the new requirements from wind turbine manufacturers by also making APQP4Wind a requirement for sub-suppliers:

“Our vision is to strengthen our APQP4Wind approach through the whole supply chain. Therefore, we continue to work with our suppliers on APQP4Wind and have already received many positive responses. Essentially, we are all working together to produce better components, becoming more competitive, and speeding up the time to market for the future.”

^{This article is a part of a two-series article. To learn more about the perspectives from TPI Composites and Wind Denmark, please read: APQP4Wind is the new normal for industry suppliers.}