APQP4Wind takes its first international steps after just one year
It’s a very cheerful and positive Kim Nedergaard Jacobsen, General Manager, who can look back on the past year and reflect on the success and progress of the APQP4Wind project which he facilitates. And it is easy to understand why, because in the first year after launch, almost 1,500 APQP4Wind manuals have been distributed throughout the value chain, and more than 450 people have attended APQP4Wind training courses worldwide. And to top it off, at the beginning of 2018, more training courses are planned in the USA, China, Spain, Turkey, Denmark and possibly India.
“We (the APQP4Wind Board of Directors and the project facilitator, Wind Denmark, red.) are extremely pleased with the immense progress there has been in the development of APQP4Wind. The remarkable speed with which the industry has adopted this new quality planning framework speaks volumes; There is no doubt that the industry has a keen focus on how to optimize production processes and reduce LCoE through this initiative – for the sake of a strengthened competitiveness and stronger collaboration between suppliers and manufacturers,” Kim Nedergaard Jacobsen explains.
China: A major milestone
Representing the world’s largest market for wind energy, China is a crucial market to have on board in the deployment of the APQP4Wind framework, as it is not only beneficial for companies already working with the APQP4wind standards, but it also underlines and supports Denmark’s role as a major influencer and trailblazer in the further development and maturing of the global wind energy sector.
As part of the deployment strategy, training courses have already been held in China by the two training providers, DNV GL and Bureau Veritas.
“We are very happy that the industry has started to study and take ownership of the APQP4wind manual and training concept. Our next step is to keep improving the manual by getting inputs from the industry and to help it spread throughout the value chain in both Denmark and the global industry,” General Manager, Kim Nedergaard Jacobsen says.
Quality is not only about technology
In his speech at the official launch of the APQP4Wind manual, Jean-Marc Lechêne, Executive Vice President for Manufacturing and Global Procurement at Vestas Wind System, underlined the fact that a keen focus on quality is not only relevant in regard to technology development – it is also a matter of risk management, and through quality planning there is a great potential for lowering risks in the production processes. Having consistent and transparent standards, the wind industry will be able to decrease the risk of investment and thereby lowering the cost of capital.
APQP4Wind is part of the cross-industrial project New Standards in the Wind industry and aims to expand the use of the newly developed APQP4Wind standard. APQP4Wind was started in 2015 and is supported by the Danish Industry Foundation and facilitated by Wind Denmark.