On 5 September, LM Wind Power released the APQP4Wind framework to be followed by its suppliers of direct materials. With the release, LM Wind Power kick-starts the implementation of APQP4Wind in their product development phase and supply chain.

With the APQP4Wind project, it has been possible to formulate a joint approach that will strengthen the production processes in the wind industry. The approach has quickly been adopted by several companies who have already worked it into their existing production processes. The willingness to adopt this new approach to quality planning shows both the need to streamline processes to bring down the cost of energy and the potential for further steps towards a common framework for quality assurance.

Just four weeks after the official go-live of the APQP4Wind project, the first participants have now completed APQP4wind training courses within Management Awareness Training and Specialist Training. The participants were representatives from the organizations who have helped develop the new quality standards around which the training courses revolve.

The many benefits of the APQP4Wind project for the entire value chain in the wind industry were underlined by both speakers and participants at the Kick-Off Event on January 25 hosted by Vestas Wind Systems in Aarhus. The project, which is facilitated by Wind Denmark (formerly known as the Danish Wind Industry Association) and supported by the Danish Industry Foundation, has developed a new framework for quality management in the wind industry that will pave the way for a further reduction in the cost of energy (CoE).

On January 25, the first version of the APQP4Wind manual designed to provide a basis for a more proactive approach to quality assurance was officially launched. APQP4Wind now presents the new training concept that has been developed to support the consistent use of the manual and ensure a common conceptual framework when working with quality assurance.

Over the past year and a half, Siemens Wind Power and Vestas Wind Systems have been working closely together on a common project along with their closest suppliers. The project, called APQP4WIND, is a new tool to ensure that manufacturers and suppliers speak the same language when it comes to quality assurance in the production phase. APQP4WIND is supported by The Danish Industry Foundation, and will be essential in ensuring that costly production errors are eliminated and thus help the industry deliver the necessary reductions in the levelized cost of energy (LCoE).