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Mobility and Aerospace
The space industry today is undergoing rapid trans­ formation. Digitalization, automation, and rapidly changing customer requirements are driving change. Responding to these needs, Thales Alenia Space has introduced innova­ tions in the products it makes and how it produces them. It has pioneered the construction of satellite constellations, for example, and is automating production lines and introducing robotics and “cobotics”—collaborative robots—in production facilities. “The space industry is evolving fast. Our customers are demanding more flexibility because the needs and expec­ tations of their customers, the end users, are changing fast, and the competition is increasing,” says Manley. “It means we have to develop new products quicker and at less cost. This involves adapting and changing the way we work and think.”
This is why Thales Alenia Space has launched its “#QUAL­ ITY is what we do” campaign. “We have strong assets in our company, one of which is the expertise of the people who work here. The campaign is about capitalizing on this,” says Manley. With support from the highest level of management, the quality campaign engages every employee. The aim is to help people develop the appropriate mindset for taking deci­ sive action and learn to focus on activities with added value. “This is how we will ensure that we adapt quickly, where and whenever needed, to our customers’ needs,” says Manley.
Engaging the highly qualified workforce is not just about the implementation, but also the creation of the campaign it­ self, which is critical to its success. “We quite deliberately ha­ ven’t set out a checklist of actions that define ‘Quality.’ That’s because the person who is best placed to know what quality means is each of the well­trained individuals that we have at Thales Alenia Space,” says Manley. “Their choices and actions deliver quality. It is an iterative process—we learn as we go, building on our successes.” In part the campaign is, therefore, about empowering employees to rely on their own expertise to drive quality. Supporting this is a rather different approach.
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“We are already seeing that the relationship between our development, quality, and production teams
is even closer.”
MICKAEL MOREL
Head of Spacecraft Panel Equipment, Thales Alenia Space