The situation
Aerospace assembly is one of the least digitised segments in precision manufacturing. 72% of factory tasks are still performed manually. 80% of assembly time is consumed by just 20% of tasks. Paper-based SOPs, tribal knowledge, and manual quality sign-offs create systemic risks — particularly in defence-grade components where traceability is non-negotiable under AS9100.
The client was a leading Indian industrial conglomerate's aerospace and defence division — a global supply chain participant manufacturing turbine components where a single traceability failure has consequences beyond the production floor.
The problem
- Assembly SOPs and travel sheets managed via paper — no digital enforcement of step sequence, timers, or mandatory QA checks
- Zero traceability linking employees to specific product assemblies — failures untraceable to root cause
- Manager oversight limited to physical walkthroughs — no real-time visibility into delays, deviations, or non-compliance
- Inventory, orders, and shipments tracked in disconnected systems with no assembly-floor integration
- No data-driven employee evaluation — training gaps and skill deficits identified only through subjective review
What we built
A digital SOP guidance and monitoring system covering the full assembly floor — from work instruction delivery to real-time compliance monitoring, employee traceability, and manager dashboards.
- Digital work instructions replacing all paper SOPs — step-by-step with embedded timers and mandatory QA checkpoints
- Step-sequence enforcement — the system prevents skipping steps; each stage must be completed before the next unlocks
- Employee-to-assembly traceability — every component linked to the operator who worked each stage
- Real-time manager dashboards — live visibility into floor status, delays, deviations, and SOP compliance
- Inventory and order integration — assembly floor connected to stock and shipment systems
- Performance analytics — speed, accuracy, and consistency metrics per employee and per station
- AS9100 compliance built in — audit trail and documentation structure designed to the standard from day one
The outcome
100% SOP enforcement — every step completed, every QA checkpoint cleared, every assembly fully traceable. Paper eliminated from the floor. AS9100 compliance achieved.
| Area | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| SOP delivery | Paper travel sheets | Digital step-by-step instructions |
| Step enforcement | None — skippable | Enforced sequence with timers |
| Traceability | Zero | Employee-to-component full trail |
| Manager visibility | Physical walkthrough only | Real-time compliance dashboard |
| QA sign-off | Manual, on paper | Digital, enforced at each stage |
| AS9100 | Manual compliance effort | Built-in from architecture |
