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 various organization levels at Vestas Wind Systems, Siemens Wind Power, LM Wind Power and KK Wind Solutions, who have helped develop the new quality standards around which the training courses revolve.
They went through training courses designed to support the successful deployment of the new quality standards, also known as the APQP4Wind standards.
The training courses have been developed in cooperation with DNV GL and Bureau Veritas, who have both been certified as official APQP4Wind training providers.
As project manager Kim Nedergaard Jacobsen underlines, the training concept is now up and running, but there may still be a need for future adjustments to ensure that the APQP4Wind manual and training concept is thoroughly tested on industry professionals.
“At this stage of the process, we are focused on adjusting and adapting the APQP4Wind concept, which means fine-tuning both the manual and the training concept to ensure that its content fits the many future users. Only after our go-live four weeks ago, we have been fully able to do this given that there is now an actual product for the companies to implement into their own work processes, rather than just an opaque concept. This process of fine-tuning will most likely carry on through the rest of 2017 and of course we encourage all users including sub suppliers to give us their feedback – it’s extremely valuable to us,” Jacobsen said.
The training concept is seen as a vital part in establishing a common mindset and terminology in the industry when working with quality assurance processes. As Henrik Hjortkjær, Head of QE Processes & Systems from Siemens Wind Power, explains, the concept is designed to build competencies and mature the industry as a whole.
“APQP4Wind is the common frame of reference that the industry needs in order to strengthen the cooperation between manufacturers and suppliers and to ensure that parties on all levels communicate at eye level when it comes to quality assurance processes. What is most important here is that competencies in quality planning and quality assurance are strengthened through a series of well-designed APQP4Wind training course that focus on both practical and procedural learning tailored to our specific needs within wind power,” said Hjortkjær.