Applied Engineering Achieves SEA Stage 1 Certification

Supplier Excellence Alliance (SEA) Board Chairman Michael G. Beason announced that Applied Engineering, an aerospace company located in San Jose, CA, has achieved SEA Stage 1 Certification. Applied Engineering is a diversified company that supports the aerospace, medical, industrial automation, entertainment, solar and semiconductor industries.

Applied Engineering's range of core competencies include an expertise in the disciplines of electromechanical assemblies, motion assemblies, linear actuators, precision coils, vacuum technologies, clean room assemblies and optical assemblies.

Applied Engineering now joins a group of elite aerospace and defense companies that have achieved SEA Stage 1 Certification.

"This is a significant step for Applied Engineering and its future in serving the aerospace industry, as well as medical, semiconductor and automotive industries that we have a long history of serving. Our certification in this program, along with AS9100 registration, ensures that Applied Engineering has the tools, talent and infrastructure to continue to grow and diversify our business by providing world class manufacturing solutions to all of our customers for years to come," says David Durham, Applied Engineering's president and CEO.

SEA is a non-profit alliance of aerospace and defense prime and Tier 1 contractors and leading sub-tier suppliers organized to transform the global supply chain. Primeempowered and supplier-led, SEA seeks to accelerate the performance of small and midsized production suppliers. Virtually all major prime and Tier 1 contractors endorse the SEA certification as the preferred approach to continuous improvement and process management.

"While the SEA certification is voluntary, it will distinguish the highest performing supplier companies and provide primes and Tier 1s with a reliable way to identify low-risk, high-performing suppliers," Beason says.

SEA certification is based on the SEA Roadmap, the infrastructure that helps supplier organizations systematically build a lean enterprise - an organization focused on the elimination of waste throughout the value stream. A lean enterprise achieves aggressive goals for cost reduction, on-time delivery, excellent quality, and shorter lead times. A lean enterprise has a culture where all employees work toward lean goals, customer satisfaction and continuous improvement. The SEA Roadmap criteria also serve as the basis for the SEA Aerospace & Defense Supply Chain Awards process.

SEA certification follows the three stages of the SEA Roadmap for development: Stage I - Stabilization, Stage II - Supply Chain Integration, and Stage III - Sustainability. Supplier companies pursue the coveted SEA certification for each Stage of the Roadmap. To become certified, a supplier company must satisfactorily meet criteria in four critical areas: leadership and culture, workforce development, operational excellence, and business results.

Bi-annual certification for each stage occurs through a three-day, on-site audit. Annual surveillance audits are available to help suppliers monitor their sustainability. For an easy step-by-step introduction to the SEA certification process, supplier organizations wishing to pursue SEA certification should visit the SEA website at www.seaonline.org and click on SEA Certification on the blue bar just below the Contact Us tab.

SEA member companies represented on its board of directors include The Boeing Co., Lockheed Martin Corp., Northrop Grumman Corp., EADS North America, Esterline Corp., United Technologies Inc, Parker Aerospace, Rockwell Collins, Cessna Aircraft Co., Honeywell Aerospace, Hitco Carbon Composites, Dresser-Rand, Roberts Tool Co., Cristek Interconnects, Photo Etch Co., and DRS Technologies.

SEA Gold Sponsor is Mori Seiki U.S.A. Inc., and SEA partners and alliances include the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA), International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG), Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC), California Council for Excellence, California Space Authority, and ASG Renaissance. seaonline.org