Cost Reduction Key Drivers Within a Small Batch Aerospace Manufacturing Line

Abstract: This report details my work at the endpoint of the internship I spent within the Composite Manufacturing Unit of Airbus Defence & Space in Les Mureaux, France. It is as well the conclusion of the master’s program in aerospace engineering that I attended at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden.This document gives an overview of the cost reduction key drivers within a small batch aerospace manufacturing line. Some of the suggested leads developed in the paper have been set up in the past on the composite production lines and are proving their value. Some others are currently being deployed within the scope of a large cost reduction program called "Cap Composite". Finally some of them are my own responsibility since I have been in charge of developing them or taking them a few steps further.The internship took place within the ULR (ultra-light reflector) manufacturing line. As mentioned in the problematic, it is a small batch manufacturing line and most of the mentioned points of the report are applied on it.On the one hand, cost reduction drivers have been investigated to finally come up with a few guidelines to efficiently organize the production. The importance of management, the benefits of smart design and industrialization of the products, but also the workshop-oriented lean approach will be explained.On the other hand, the second part of the report will propose extended information about my missions within the manufacturing unit and the results that were engendered. I will also give my personal opinion and feedback about my different assignments and more generally my internship.