Project Management Plan for the industrialization of a modified Belly Fairing for the new A321XLR aircraft at Hutchinson PFW Aerospace

Abstract

[EN] This master’s final project is an example for the application of the structure of a Project Charter and a Project Management Plan, which is proposed in the PMBOK 6th edition, published by the Project Management Institute. The project under consideration, the industrialization of a modified Belly Fairing product for the new A321XLR aircraft, is managed by the strategic Airbus supplier Hutchinson PFW Aerospace, whereas the overall program management for the development of the complete aircraft is done by the company Airbus itself. The main challenge of the project is to industrialize and to integrate this new Belly Fairing product variant in an existing series manufacturing process flow, using already available human resources and modifying existing tooling equipment, without negatively influencing series deliveries of other Belly Fairing variants for other aircraft versions. The production of the new Belly Fairing product is distributed to several suppliers from different countries, each of them responsible for another element or assembly level. In the end for the customer Airbus the timely delivery of the final product with each and every single component in perfect quality is of upmost importance, whereas costs are only of secondary importance. The main content of this thesis deals with the planning phase of the project, whereby while writing this thesis, the project is already in the execution phase. Even if the project has not yet finished, some interesting experiences and knowledge about the progress of the project are considered as well. Mainly caused by the global Covid-19 pandemic and changing requirements of the aviation authority, as a conclusion, the importance of a proper scope, requirements, stakeholder engagement, risk and change management are highlighted and the impacts of incurred changes on the schedule, resource and cost management plan are explained.

[ES] Además de una breve presentación teórica y una comparación de las organizaciones y asociaciones de gestión de proyectos establecidas y de sus normas y manuales, este trabajo de fin de máster también abordará brevemente las particularidades de las actividades de gestión de proyectos en el sector de la aviación.

Junto a una breve descripción del objeto de este trabajo, 'la belly fairing' (elemento estructural en la zona del conjunto del fuselaje y las alas) del avión A321XLR, también se situará el proyecto en la estructura organizativa del Grupo Airbus con sus carteras y programas para una mejor comprensión general del entorno del proyecto y sus factores de influencia. Las características especiales de este proyecto son el cumplimiento de los elevados estándares de calidad y documentación exigidos por la industria aeronáutica, así como la absoluta necesidad de una finalización a tiempo para no retrasar el programa global de desarrollo del avión A321XLR por parte del cliente.

La actividad principal del trabajo consiste entonces, además en el desarrollo del acta de constitución del proyecto desde la perspectiva del proveedor de Airbus, Hutchinson PFW Aerospace, en el desarrollo del plan para la dirección del proyecto con todos sus componentes, que el Project Management Institute describe en su publicación PMBOK (6ª edición).

En referencia al ciclo de vida del proyecto, este trabajo se limita a las fases del inicio del proyecto y de la organización y preparación y se excluyen las fases posteriores de ejecución y control del trabajo y de cierre del proyecto.

Por último, se resumen los resultados del trabajo, seguidos de una conclusión y la presentación de otras actividades necesarias para la empresa cooperante en el futuro.

[EN] In addition to a brief theoretical presentation and a comparison of the established project management organisations and associations and their standards and manuals, this Master's thesis will also briefly address the particularities of project management activities in the aviation sector.

Besides a brief description of the subject of this work, the belly fairing (structural element in the area of the fuselage and wing assembly) of the A321XLR aircraft, the project will also be placed in the organisational structure of Airbus Group with its portfolios and programmes for a better overall understanding of the project environment and its influencing factors. The special features of this project are the compliance with the high quality and documentation standards required by the aerospace industry, as well as the absolute necessity of a timely completion in order not to delay the customer's overall A321XLR aircraft development programme.

The main activity of the work consists then, in addition to the development of the project charter from the perspective of the Airbus supplier, Hutchinson PFW Aerospace, in the development of the project management plan with all its components, which the Project Management Institute describes in its PMBOK publication (6th edition).

With reference to the project life cycle, this work is limited to the phases of project initiation and project organisation and preparation and excludes the subsequent phases of work execution, work control and project closure.

Finally, the results of the work are summarised, followed by a conclusion and the presentation of further activities necessary for the co-operating company in the future.