Business Case
Assessing the industrial capacity for on-board cryogenic valves
For a French SME producing aeronautical components, SURFEO conducted an industrial assessment to identify efficiency levers and prioritise an improvement plan.
01 · Context & challenges
Linking aeronautical requirements, industrial capacity and improvement priorities
Aeronautical activities demand rigorous control of capabilities, processes and industrial compliance. Each year, EASA publishes the main safety indicators for European aviation [1].
A French SME producing aeronautical components needed to assess its industrial capacity, with a focus on the production of on-board cryogenic valves.
SURFEO carried out an internal assessment based on some forty interviews, then structured recommendations and a prioritised action plan.
Decision at stake
Identify the levers for operational efficiency and prioritise actions in light of industrial requirements.
Scope
Industrial organisation · cryogenic valve production · internal interviews · recommendations · action plan.
02 · Our intervention
An assessment combining requirements, interviews, levers and prioritisation
01
Frame the assessment
Define the industrial scope and the requirements to be considered.
02
Conduct the interviews
Gather internal findings from some forty interviewees.
03
Identify the levers
Analyse avenues for improving operational efficiency.
04
Prioritise actions
Formalise the recommendations and prioritise the action plan.
Scope framed
Findings gathered
Levers identified
Actions prioritised
03 · Key figures of the assignment
40internal interviews conducted
1industrial assessment carried out
1set of recommendations formalised
1prioritised action plan
04 · Market
Industrial robustness relies on a shared understanding of capabilities and risks
Industrial capacity assessment pathway
01ObserveGather findings and document how the targeted activities operate.
02AssessLink requirements, capabilities, points of attention and efficiency levers.
03PrioritiseTurn the findings into recommendations and a prioritised action plan.
Summary diagram based on the conduct of the assignment and the aeronautical context [1][2].
Start from the shop floor
Some forty internal interviews made it possible to consolidate the assignment’s findings.
Link capacity and requirements
The assessment covers industrial capacity in light of aeronautical requirements.
Prioritise implementation
The recommendations are translated into an action plan by priority level.
05 · Outcomes
Structured operational priorities to guide the improvement plan
The levers for improving operational efficiency were identified.
Improvement recommendations were formalised.
An action plan was drawn up and prioritised by priority level.
The production challenges of the cryogenic valves were built into the assessment.
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Sources
[1] EASA, “Annual Safety Review 2025”, 2025. https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/document-library/general-publications/annual-safety-review-2025
[2] Publications Office of the European Union, “Annual Safety Review 2025”. https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/d5824d32-936d-11f0-97c8-01aa75ed71a1
[3] SURFEO internal project sheet, sole source for the assignment facts, figures, deliverables and outcomes.
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