Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for aerospace fabrication companies.
A checklist built from how aerospace fabrication companies work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Sheet lot and nest records
- Forming and press brake steps
- Weld procedure and welder register
- Joint-level weld log
- Assembly and rivet records
- Rework and scrap capture
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For quality leads
- For planners
- For welders
- For forming operators
- For stores staff
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Welder qualifications due for renewal, by procedure
- Filler wire lots used by seam and assembly
- Dye penetrant and radiographic rejects by welder and procedure
- Assemblies waiting on the outside processor
- Rework hours by cause and part number
- Quoted weld length against actual
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- Nesting software file import
- Barcode and label printers
- Accounting export
- Document storage
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- How does the system stop an unqualified welder from being assigned?
- Can every seam have its own inspection result?
- Is filler wire traced?
- Does it keep flat patterns and revisions in step?
- How are forming steps recorded?
- Can outside paint and chemical treatment be tracked?
- Can distortion rework be costed?
- Does the software give us any quality approval?
- What shapes the price?
- Can the build packs be exported?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Welder qualification is checked by memory
- Filler wire lots are not logged
- Flat patterns and revisions drift apart
- Inspection results are filed by the part, not the joint
- Rework hours vanish into the job
Prefer to talk it through? See the aerospace fabrication companies page.