Selecting the right aerospace engineering consultancy for your needs is integral to business growth and optimising current operations. If you’re struggling with where to start with your search, then don’t worry, you’ve come to the right place.
Continue reading this blog to understand how to identify your aerospace needs, and what qualities to look for in an engineering consultant.
Why Finding The Right Aerospace Engineering Consultancy Is Important
Before we dive into the specifics of what qualities ‘the right aerospace engineering consultancy for your needs’ should have, it’s important to understand why this is a crucial stage in your project endeavour.
The aerospace industry is a highly complex and specialised sector that deals with the design, analysis, certification and manufacture of aircraft, rotorcraft and related technologies. The industry comprises skilful engineers and disciplines from physics, material science, computer science and more.
In addition to the technical intricacy of the aerospace industry, you must also consider the stringent regulations, safety standards, and rapid technological advancements that engineering consultants must keep on top of.
This is exactly why the role of aerospace engineering consultants is so important. Consultants offer a fresh perspective and advanced knowledge to help you navigate the industry’s complexities.
Finding the right aerospace engineering consultancy for your needs is a whole other ballgame. Consultants will specialise in specific areas of start-ups. It is important that your needs align with their expertise, to get the best out of the partnership.
Identifying Your Aerospace Needs
The first step in identifying the right aerospace engineering consultancy for your needs is to work out exactly what those ‘needs’ are.
There are three key steps for identifying your aerospace needs, which are:
- Looking at your team’s current capabilities– Do you notice any gaps in knowledge or expertise? Is there a specific area that could be strengthened? Assessing your capabilities could mean technical skills, access to advanced technologies, strategic planning, market knowledge or project management.
- Defining goals and objectives– Before approaching an aerospace engineering consultancy, you should have an idea of long and short-term goals. This helps establish the specific areas where a consultant could provide the most insight.
- Prioritising areas for consultation– Based on the previous stages in the process, you should now be able to prioritise what areas require the attention of a consultancy. By doing this, it will narrow down your search, by ensuring your priorities align with their expertise.
Searching For The Right Aerospace Engineering Consultancy
Now the search for the right aerospace engineering consultancy based on your needs can begin!
You’ll of course start your search by looking for potential consultants. By identifying your aerospace needs you should have already streamlined your search. You can also ask for recommendations from your industry network.
Once you have some possible consultants that you’d like to look into, there are some factors of their services you should pay particular attention to. Allow us to break those down for you:
Qualifications And Certifications
Think of finding the right aerospace engineering consultancy as a hiring process. One of the first things you would look at is their qualifications. If a certificate or qualification relevant to your demands is missing, then that consultancy is probably not the right fit for you.
For example, at Airframe Designs we proudly display our AS9100D certificate, ISO27001 certificate, ISO14001 certificate, Cyber Essentials certificate and JOSCAR certificate on our website. This shows our commitment to meeting and exceeding industry expectations whilst maintaining high information security and environmental standards.
Experience And Expertise
A website is a great source for understanding an aerospace engineering consultant’s experience and expertise. If the website is full of up-to-date, useful information, it is more likely the consultancy will be able to provide the fresh perspective you’re looking for.
Testimonials
On a consultant’s website, you should be able to see clients they have worked with in the past. This is a good indication of the types of businesses or projects they specialise in. Try and see if there are any clients or start-ups like yours, in terms of business structure or goals. This could be a sign of compatibility with the consultancy.
Reviews, case studies, or testimonials also provide unbiased insight into what it is like working with the consultancy.
Quality Of Communication
You want to make sure that before heading into a partnership with a consultancy their communication is clear and prompt. Disruptions to project timelines due to slow communication are more common than you’d expect.
It may seem simple, in comparison to literal rocket science, however, communication is integral for a solid working relationship. You can evaluate a consultancy’s level of communication based on a preliminary interview. From this, you can get a sense of their responsiveness and collaborative working style.
Technological Capabilities
When looking for the right aerospace engineering consultancy for your aerospace needs, you should consider their technological capabilities. Are they maintaining pace with rapid technological advancements in the aerospace industry?
At Airframe Designs, we make it our business to stay consistent with the technological advances in the aerospace industry. We achieve this by using advanced systems in design, analysis, additive manufacturing and 3D scanning.
Are Airframe Designs The Right Aerospace Engineering Consultancy For Me?
There are additional qualities to consider when choosing the right aerospace engineering consultancy for your needs, such as their safety protocols, commitment to sustainability, regulatory guidance, supply chain solutions and so on.
These factors give the indication that a consultancy really goes the extra mile. A consultancy like Airframe Designs.
At Airframe Designs, we provide detail-orientated consultancy services to aircraft, space, defence and other sectors in the aerospace industry. Our expert guidance, quality assurance, technological innovations, and collaborative partnership are why we’d be the right choice for your endeavour.
If you’d like to know more about what we do at Airframe Designs, or are interested in working with us, then please get in touch.