As global aerospace ramps up production to meet unprecedented demand, the pressure on inspection and qualification processes has never been greater. Traditional, centralised metrology models in internal quality departments —where parts are held internally for validation, often resulting in bottlenecks—are being challenged by a new, decentralised outsourcing of inspection to experts.At the forefront of this shift is AddQual, the Derby-based inspection and metrology specialist. Managing Director Ben Anderson believes the decentralisation of inspection and part qualification, through creation of structured metrology data necessary for thorough CI investigations, enable manufacturers to identify and rectify issues quickly and effectively will define the next phase of aerospace manufacturing.
“The industry can’t afford to wait days, sometimes weeks, for qualification data anymore,” Anderson says. “By decentralising inspection, embedding digital processes, and enabling outsourced expertise, we’re helping companies shorten lead times, bridge the skills gap, and move towards a truly smart-factory model of quality assurance.”Aerospace suppliers have long grappled with the inspection bottleneck: critical parts sitting in queue while production teams wait for sign-off. AddQual’s solution combines advanced 3D structured light scanning with accredited, automated workflows that produce robust qualification reports in under 24 hours.
“We’ve had customers come to us after losing days of production waiting for internal inspection capacity. In one case, we qualified a flight-critical part in less than a day where they would usually expect a week. That is the difference between meeting or missing delivery milestones.”Behind the drive for decentralisation lies another challenge: the aerospace skills gap. As experienced metrologists retire and fewer skilled professionals enter the sector, inspection and quality teams are under strain. AddQual is increasingly being asked to step in as an outsourced inspection partner—providing immediate access to NADCAP-accredited capability without the need for customers to build and staff their own departments.
“Most manufacturers don’t want to become metrology experts,” Anderson notes. “They want answers they can trust, fast. By offering outsourced inspection and qualification, we allow them to keep focus on what they do best, while ensuring their parts meet the highest standards.”For Anderson, decentralisation is part of a bigger transformation: the move towards smart factories where qualification data is no longer an afterthought but an integrated, digital asset.“Every measurement we capture is structured, traceable, and audit-ready,” he says. “That means engineers can make decisions with confidence, regulators can see clear evidence of compliance, and production teams can act without delay.
It’s a smarter, leaner way of working that saves time, money, and—crucially—heartache.”With aerospace production set to accelerate worldwide, Anderson believes the decentralised model pioneered by AddQual could become the blueprint for other safety-critical industries.“The days of inspection being a central bottleneck are over. What aerospace needs now is inspection as a service—fast, flexible, and digitally traceable. That’s where AddQual comes in. We’re showing how decentralised, intelligent 3DSL inspection can underpin the next generation of global supply chains.”
