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AAPL has undergone two fundamental restructures during the reporting period to reflect the changing business environment and to react to the global economic downturn. On March 31st 2009, AAPL's organisational structure featured the following divisions:
- Finance & Administration (incl. IT)
- Corporate Strategy & Quality (incl. Manufacturing)
- Sales & Program Management (incl. Electronics Engineering)
- Wiring Harness Engineering and Logistics
Finance and Administration
Since 1974 The Finance and Administration Division of Australian Arrow is a service division consisting of three departments with unique responsibilities and objectives, designed to ensure the smooth running of all operational departments within the company and compliance with all legal and statutory requirements.
The Finance Department is responsible for the accuracy and timing of all internal and external reporting requirements, business planning, legal compliance, taxation obligations, accounts processing, invoicing, payments, government reporting, management accounting, KPI reporting and overseeing the finance operations of Yazaki EDS Samoa.
AAPL’s Human Resources Department coordinates all aspects in relation to our people. Our strategy is to provide superior human capital solutions by aligning with key business objectives and providing a service model approach. The key functions within the Human Resource department include: workplace relations, recruitment and induction, training and development, policy development and implementation, payroll and management of the Human Resource Information System (HRIS), performance management, management of inpatriate and expatriate associates, injury management and management of worker's compensation.
Our IT Department is responsible for providing Yazaki Oceanic region associates with highly available computer systems and tailored software applications that support the business from product design right through to customer delivery and beyond.
The Yazaki Oceanic network inter-connects several offices in Victoria, South Australia and Samoa, as well as linking into the Global Yazaki Network (GYNET). Across the Oceanic region there are in excess of 50 Servers and over 600 individual PC's and laptops. IT Services include; Help Desk Support, Systems Administration, Network Administration and Security, Systems Design, Software Development, Application Support, Data Protection and Recovery and Video Conferencing.
Corporate Strategy and Quality
The Corporate Strategy and Quality Division combines AAPL's Manufacturing Operations, the Quality Department and the Department for Corporate Sustainability
AAPL’s Quality Department provides activities and services that support the core and support processes of the business. AAPL adopts a Quality Planning Procedure in line with Customer Specific Requirements. A multi-disciplinary project team is formed at the beginning of each project and is responsible for establishing the information required for PPAP submissions for each part in line with the customer’s PPAP manual.
A certified inspection facility provides electronic, mechanical and other specialised tests. Effective process, product, quality control and layered audits have been conducted to ensure all products and processes meet all PPAP requirements.
AAPL will undertake to assist all suppliers in developing a quality management system with the goal of conformity to ISO/TS 16949:2002. Effective corrective and preventive actions are taken to resolve all concerns involving product manufactured and delivered to the customer.
Incoming product quality is maintained through the use of an inspection-sampling plan based on zero defect acceptance criteria. This is applied at the materials and parts receiving store.
Business Management Systems ISO/TS 16949:2002 and ISO 14001:2004 shall be continually monitored for compliance and ongoing improvements.
For the first time AAPL's organisational structure includes a Department for Corporate Sustainability in recognition of the importance of corporate social responsibility and environmental leadership to business. Slowly business realises that environmental performance contributes positively to the financial bottom line and that social responsibility is paramount to obtain societies license to operate.
The Corporate Sustainability team is responsible for AAPL's environmental performance, including measurement, reporting, communication and management as well as the development of strategies and improvement plans.
The team is also responsible to create and maintain a safe working environment free of any risk to associates health. This work includes the development of health and safety procedures and the preparation if risk assessments.
Information Security is another focus point for the sustainability team, an activity that has just started recently and that is increasingly gaining momentum. AAPL is determined to keep its intellectual property as well as information assets containing customer information secure at all times.
In addition to the reporting function, the sustainability department defines annually the corporate KPI's which all departments are reporting against and ensures that information including company policies is standardised throughout the organisation. Corporate kaizen performance is monitored as continuous improvement is believed to be the key to an ongoing successful business.
As can be seen from the organisation chart, AAPL's five volunteer committees report to the corporate sustainability department. In this way corporate information and focus areas are communicated to the teams and management support is provided.
AAPL's Manufacturing Operations supplies its domestic and international customers with unique electronic products for the automotive and truck markets.
A quality product is achieved by strict adherence to the APQP process. AAPL achieves "Best in Class" product quality that fully meets all customer and regulatory requirements.
All manufacturing and assembly operations that affect product quality are planned, scheduled and executed under controlled conditions using comprehensive procedures and work instructions, process-monitoring techniques, correctly maintained equipment, workmanship standards, suitable working environments, suitable tools and facilities management.
Process and product performance is at all times monitored against the PFMEA, control & production plans and schedules, quality and customer specific requirements.
Visual management concepts are used to display standards, targets, actual conditions, problem conditions and stock levels. A comprehensive preventive maintenance program is in place for all key equipment used in manufacturing and testing.
Expertise in manufacturing engineering (such as automated functional testing) has led to AAPL contracting its services to third parties.
Sales and Program Management
The Sales and Program Management Division is home to the:
- Purchasing function – including Materials Management,
- Sales Department – including Program Management and the
- Electronics Engineering Operations – incl. Project Management.
Purchasing, Total Cost Management and Materials Management are increasingly vital functions in an industry that is characterised by global competition and immense cost pressure. AAPL's purchasing department is responsible for supplier evaluation and selection as well as price negotiations and is increasingly focussed on sourcing components close to the manufacturing plants to reduce transport and lead-times.
The Sales Department receives electronic customer requirements and ensures the orders are correct and accurately reflect the program status, in close conjunction with the Program Management team. Major contracts are being negotiated for each of the customer’s new models increasingly on a global basis. Yazaki's sales organisation is globally aligned featuring quarterly World Wide Sales (WWS) conferences while the program team makes sure all the customer deliverables are met through new model development.
AAPL's Sales Team has built long term business partnerships with the local vehicle manufacturers Holden and Toyota and overseas customers such as Saab and Volvo Truck winning numerous supplier excellence awards, rewarding AAPL for outstanding performance.
Australian Arrow's Electronics Engineering Department is committed to the development of new technologies and products that are unmatched in the electronics industry and with focus on automotive body electronics. The department is home to project managers, hardware, software and mechanical design engineers as well as PCB technicians.
Our experienced Project Management team utilize the Program Management Book Of Knowledge (PMBOK) standard for managing development projects through AAPL's APQP Stage Gate process.
AAPL's highly specialised software engineers use an iterative development process using tools such as MS Source Safe (for version control), Integrated Development Environments (IDE), Enterprise Architect for developing software, lifecycle analysis, detailed design and the use of implementation models. Internally developed and 3rd party software tools are utilised to model the design and simulate software in a controlled PC environment. The tools allow automated functional and exception/limit testing of our products resulting in a fully validated product of high quality.
Our skilled hardware team specializes in developing the schematic design for all our products; utilizing best processes and tools (including a design review process, simulation tools, DFMEA, DRBFM, QFD etc). Our PCB designers, who work closely with manufacturing to ensure the best solution in supporting our engineering team, have established PCB guidelines to ensure our single sided, double sided, and multi-layer designs are compatible with our manufacturing facility.
AAPL's expert mechanical engineers are capable of producing state of the art mechanical designs using the latest CAD tools to design and develop mechanical designs such as: Unigraphics NX2, AutoCad 2000 and Corel Draw. SLA & SLS Rapid prototyping services are provided, including soft tools for representative prototypes
Wiring Harness Engineering and Distribution
With over 40 design, project, technical and CAE engineering personnel in the Wiring Harness Engineering Department, AAPL is committed to the ongoing development of innovative wiring harness designs and associated components. Networking with our parent company Yazaki in Japan, USA & Europe provides AAPL with access to state of the art manufacturing techniques and equipment. Continuous improvements to our assembly plant are achieved via the interface with some 240 Yazaki assembly plants.
Our team's vast experience, knowledge, involvement and management skills are widely acknowledged within the Australian and Global automotive industry and from within these engineering attributes comes our challenge to exceed the expectations of our customers. Our engineering team’s core competencies and expertise are in the areas of design, development and project management.
Included in our team is the capability of 3D wiring harness & component design, combined with our own 2D CAE system which allows us to support all of our customer requirements.
AAPL takes pride in the high standards set within the Australian automotive industry. This has been achieved by the use of such tools such as DFMEA, PFMEA and TS16949:2002 aspects of manufacturing.
AAPL's Logistics Department is responsible for ordering and receiving the right products at the right time ready for on-time delivery to the customer’s vehicle assembly plant while minimizing airfreight and obsolete stock. AAPL logistics manages supply chains from China, Samoa, Indonesia as well as the USA into Australia.
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