Kormac Insights
November 6, 2025
Engineering Transformation
Accelerating Aerospace Seating Design Through PDR/CDR Excellence
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We recently helped an aerospace seating manufacturer overcome critical delays in a 4,000-part design program. Together, we achieved 90%+ first-pass yield through strategic leadership intervention, process optimization, and enhanced design review governance. Swipe or read on to see how we achieved accelerated aerospace seating design.
The Challenge
An aerospace seating manufacturer with 200+ engineers across US and European operations faced a crisis:
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Premium business-class seat program significantly behind schedule
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2,400+ of 4,000 critical part designs still requiring Preliminary Design Review and Critical Design Review (PDR/CDR) approval
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30% drawing rework rate due to missing tolerances, dimensioning problems (GD&T), and surface finish specifications
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Fragmented design compatibility across 5 external design partners
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Poor visibility into engineering performance metrics
Strategic Approach
Leadership
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Stepped into Chief Engineer role to support the Global VP of Engineering and Program Engineering team
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Improved visibility of Engineering plans, performance to plan, potential feature risks, and mitigation actions
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Worked with the team to enhance their Engineering Management Control System to drive and measure performance
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Created daily and weekly automated dashboards integrated with the PLM system to track product drawing release status from initial design concepts to solid model construction, check/rework, final release, and certification approval through stress and compliance testing
Process Excellence
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Mapped and enhanced Engineering processes, including upstream and downstream concerns, root cause analysis of issues causing overruns in time or labor, and how work was planned, scheduled, executed, and followed up
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Optimized Engineering workflow for faster design throughput
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Conducted design reviews encompassing product functionality, user experience, technical feasibility, compliance, scalability, and risk
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Preliminary Design Reviews (PDRs) to validate concept and initial specifications across the 4,000-part program
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Critical Design Reviews (CDR) with the customers and supply base before finalizing the designs for manufacturing
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Worked directly with the supply base to improve Design for Manufacturability on materials, tolerances, and specifications
Capability Building & Risk Mitigation
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Directed the creation and hiring of more local Product & Design Engineering resources to build product design strength at the manufacturing location and reduce their heavy reliance on global third-party contracted design services
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Improved product designs, reduced costs, and developed a strong bench of talent that thoroughly understood the product platform
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Worked with the team to identify and address critical design issues before certification builds and supply chain ramp plans
Measurable Impact
First-pass yield: 70% → 90%+
Design rework: ↓67%
External dependencies: ↓40%
Key Success Factors
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Executive Sponsorship: Direct engagement with CEO, COO, and Global VP of Engineering
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Data-Driven Decisions: Automated performance tracking via PLM integration
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Risk Mitigation: Proactive identification of certification-critical issues and critical corrective action requirements (CCAR)
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Supply Chain Integration: Early supplier involvement in Design for Manufacturability
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Talent Development: Sustainable in-house capabilities reducing dependency on external partners