Our Commitment to Safety and Quality
“Every two seconds, an aircraft with a GE Aerospace or partner engine takes off. It’s a tremendous responsibility that we take seriously.”
H. Lawrence Culp Jr.
GE Aerospace CEO
Bring Them Home Safely
Our operating framework at GE Aerospace is SQDC: Safety, Quality, Delivery and Cost—in that order for a reason. Safety comes first at GE Aerospace. As safe as aviation has become, we are never done. Our approach is focused on continuous improvement. Here is how we keep our employees, customers, passengers and everyone who counts on us safe.
Laying a Solid Safety Foundation
Aviation is the safest mode of transportation today because we are committed to learning, improving and increasing the margin of safety. In 2023, GE Aerospace had zero engine-caused events that resulted in serious risk to an aircraft, improving on a strong five-year record of 0.04 incidents per one million departures*.
Safety Management System
We achieved this milestone by putting safety first and ensuring it is at the foundation of everything we do, through programs like our Safety Management System. In 2013, we became the first aerospace manufacturer to implement a Safety Management System—10 years before the FAA proposed requiring it. Our program systematically identifies safety risks across all operations and then actively works to reduce those risks. As part of this program, GE Aerospace encourages employees to report safety concerns voluntarily and confidentially without fear of punishment.
Innovation and Technology
We also use technology and innovation to proactively identify emerging risks before they become issues. We monitor real-time data from customers’ fleets at all times to spot immediate issues and any potential risks. Using AI and machine learning, we leverage data from 150 million annual flight records to provide operators specific recommendations to keep engines reliable.
*Continued Airworthiness Assessment Methodology (CAAM) Level 3+ events.
Safety Management System
We achieved this milestone by putting safety first and ensuring it is at the foundation of everything we do, through programs like our Safety Management System. In 2013, we became the first aerospace manufacturer to implement a Safety Management System—10 years before the FAA proposed requiring it. Our program systematically identifies safety risks across all operations and then actively works to reduce those risks. As part of this program, GE Aerospace encourages employees to report safety concerns voluntarily and confidentially without fear of punishment.
Innovation and Technology
We also use technology and innovation to proactively identify emerging risks before they become issues. We monitor real-time data from customers’ fleets at all times to spot immediate issues and any potential risks. Using AI and machine learning, we leverage data from 150 million annual flight records to provide operators specific recommendations to keep engines reliable.
*Continued Airworthiness Assessment Methodology (CAAM) Level 3+ events.
Teaming with Suppliers
GE Aerospace has an oversight system and tools in place to verify that suppliers meet our standards and are part of our efforts to improve quality and create a philosophy that strives for but does not assume zero defects. Some of those tools and efforts include:
- In 2012, we were a founding member of SAE International’s Aerospace Engine Supplier Quality (AESQ) Strategy Group, where we developed and deployed uniform supplier quality standards to support zero defects and a quality-first culture across the global aero engine supply chain.
- In 2023, we launched a Partnership for Safety program with suppliers of raw materials for key rotating parts, targeting defect detection and continuous improvements.
- We developed a digital thread solution proving part traceability for rotating life-limited engine parts. This digital solution extends across approximately 95 suppliers since the inception of the tool, and enables tracing of part serial numbers produced from each batch of raw materials to specific engine serial numbers where those parts are installed.
- In 2024, most of the $100 million GE Aerospace invested in its external supplier base focused on specific tools and customized dies needed to produce castings and forgings for engine components. This investment ensures suppliers are using the newest tools to produce parts, further reducing the possibility of manufacturing defects.
Maintaining Quality
While our aim is zero defects, our approach is to never assume perfection.
Continuous Improvement
We use process standardization to ensure conformity and consistency, allowing our team to focus on quality throughout the manufacturing process.
GE Aerospace employees are on a journey of continuous quality improvement at sites around the world, with employees and leaders working together on shop floors to address defects and deliver results.
For example:
Continuous Improvement
We use process standardization to ensure conformity and consistency, allowing our team to focus on quality throughout the manufacturing process.
GE Aerospace employees are on a journey of continuous quality improvement at sites around the world, with employees and leaders working together on shop floors to address defects and deliver results.
For example:
- We embarked on a quality initiative to reduce the number of defects generated in the manufacturing process for the T700 engine that powers military rotorcraft. As it was implemented on key parts, there was a 90 percent reduction in defects.
- Thanks to reinvented shop floor processes for better parts flow, the team in Greenville, S.C., made the CFM engine lines 25 percent more efficient while reducing the resources used by 34 percent.
Innovative Inspections
We have also implemented enhanced ultra-sound inspection of critical rotating parts when they are produced, and added these inspections during routine shop visits, and our researchers have pioneered new inspection technologies while engines are on wing.
We have also implemented enhanced ultra-sound inspection of critical rotating parts when they are produced, and added these inspections during routine shop visits, and our researchers have pioneered new inspection technologies while engines are on wing.