In line with its policy of continually improving all aspects of its operations, Hemel Hempstead based Micro Precision has signed up to the 21st Century Supply Chains (SC21) program, developed by ADS, the U.K. aerospace, defense and security industries association. SC21 is a comprehensive business improvement program for companies in the aerospace and defense supply chains. It combines lean manufacturing techniques with approaches to management, quality and customer relationships across the supply chain. Suppliers that sign up to the program agree to embark on a holistic effort to continually improve their manufacturing, delivery quality and innovation performance. Participants receive support for training and development and are assessed annually on their delivered performance and future plans, with bronze, silver or gold awards for companies achieving pre-determined standards. “SC21 has become the performance improvement standard that our aerospace customers increasingly expect,” says Micro Precision Managing Director, Terry Grubb. “Our participation in the program is a great way to demonstrate Micro Precision’s commitment to world class manufacturing and supply chain performance, and to help us achieve even higher performance in the coming years. SC21 is a truly meaningful award, since the assessment includes both real quality and delivery performance over the previous 12 months, and our plans for sustainable continuous improvement.”