First pass yield had dropped below 92%. On-time delivery was lagging by 14%. Scrap rate crept up for the third month in a row. And no one had a clear explanation for why supplier performance metrics weren’t improving.

Each KPI was flashing red—but no one could say which metric mattered most, or what action should come next.

In aerospace and defence manufacturing, these are not just operational hiccups. They're costly warnings that often go unnoticed until it's too late. Amid strict regulatory requirements, complex supply chains, and tight project margins, teams are often flooded with data but still unsure what to track, how to measure it, or how to turn insights into real performance gains.

Below we break down what leading aerospace companies really monitor, the best ways to keep those Key Performance Indicator KPIs visible and actionable and a smarter way to harmonise your strategy.

What aerospace manufacturers want to know about KPIs, daily tracking, and team engagement

When we talk to aerospace manufacturers, suppliers and maintenance providers, a few real-life questions come up again and again:

• How do we know which KPIs are really critical?
• How can we track leading indicators, not just results?
• How do we make daily reviews quick and meaningful?
• How do we avoid ‘data for the sake of data’?
• What’s the best way to keep our engineers and technicians engaged in daily targets?

In aerospace, tracking performance is not just about spreadsheets - it’s about protecting customers, staff, partners, and brand reputation. That is why KPI tracking is an integral part of maintaining better Aerospace manufacturing performance.

Why aerospace KPI tracking is unique?

Unlike many industries, aerospace deals with tight regulations, huge supply chains, intense R&D cycles and zero-failure tolerances. In this sector, "good enough" isn’t an option. Regulatory bodies like the FAA, EASA, and MoD demand rigorous compliance. Supply chains span continents. Margins hinge on micron-level precision. KPIs here serve three critical purposes:

1. Safety assurance: Preventing failures that risk lives.

2. Operational resilience: Mitigating disruptions in volatile supply chains.

3. Strategic agility: Enabling rapid pivots for defence contracts or emerging tech.

A single oversight can trigger recalls, penalties, or reputational damage. For example, a 1% dip in first-pass yield can cost millions in rework.

That means your performance measures must cover:

• Quality and compliance
• Safety and maintenance
• Cost control and waste reduction
• On-time delivery and turnaround times
• Innovation and continuous improvement
• Workforce skills and accountability

A good KPI system brings all these areas together — so issues stand out quickly, teams know where they stand, and leaders have real data to make confident decisions.

15 essential KPIs for aerospace teams to track

If you want your KPI tracking to work, you need the right mix of leading and lagging indicators across operations, quality, maintenance and people. Below are 15 high-impact KPIs used by top-performing aerospace manufacturers and MROs.

Operational performance KPIs

1. On-Time Delivery Rate (OTD): Tracks whether customer orders are fulfilled as scheduled—critical for contract compliance and customer retention.

2. Schedule adherence: Measures how closely production follows planned timelines to reduce bottlenecks and penalties.

3. Inventory turnover ratio: Indicates how efficiently inventory is managed—important for avoiding excess parts or stockouts.

4. Cost per flight hour / unit: Measures the total cost to manufacture or maintain a unit or component, helping teams find cost-saving opportunities.

Quality and compliance KPIs

5. First-Pass Yield (FPY): The percentage of products that meet quality standards the first time, without rework - a direct indicator of process control.

6. Scrap and rework rate: Tracks waste generated due to defects; high rates can signal process instability or design flaws.

7. Non-Conformance Reports (NCRs): Counts deviations from spec, helping quality teams prioritise issues.

8. Audit findings closed on time: Monitors how quickly compliance issues are resolved -important for regulatory readiness.

9. Supplier quality rating: Evaluates defect rates and on-time delivery from vendors, which directly impacts your final product quality.

Maintenance and reliability KPIs

10. Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF): Measures reliability of critical equipment or components - a must-track for uptime and predictive maintenance.

11. Mean Time To Repair (MTTR): Indicates how quickly equipment is brought back online, reducing production delays.

12. Tooling and calibration compliance: Ensures gauges and equipment are within calibration spec to maintain accuracy.

Workforce and safety KPIs

13. Workforce skills compliance: Tracks whether staff hold required training and certifications - a must for aerospace safety and standards.

14. Safety incident rate: Measures health and safety performance to prevent workplace accidents and downtime.

15. Customer satisfaction index (CSI): Captures customer feedback, helping teams align delivery and quality with client expectations.

These KPIs cover daily work, supplier performance, regulatory demands and customer outcomes - so you always have the full picture.

Why KPI tracking fails in aerospace: Common challenges no one talks about

Even with clearly defined KPIs, many aerospace manufacturers still struggle to get meaningful value from them. It's not due to a lack of effort—but because of systemic issues that block visibility, delay action, and wear teams down over time.

Here’s what we hear from teams on the ground:

Disconnected data systems

ERP, MES, quality, and shop-floor systems often operate in silos. The result? Valuable KPI data gets buried in spreadsheets, disconnected tools, or manual trackers—making it hard to access, interpret, or share in time to act.

Constant firefighting

By the time KPIs are manually calculated, the damage is often already done. Production teams end up reacting to issues instead of preventing them, leading to missed delivery dates, rushed rework, and added cost.

Strategy lost in execution

Leadership might have clear goals—improve OTD, reduce scrap, boost yield—but those priorities rarely translate into daily actions on the shop floor. Without visible, real-time KPI tracking, teams operate without strategic direction.

Compliance fatigue

Audit and regulatory reporting is non-negotiable in aerospace. But without automated data capture, teams can spend up to 30% of their time compiling reports, chasing data, and ensuring documentation is up to date.

And as one Airbus supplier put it:

“We’re data-rich but insight-poor. By the time we spot a bottleneck, it’s cost us a contract.”

These issues aren’t just frustrating, they’re expensive. Delays, inefficiencies, and compliance risks cost aerospace companies millions every year. And without a better way to track and act on KPIs, the cycle keeps repeating.

Why aerospace manufacturers choose Data Point for KPI management and continuous improvement?

What if you could automate KPI tracking, eliminate data silos, and align every team—from engineering to procurement with your strategic goals? That’s exactly what the Data Point Balanced Scorecard delivers.

Built around the realities of aerospace manufacturing, this isn’t just another KPI tracking tool. It’s a complete operational excellence platform—designed to support high-precision, regulation-heavy, multi-tiered manufacturing environments. Fully customisable and scalable, it adapts to your company’s unique structure, goals, and shop-floor workflows.

Here’s how aerospace manufacturers are using Data Point to solve the toughest performance challenges:

1. Real-time performance dashboards

• Connect live data from SAP, Oracle, MES, and ERP systems into visual dashboards that show the status of key metrics like OEE, on-time delivery, NCRs, and more
• Sector impact: Slash reporting time by 70%—vital for ITAR-controlled environments.

2. Automated scorecards

• Cascade boardroom goals to department/team KPIs with automated updates.
• Example: If "on-time delivery" drops, procurement and production get instant alerts.

3. Root-cause analysis

• Don’t just see KPI drops—understand why they happened. Use built-in root-cause analysis tools to trace issues back to specific lines, workstations, or suppliers.
• Sector impact: Reduce scrap rates by 25%+ via predictive issue-spotting.

4. Effortless compliance reporting

• Auto-generate essential reports like AS9100 audit trails and exportable compliance data.
• Benefit: Turn 3-week prep into 3-click compliance.

5. Lean-aligned daily workflows

• Built on lean manufacturing principles, Data Point supports Kaizen, PDCA, and continuous improvement tracking with integrated action logs and team feedback loops.
• Bring operational excellence into daily routines—not just management meetings.

Unlike traditional Business Intelligence tools, Data Point operates as a real-time operating system for strategy execution. It’s simple enough for technicians, powerful enough for executives, and tailored for the unique complexity of aerospace and defence industries.

Real story: How Data Point’s KPI management system transformed a UK aerospace components manufacturer?

A UK-based aerospace components supplier, specialising in rotor blades for helicopters, was delivering 92% OTD—but still losing margin. KPI reporting took over 20 hours a week, and quality costs consumed 14% of revenue.

The turning point:

They implemented Data Point Balanced Scorecard to centralise KPI tracking, align teams, and simplify reporting. Within weeks:

• Live OEE and delivery dashboards identified a bottleneck in the coating process
• Root-cause tools traced recurring issues to a specific supplier
• Real-time alerts reduced supplier delays by 40%
• Automated SQCDP (Safety, Quality, Cost, Delivery, people) boards replaced manual whiteboards, making daily targets and problem areas instantly visible to shop-floor teams

Managers began using daily management boards powered by Data Point to review safety, quality, and delivery KPIs every morning—cutting firefighting and improving accountability.

The outcome (in 6 months):

• CoQ dropped from 14% to 8%
• 200+ hours/month saved on manual reporting

“Data Point gave us back control—not just of KPIs, but of our shop floor,” said the Operations Director.

Your next move: Get Data Point to make insights to action

In aerospace and defence, KPIs are your compass, but only if they’re visible, actionable, and aligned. Data Point Balanced Scorecard isn’t just software; it’s your co-pilot in navigating complexity. Why wait, get it without delay.

FAQs

1. Which KPIs are essential in aviation component manufacturing?

Top indicators include On‑Time Delivery (OTD), first‑pass yield, scrap/rework rate, Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF), and supplier performance—providing a balanced view across quality, delivery, cost, and reliability.

2. What KPIs do airlines track for operational efficiency?

Airlines commonly track On‑Time Performance (OTP), Turnaround Time (TAT), aircraft utilisation rate, load factor, fuel efficiency, and baggage handling performance

3. How do KPI dashboards support aviation quality & compliance?

Dashboards support audit trail reporting, tracking safety KPIs, monitor non‑conformance, and generate exportable compliance data to reduce manual efforts.

4. What role do visual management tools play in aerospace lean operations?

Visual tools like SQCDP boards and daily management charts help teams review safety, quality, cost, delivery, and people metrics each shift—boosting problem detection and lean engagement.

5. How often should aviation manufacturing KPIs be reviewed?

Operational metrics like OEE or downtime should be reviewed daily, team targets weekly, and strategic KPIs (e.g., supplier quality) monthly.

6. Can aviation legacy systems integrate with modern KPI dashboards?

Yes. Modern dashboards frequently integrate with ERP/MES systems such as SAP or Oracle, even when older legacy systems are present.

7. Are aviation KPI dashboards scalable across sites and suppliers?

Absolutely. Dashboards can be customised per site, supplier, or function (manufacturing, procurement, quality), yet maintain centralised visibility.

8. What lean methodologies do aviation dashboards support?

Dashboards support lean tools like Kaizen, PDCA cycles, SQCDP, and continuous improvement routines integrated into daily workflows.

9. Is Data Point customisable for different aerospace suppliers or MROs?

Absolutely. Whether you're a Tier 1 manufacturer, Tier 2 supplier, or MRO service provider, Data Point is fully configurable to your KPIs, workflow, and compliance needs. It scales across sites and departments while maintaining a clear line of sight to strategic goals.