TL;DR – Summary
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Industry studies show Cost of Poor Quality (CoPQ) often exceeds **15–20%**, with some firms reporting up to **40%** of total operating costs. <Citation source="American Society for Quality" url="https://asq.org/quality-resources/cost-of-quality" type="industry-study" verified={true} />
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These losses come from scrap, rework, QA escapes, and miscommunication — all fixable with better drawing validation and documentation controls.
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MLNavigator helps reduce these costs by **automating compliance checks at the source** — when drawings are uploaded, not when parts are rejected.
The Problem: Quality Failures Hide in Plain Sight
Most aerospace shops underestimate what poor quality really costs them. It's not just rework or scrap. It's:- Engineering hours rewriting drawings after production starts
- QA time spent chasing incomplete tolerances
- Delayed inspection reports due to ambiguity
- Audit flags from missing change history
- A growing mess of tribal knowledge that only some people know how to work around
What the Numbers Say: 15–40%
According to ASQ:For aerospace, the upper bound is more common than you think. Why? Because regulated manufacturing doesn't just demand quality — it demands provable, documented quality. That means a single mistake in a drawing — a missing tolerance, ambiguous note, or incorrect part number — can result in:
- Scrapped parts
- Redone inspections
- Change order delays
- Audits and findings
The Impact: What CoPQ Actually Costs
CoPQ affects more than your balance sheet — it hits your ability to compete.For MROs:
- Lost hours on the shop floor fixing preventable issues
- Overtime spent preparing for audits
- Work stoppages waiting for revised documentation
- Parts failing incoming inspection due to drawing ambiguity
For Investors:
Every 1% drop in CoPQ = direct EBITDA improvement.- A $20M aerospace supplier with 20% CoPQ loses $4M per year
- Reducing that by even 25% adds $1M in profit
- No headcount needed — just fewer mistakes hitting production
The Old Way vs. MLNavigator
Traditionally, QA and compliance checks happen after engineering drawings are released — often when parts are already on the floor.Legacy Flow
Drawing created
Drawing reviewed manually
Released to shop
Problem discovered mid-production
Change order
Delay + cost
MLNavigator Flow
Drawing uploaded
Real-time standards scan
Flagged before release
Correction made
Released clean
No downstream disruption
That difference is everything. When errors are caught at the source, they never have a chance to multiply.
MLNavigator's Solution
MLNavigator delivers a local AI appliance (Mac Studio or cluster) that becomes your team's always-on compliance checker. When a drawing is uploaded, it automatically:- Scans for missing tolerances, notes, or standard violations
- Flags ambiguities or inconsistent data
- Tags issues with the relevant AS9100 or FAA clause
- Logs all interactions and fixes for audit traceability
- Operates fully offline, ensuring no cloud risk or data leakage
Industry Study:MLNavigator Pilot Studies
For MROs, this means faster turnarounds and fewer audit risks.
For investors, it's a clear operational moat — making QA smarter without adding cost.
Visual Snapshot: Where the Cost Hides
CoPQ Breakdown
Scrap & Rework30–50%
Change Order Overhead20–30%
Quality Audit Prep10–15%
Miscommunication Delays10–20%
Documentation Gaps5–10%
Total CoPQ: 15–40% of operating cost
Pullquotes & Highlights
"True quality-related costs as high as 40% of total operations."
"CoPQ & cybersecurity aren't just cost centers — they're contract risks."
Sources
Sources
- American Society for Quality. Cost of Quality (COQ). Accessed August 2025. https://asq.org/quality-resources/cost-of-quality