Mark Hepp

About Mark Hepp

Quality and Supplier Quality Engineering leader with 20+ years of experience supporting aerospace manufacturing, engine components, and complex global supply chains. I bring deep expertise in supplier development, AS9100 compliance, NPI support, and cost of poor quality reduction, grounded in Lean Six Sigma (DMAIC) and data-driven decision making.I am a recognized Subject Matter Expert in aluminum casting, specializing in complex sand and investment processes critical to high-precision aerospace applications. Throughout my career, I have partnered closely with Engineering, Manufacturing, and Suppliers to improve quality performance, reduce risk, and support operational excellence in highly regulated environments.A key differentiator of my background is my leadership in inspection innovation. I architected and continue to own an industry-leading Computed Tomography (CT)-based First Article Inspection (FAI) process for aerospace castings, initially developed in 2013 and successfully sustained for over a decade. This approach enabled CT to serve as a primary FAI methodology, eliminating destructive sectioning of first-produced castings, preserving qualification hardware, and avoiding re-cast lead times. Since deployment, I have supported hundreds of casting projects, delivering recurring schedule acceleration and significant cost avoidance across multiple NPI programs.Currently, as a Quality Supervisor at Crane Aerospace & Electronics, I lead and mentor teams of Supplier Quality Engineers, manage key quality KPIs (COPQ, PPM, inspection performance), and drive supplier improvement initiatives using PPAP, APQP, and structured quality improvement projects. I am passionate about developing people, strengthening supplier partnerships, and applying advanced quality methods to solve complex manufacturing challenges.Core strengths include:Supplier Quality Leadership • Aerospace Manufacturing & AS9100 • Aluminum Casting (Sand & Investment) • CT Scanning & Advanced Inspection • Lean Six Sigma • PPAP / APQP / NPI • COPQ & PPM Reduction • Root Cause Analysis • Team Development

Experience

1. Manager, Fai Coe (Casting Sme) Global Supplier Quality

   Collins Aerospace

   Mar 2026 — Present · Cleveland, OH, US

Education

• SBTI

  Lean Six Sigma Black Belt

  2016 — 2016

• Dale Carnegie Training

  Leadership Training

• University of Dayton

  BS, Mechanical Engineering

  1998 — 2003

Skills

• Quality Assurance
• Group Presentations
• Engineering
• Aerospace
• Root Cause Analysis
• Kaizen
• Lean Six Sigma
• Supply Chain Management
• Quality Management
• Autocad
• Business Process Improvement
• Spc
• Microsoft Office
• Quality System
• Quality Systems
• Lean Manufacturing
• Continuous Improvement
• Supply Chain
• 5s
• Statistical Process Control (Spc)
• Performance Metrics
• Computed Tomography
• Supplier Evaluation
• Problem Solving
• Ppap
• Microsoft Powerpoint
• Kanban
• Microsoft Access
• Minitab
• Production Part Approval Process (Ppap)
• Quality Control
• Process Improvement
• Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (Fmea)
• Manufacturing
• Microsoft Excel
• Supplier Quality
• Machining
• First Article Inspection
• Engineering Management
• Fmea