Ricardo’s approach to Transmission Assembly: Q&A with Louise Thomas

With a career shaped by high-performance engineering and complex programme delivery, Louise Thomas, Ricardo’s Head of Programme Delivery and Assembly, leads both programme execution and transmission assembly for our niche volume driveline capability. Her role is to ensure that assembly, test and programme delivery operate to the highest standards.

With over 20 years’ experience working in aerospace, F1 and automotive environments, Louise gives us an insight into what it takes to run a customer-focused assembly operation where performance, quality, and timing are critical, and where every build supports unique customer requirements.

Q: Can you tell us about your career and engineering background? What led you to join Ricardo?

Louise Thomas: At the age of 14, a family visit to NASA in Florida sparked a life-long interest in engineering and advanced technology. I wanted to know how I could be involved in the kind of work that they do so I wrote to NASA for their advice and they responded with guidance on appropriate academic pathways into engineering careers. This experience played a pivotal role in shaping my decision to pursue a career in engineering.

At 16, I secured work experience with aerospace manufacturer Short Brothers in Belfast, where I gained valuable industry insight. They recommended that I study Mechanical Engineering given its breadth and applicability across multiple sectors.

I then studied Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at Queen’s University Belfast, supported by scholarship placements with NACCO Materials Handling Ltd, where I gained hands-on experience in forklift truck assembly operations. This combination of academic and practical experience led to my acceptance onto the graduate scheme at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), prompting my relocation from Northern Ireland to the Midlands.

At JLR, I worked as a project engineer in crash safety, building a strong foundation in engineering delivery within a highly regulated environment. After four years, I transitioned into Formula 1 with the Mercedes engine team, where I contributed to several high-performance programmes, including leading programme management for the introduction of the kinetic energy recovery system (KERS).

Q: What is your role here at Ricardo and what are your key responsibilities?

Louise Thomas: I work a dual role at Ricardo responsible for both Programme Delivery and the Assembly team.

As Head of Programme Delivery, my team and I work closely with our customers to ensure that their programme runs smoothly. We take ownership of the programme scope, define key milestones and deliverables, and create a clear and robust delivery plan. I then lead programme execution, keeping open communication to ensure alignment between customer expectations and internal delivery.

This responsibility aligns closely with my role as Head of Assembly. It’s important to continue to build on those customer relationships established through my role in Programme Delivery to make sure that we have a good understanding of their requirements as programmes progress through the hardware delivery phase.

Working in close collaboration with assembly team leaders, I ensure that build plans are effectively structured and executed, enabling efficient, high-quality delivery scaled to the customer’s requirements.  I ensure that multiple assembly lines and test facilities are effectively managed, and that the people operating within these areas are fully supported to deliver the quality products that our customers expect from Ricardo.

Q: Can you tell us a bit about Ricardo's transmission assembly capability?

Louise Thomas: The requirements of our customer are at the heart of our assembly programmes, and we tailor our processes and physical layouts to meet individual programme requirements.

We operate four customer dedicated assembly areas at our Midlands Technical Centre which collectively deliver over 30 specialist, high-performance transmissions per week. Our assembly strategy is flexible to allow us to configure each area into sub-assembly workstations aligned to specific product requirements and customer demand profiles. Resourcing is scaled accordingly to make sure that we consistently achieve the required build rates without compromising quality. This approach means that we can deliver to customer specifications while maintaining the integrity and security of sensitive programmes.

We support a diverse range of market sectors, each with its own demand characteristics, including complex and often seasonal production cycles. In addition to core assembly activity, we also provide comprehensive support for our clients’ aftermarket programmes, including servicing and spare parts provision. This ensures ongoing reliability and support for in-service programmes.
 

Q: How does Ricardo support customers operating in highly time-critical environments?

Louise Thomas: Flexibility and agility are central to Ricardo’s delivery model. Many of our clients operate in highly time-critical environments such as motorsport, so making sure that all programmes are prioritised in line with agreed timelines is essential.

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A key aspect of my role is maintaining alignment between programme schedules and material readiness. This includes ensuring that all components are available to support assembly activities, so that we can complete build and execute full end-of-line testing without disruption.

We place a strong emphasis on workforce capability and adaptability. We take a structured approach to capability management, assessing individual strengths and aligning them to specific programme requirements.

Many of our assembly technicians are trained across multiple disciplines, including build and testing, which builds operational resilience and offers team members a chance to develop wider skills and invest in their personal development.

Q: What is the most important factor for you in ensuring reliability and consistency on the assembly line? 

Louise Thomas: We operate to robust and highly controlled processes aligned to ISO 9001 standards so that we can consistently meet the expectations of our customers and maintain the quality that our clients expect of a world-class manufacturer like Ricardo.

While our adherence to Standard Operating Procedures underpins consistency, it is ultimately our people who enable us to navigate and overcome complex challenges. We benefit from a highly experienced workforce, with many individuals having supported programmes from concept through to delivery over careers spanning more than two decades. This depth of knowledge and experience is a real asset to the business.

It is also important to recognise that our programme management and assembly teams operate within a fully integrated cross functional teams including quality, engineering, manufacturing, planning and supply chain. With access to on-site machining capability, dedicated test facilities, and close collaboration with our engineering teams, we can respond quickly and effectively to challenges. This end-to-end capability enables a highly collaborative approach, ensuring we maintain delivery confidence even in the face of complex or evolving programme demands.

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Q: What, in your opinion, is the key to Ricardo’s approach to transmission assembly?

Louise Thomas: Delivering complex transmission assemblies to tight, immovable deadlines comes down to the passion and expertise of our people, clarity of ownership, and disciplined execution.

At Ricardo, the most important factor is strong, accountable teams who are passionate about what they do. That means clear ownership from programme leadership through to the shop floor, so everyone understands the outcome they are personally responsible for.

Delivery risk most often resides at the interfaces engineering, manufacturing, quality, and supply chain so we focus on building multi-disciplined teams that collaborate effectively across these teams. Creating an open, high trust environment ensures issues are identified early and resolved quickly.

Alongside that, you need efficient, robust governance and clearly defined priorities, so that teams can make confident, timely decisions and stay aligned, even under pressure.

Ultimately, it’s the combination of capable people, aligned teams, and a strong performance culture, with a shared pride that ensures we meet customer expectations.

If you would like to learn more about Ricardo’s Transmission Assembly capability, contact one of our experts to arrange an appointment.

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