Assignment
Chicago-based Boeing uses a combination of team-inspired innovations and cutting-edge technology to make commercial jetliners at two plants in Washington state and one in South Carolina. The company rings up $68 billion in annual revenues and employs more than 170,000 employees in 70 nations. Because lives are at stake each time a plane takes off, quality is at the very top of Boeing's agenda when it designs, tests, and manufactures its jetliners. Boeing's best-selling plane is the 737, which has been updated numerous times since it was first introduced in the late 1960s. More than 350 airlines now fly 737s, and the model is still in such demand that Boeing has orders to deliver another 2,600 (priced at $59 million and up, depending on configuration). At Boeing's 737 plant in Renton, Washington, employees with varied technical, engineering, and production backgrounds work in small teams to tackle challenges related to a specific part of the jetliner or the assembly process. These teams have found ingenious ways to improve productivity without expanding the facility or increasing costs.
For example, when the jetliners are rolled along the factory floor during the final stages of assembly, stray fasteners or bolts occasionally poke holes in the tires. Counting materials and labor, the replacement cost of one tire is $10,000. To reduce the number of punctures, the team tried using specially shaped sweepers to move any fasteners out of the jetliner's path. When that didn't entirely solve the problem, a team member borrowed an idea he'd seen at a motorcycle race: Put canvas covers on the tires, and take them off just before the race begins. Implementing this idea saved Boeing more than $200,000 per year in 737 tire replacement costs. Teams have come up with creative approaches to boost productivity all over the 737 plant. One team found a way to simultaneously prepare four engines for mounting in the same space where they formerly prepared three engines.
Another team changed the sequence of tasks involved in painting parts, which saved at least 10 minutes per employee per job. Yet another team determined that preassembling some groups of hydraulic tubes prior to installation in the wheel well would shave 30 hours off the time that skilled mechanics spent working on each 737. All these efficiencies add up: The plant can now assemble an entire 737 jetliner in fewer than 11 days, compared with 22 days just a decade ago. Boeing's newest jetliner, the 787 Dreamliner, is produced from high-tech, lightweight carbon composite materials in Everett, Washington, and North Charleston, South Carolina. When building the South Carolina factory, it used everything it had learned from 50 years of making jets. Inside the cavernous building, one 787 jetliner at a time is assembled in the middle of five workstations.
On-site factories build big sections of the fuselage as needed for each 787, which adds to the efficiency. Despite careful planning, the fuel-efficient 787 is three years behind schedule because of problems with parts shortages and unforeseen design and assembly glitches. Boeing purchased some production operations of its South Carolina suppliers to gain direct control over this part of the supply chain. Now, with orders in hand for more than 850 Dreamliners, Boeing is working hard to increase monthly output to seven jetliners per month at the Everett plant and three jetliners per month at the South Carolina plant.27
Questions
1. Currently, Boeing has a big backlog of orders for both 737 and 787 Dreamliner aircraft. How does the backlog affect its plans for production? What could the company do to increase production without sacrificing quality?
2. Do you agree that a just-in-time inventory system is appropriate for Boeing's 787 production? Explain your answer.
3. One production team suggested changing the sequence required to paint parts and saved 10 minutes per employee per job in the paint job. How do suggestions-even those that result in small improvements in the production process- improve the company's ability to meet customer demand, improve quality, and increase profits?
The response should include a reference list. Double-space, using Times New Roman 12 pnt font, one-inch margins, and APA style of writing and citations.