for March 24, 2008
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http://www.airfax.com/airfax/ifexpress/
Hot Topic: B787 Delay Revisited!
Amid
rumors of an new, impending Boeing B787 Dreamliner delay, we thought it
might be helpful to chime in with a few responses we got from an from an
informal poll of local Boeing know-it-alls. We would note that the delayed
A380 may have had a few of the same issues as well. Mind you, this was not a
scientific undertaking, however, our readers had a few interesting things to
say. Last year we predicted a one year slide in the program based on input
from these folks. Unfortunately, even their examination of the entrails was
probably short sighted. Here we go:- Perhaps the most common comment we got noted lack of
definition of the product at the front end. When some of the major jobs
were outsourced to U.S. and non-U.S. firms, there was little effort to
put detailed specifications together for the suppliers to build.
This is probably the result result of a.) A rush to production to
compete with the A380 and b.) Inexperienced management who "pooh-poohed"
the "plan your work - work your plan" approach to building airplanes.
Apparently, documentation was felt to be a luxury and not the necessity
that B777 and B757/B767 developers thought it was. Ironically, the
desire for speed to market
caused the delays to market. - Many suggested a callback to a few of those retired airplane manufacturing folks who had been thru the development of more that one plane model Many said have them perform an old fashioned audit as too much talent was lost in the rush to retire.
- Reevaluate upper management credentials and see who should and reconsider the management team. (Reader - Check names in Wikipedia or on company websites yourself and see what you think).
- While people are the most important asset, perhaps the "feel good" style of group therapy, process-based, aircraft construction needs a bit of old school butt kicking modification. Yes, some may need find other lines of work.
- Bring back a unified airplane company in Seattle with top folks from the experienced ranks of engineering, manufacturing, and production planning. Growth from within is the driver.
- Early on, one knowledgeable engineer told IFExpress, management had blinders on about the value and challenges of things like system integration labs either because of schedule or cost or both. As a result, a lot of testing was foisted on suppliers. A lot of folks did not like the answers engineering was giving.
- Past planes were controlled in production because the honchos could walk to the next building and see the problems first hand. Meetings were often held under or near the plane or problem sub assembly. The people with the experience built locally first and then taught others. Now how much of the offshore manufacturing cost savings has been eaten up in delay penalties and long distance program management?
- A schedule slide is, as one pundit put it, a colossal failure to communicate. Three schedule slides are management's failure to understand the problem.
After Thoughts:
A recent rant about the lack of free Wi-Fi at airports led us to look at
Starbucks and their proliferation in airports. Many of these outlets offered
paid Wi-Fi. As you know, the dominant source of US jitters (besides the FED)
has chosen to become more customer-centric and we wondered why they have not
led the way to free Wi-Fi, at least in their airport locations. Certainly,
an increase of customers would pay the Wi-Fi bill via $5 coffee purchases.
Smaller coffee entities and bakeries in the US are pioneers in this area and
soon there will be a lot more of them as they discover a Wi-Fi marketing
advantage over the coffee giant. Sure, many travelers have cell or
mobile-based Blackberry service, but that solution ain't cheap and universal
to road warriors. According to the coffee company you can now get your Wi-Fi
free at a Starbucks that employs AT&T wireless Internet service and the
process has just begun. They hope to get 7000 stores up and running in the
US and Canada first. You buy a $5 (minimum) prepaid coffee card and when
activated (register online or call), it gives you two free hours of Internet
service each day or thereabouts. You do have to use the card once a month,
just activate it first and you will be registered to use your card number
and PIN to sign in. Cool huh? Starbucks probably could use a makeover;
however, the customers may be coming there for more than brew now.
IFExpress is sponsored in part
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UIA launches fleet expansion
and renewal program
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AeroMobile Calls a World First
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IFExpress is sponsored in part
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Honeywell
lands $1.5 bln contract for Airbus A350
Reuters
Boeing
admits Dreamliner rethink
FT.com
Could the
787 be delayed again?
Gadling
The Most and
Least Wired Airlines and Airports
PC World
JetBlue
joins others in charging for extra legroom
USA Today
Harris and
Voyant Team to Develop Aviation Broadband Solutions
CNN Money
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Aircraft Interiors Expo - Hamburg
4/1/2008 - 4/3/2008
WAEA
Week in Dubai
4/21/2008 - 4/24/2008
8th
Annual European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE2008)
5/20/2008 - 5/22/2008
WAEA
29th Annual Conference and Exhibition
9/8/2008 - 9/11/2008
Aircraft Interiors Expo - Americas
9/9/2008 - 9/11/2008
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