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Monday, September 2, 2013

787-8 , Proof Of Concept

The 787-8 has completed its proof of concept during the dog days of summer. This Labor day is a good time of reflection for the 787-8 endeavor. Through toil and trouble it has caught on fire, smoked and failed with certain functional systems failures throughout its skin. All in all, no hull loses occurred as you would expect from the seriousness of the issues. The label Boeing chooses is "Teething Problems". The answer the press proposes, by its bent towards calamity, and fear; that the Boeing 787-8 is an incomprehensible disaster, where it reports every out of place part or misguided application, while ignoring the brilliant  redundancy, and technology that affords teething problems with a workman like progressions making it an almost perfect aircraft.

Its not the kind of aircraft that  repletes with, "damn the  omissions, full throttle ahead". Its more of a company and its people priding itself by making a quantum leap in technology with so many safety features protecting the teething problems. Its not the unsinkable Titanic, since it flies 40,000 feet above solid ground instead 10,000 feet off the ocean floor. Flying has always been  a dangerous business. That is what is driving the Boeing company forward, mitigating the danger inherent to flying. The FAA partners in that quest. As annoying as the FAA seems at the time, cobbling progressions of an aircraft manufacturer, it plays a most important and needed role as an independent governing body for compliance of known aviation. Boeing exceeded itself and the FAA with an all new airplane.

Who will stand up to the unknown? Locking arms together Boeing and governing bodies go forward together to answer the riddles born out of this technology.  You do not hear much coming from the A-350 project simply because they stayed within a certain technological base, not venturing to go where Boeing dared to go. Teething problems come to a close with Boeing having the sky high advancement of airspace, while its competitor continuously redesigns on the fly, even though Boeing seeks a continuous improvement of its own design it does not scrap the Dream to make it fly. Case in point: Boeing stayed with its own belief in the Lithium-Ion battery package after its battery fires. Airbus promptly dropped its need for Lithium-ion and had no stomach for battery advancement, because of its mad dash to catch Boeing with an all new plastic airplane.  The airbus solution is heavier and goes back a generation in electrical design. I do not suggest new technology automatically is better than old. But I do believe the lithium-Ion solution is possible, and better than the Airbus retreat, and defensive position it has taken, by moving back technology to a heavier and less robust Ni-cad battery solution and electrical redesign.

Redundancy of safety is Boeing's trump card that affords technological advancement and teething woes. Airbus is a fine company that does a good job, but stays back some and does not take on the innovation challenge as the robust Boeing effort. But Boeing understands its own capabilities through it people. Boeing must keep that human capability in sight at all times, for that's what makes the company really work well, and its what is keeping Boeing ahead of its competition. The people of Boeing is its secret, not a farmed out work-crew from somewhere not far from nowhere. The bottom line comes from the factory floor, the design room or own test centers. The big picture on labor day is the American values and Dream are found in its own endeavors. If Boeing takes on specialties from around the world in a collaboration of knowledge, skill and abilities, then it is good business. If Boeing can parley those company imports from abroad into development at home with the American workforce, then its a best result.

Plant layout and facilities development was a key schooling  I participated in during college years. It was important for efficient distances from one stage to another, merging supplies just-in-time, to the various work stations. This saved space and made the plant run leaner for a fattened bottom line. Now the plant has become a world-wide facility, inflating risks in a world wide stage, crossing Geo/political barriers of risks. Does it assume, there is no risk from change management conducted from a far off and stretched out map of the globe? Change is constant and disruptive. Even in the home plant change occurs, but that risk is mitigated with its shortened lines of work, with its own people and its collaborative  spirit.

An international disconnect occurs when new challenges arise when the piece of the puzzle is disrupted. Its best handled in your own back yard, if possible. The operative words is "possible".   That is a tough word for the execs to swallow as they mutter, "But we can do it cheaper elsewhere!" That is surrender, with unintended consequences.

Boeing should this labor day renew its efforts to build an American Dream and not an international fiasco. Look for ways of continuous improvement at home. Stay resolved to build the best and not step off its goals as other manufacturers have done with using a prior generation idea.  All electric architecture was not backed-off, nor the Lithium-ion battery. Its core technology is a great advancement as well as the barrel design in plastics. The list goes on with its great ideas handed to its great work-force.

Yeah, this Labor Day is a good day.

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