Quality Control

For the company your team has selected, what quality control methods do they currently use? Boeing Company uses continues improvement as a quality control method. They use Pareto analysis as well as the fishbone diagrams in order to find out the cause of the problem. First they look at the report using Pareto analysis to find out what kind of items are defect most. For example, Boeing 777 experiences defects in engines. According to US air safety body, “… 220 airliners [experience] an engine flaw …” A Boeing engine is manufactured by Rolls-Royce; therefore, the manufacturing company is responsible for the flaws in Boeing’s engines. As a result, the quality control department has to go in and check the manufacture, Roll-Royce. They will find the defect which causes the engines to work improperly in cold and icy weather using Fishbone Diagrams. The US safety board states, “[Many problems and incidents with these engines were experienced] within a year, [they believe] that there is a high probability of something similar happening again… [therefore]…the only acceptable solution for this safety vulnerability was to redesign the flawed component in the engine.” According to engine flawed component that caused the problems and fatal crashes, Boeing’s airline customers were forced to ground many Boeings 777. The current problem was solved and the components, in this case fuel/oil heat exchangers, were replaced by heat exchangers which are more tolerant to ice accretion.

What about Six Sigma practices? Recommend some new ideas they should consider.Boeing Company can use Six Sigma practices in order to improve the capability and reduce the defects in any process. Six Sigma practices include the following steps: define, measure, analyze, improve, and control. Boeing should consider defining the project goals and current processes. Operations Managers should collect relevant data and analyze the data which caused the most defects in the system using the Pareto analysis. Boeing should determine and focus on the most defects that verify the cause-and-effect relationship. To improve the process, the operation manager or the operations department should go in the work place, material or tool department etc. and check for any causes of defects. If the operation managers find the problems they should stop the process and resolve the defect before it can result in future defects again. For example, the engine flaw should be analyzed before the process of the engine was finished. Operation managers should go back to analyze the defect, which is the fuel/oil heat exchanger in this case, test it to make sure is tolerant to icy weather, and then continue the process if the exchanger will pass the test. This will improve the process and control the future defects.

Service Process Design

1. Identify the 3 elements of the service-product bundle:
One of the 3 elements of the service-product bundle is tangible service which in this case is the finished airplane or space shuttle, assembled especially to meet the need of the customer. The second element of the service-product bundle is psychological benefits that are, in this case, the safety and quality of the airplane as well as supporting the environment and meeting the regulations of the FAA. The third element of the service-product bundle is physical goods which is Boeing airplane itself.
2. Identify the cell they operate in on the service matrix:
The cell on the service matrix they operate in, is the Customer Routed-Estate Planning cell because Boeing has many process pathways which require complex work and planning. Customers of Boeing have a great-decision making power in some cases such as commercial airplanes. Commercial or private planes are highly customized in order to satisfy the customer. On top of satisfying the customer, complex work and planning, the cost is highly expensive.
3. Identify some types of customer contact they encounter and how they respond to it.
Boeing use high contact services as well low contact services with customers. Boeing use high contact services that includes direct customer contact mostly for marketing and sales of aircrafts. Boeing uses “the Web portal MyBoeingFleet.com, and field support that helps [customers] day in and day out to get the most of [their] asset in terms of reliability, availability, and, of course, safety...it includes [Boeing’s] Operations Center, which is a 24-hour-a-day oper¬ation, available seven days a week to answer [customers’] urgent service requests” and helps Boeing to concentrate on the maintenance and production of the airplane (in the back room=low contact service).
4. Do they use self service?
Boeing does not use self service; it uses Client/Work Teams to provide customization for each client whether it is working with the US government to provide tactical defense systems or provide company specific commercial airplanes to Boeing largest clients Quantas, LAN, and ANA.
5. Do they use technology?
Boeing is a technological company that uses brand new technologies to create industry leading products. One example, the Boeing 787 made with lightweight carbon composite material and improved engine engineering to make a commercial plane that is 20% more fuel efficient.
6. Do they use focused operations?
Yes, Boeing using focused operations. They separate the military, commercial, and airspace operations to optimize operations efficiency.
7. How do they support employee?
Boeing supports its employees in many ways such as pay for college tuition, they offer family support groups, health care, retirement savings plan, life insurance, fitness and recreation opportunities and commuting options.
8. What types of service recovery and guarantees do they offer?
Boeing offers service recovery such as “On-site technical support to recover [the] airplane”, “Consultation on appropriate airplane recovery equipment and methods for your operations”, “AOG Incident Recovery and Repair Services [that include] Engineering, logistics, and maintenance experts available 24 hours a day for airplane recovery, repair, and modification anywhere in the world” and to access warranties require “online access through MyBoeingFleet enabling operators to settle warranty claims quickly and with a minimum of paperwork”.