Project Planning & Scheduling

Boeing Company assembles airplanes for commercial airlines in addition to many other assemblies such as space shuttles, military airplanes, etc. Building an airplane is an example of a project. First of all it is a unique product. Also, the plane does not get moved until fully assembled. Boeing’s main production facility is located in Everett, Washington. Furthermore, Boeing’s suppliers bring the needed parts and tools to the site so the plane does not have to get moved during its production. All these arguments are proof, of airplanes being a project.
Producing an airplane takes a lot of time and is a very complicated and broad process. The first task in assembling an airplane is to come up with a design and model which have to be broad on paper, the size, features and engine need to be decided on. A budget needs to be established at the same time, Boeing needs to make sure the plans are realistic and meet the budget. The second step is the scheduling, for Boeing this is a major factor to make sure that their airplanes get delivered on time. Different Departments need to be taught which part of the airplane they have to assemble and the deadlines have to be set. The last task is the execution. Boeing employees need to be highly skilled workers to make sure that the job is done quickly and correct. While these three tasks are in process, the operations managers have to keep an eye over the process at all times to control the planning, scheduling, and execution of the airplane to see if the planned implication meets the actual implication regarding money, time, and cost.
Boeing uses the Gantt chart for their projects to show the different tasks and the bar charts needed. According to a Swiss Company called Flex Gantt UI Framework which is a Java planning and scheduling application, Boeing is one of their customers.
Boeing has a big problem with delivering their airplanes on time. Using the Gantt chart is a great way to keep track of the different tasks and the time in which the task are being accomplished. For some reason this system does not seem to work out for Boeing. In assembling an airplane different activities depend on each other and the production cannot move on without different parts are being finished. For example, an airplane body gets assembled in three parts, the front, middle, and back. All three parts need to be assembled together to move on to the next tasks such a interior or painting. The problem with the Gantt chart is that it does only show the different tasks by itself without the relationship to the other tasks. For that reason Boeing will not be able to see why the production is slowing down and more importantly what to improve. Our suggestion would be to import the Network Methods. These methods show the relationship between the different task and Boeing would be able to identify problems and to improve the process.

Managing Quality

1. Identify the 4 dimensions of quality apply to their product or service. Boeing Company’s first dimension of quality that applies to their products is quality of design. Boeing provides its customers with design concepts and specifications of the product or service. For example they provide their customers with a design of the plane that illustrate customer’s specifications such as a commercial airplane that has specific color patterns, entertainment systems etc. Boeing develops a blueprint of the plane; an actual model of the plane to demonstrate its specifications and a bill of materials that will be used in order to manufacture the plane. The Second dimension that Boeing uses is quality of conformance. Boeing is producing various types of airplanes such as commercial airplanes, aerospace ships or military airplanes. Every type of airplane meets the customer’s specification depending on the use of the plane. If the customer is satisfied with the product specification there is a high quality of conformance. Another dimension that Boeing uses is the “abilities”; this includes availability, reliability and maintainability. Boeing’s customers are very strict about availability. The cost of the plane is very high so customers expect to receive quality plane on time. Customers are also very strict about reliability. Reliability reveals plane’s quality and how long the plane will function without any failure. People’s lives could be in danger if the airplane is not reliable and eventually stops working, therefore Boeing has a great responsibility to guarantee reliability. Maintainability in Boeing refers to the customer’s right to consider repairs and maintenance if the product will fail. Customers will expect Boeing to restore the failure by a certain time; they also depend on good customer service when needed. The last dimension that applies to Boeing is field service. Boeing’s customers are provided with warranties and repair services after the plane is sold to them. If the product or service will face any type of failure, Boeing’s customer may rely on warranties and repair services that are provided by Boeing Company. 2. What quality systems do they currently have in place? Recommend some new ideas they should consider.

Boeing uses reliability as a quality system. Boeing and its customers have a contract between each other in which Boeing is asked to provide a promised product or service on time without any errors. Boeing’s customers rely on the product safety because an error could have fatal consequences for everyone involved; Boeing, the customer of the pane such as military or commercial airlines, and especially the passengers of the plane.Boeing should be more realistic about their product and the promised delivery time. At this moment Boeing experience huge delays on 787 Dreamliner series, which cause Boeing’s customers to turn around and choose their competitor Airbus. Reliability definitely should be the number one priority for Boeing but in the process Boeing seems to forget about the availability. A better time management must be considered because the delivery is not just delayed by a month or two. The first flight was supposed to be launched in the fourth quarter of 2008 and at the moment it does not look like it will happen until 2010. Customers rely on Boeing’s promise to have the plane on time and if Boeing is not capable of delivering its product on time, customers will turn around and choose their competitors.