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.

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”.

Process Selection

1. What type of product flow do they use?
Boeing uses a project process type of product flow. The company makes large aircrafts; therefore, each airplane is assembled at a work center with materials and labor brought to the work center. Boeing has a complex schedule that has to satisfy the work balance across all the different planes projects. To create Boeing airplanes and space shuttles highly skilled labor must be used which is another feature of project process. Everything has to be scheduled and must meet the requirements for on time delivery of the airplanes.
2. What type of customer order do they process?
Boeing uses Make-to-Order process as type of customer order because the products that are made by Boeing are customer-specified and are very expensive. Make-to-order process is used by Boeing because it’s all about the customers’ needs. Boeing represents its model of the plane to the customers before the order is placed. Afterwards, materials are prearranged if not already done so in order to begin the production of the aircraft. After the plane is assembled, it’s delivered to the customer; the customer pays for the order delivered and the whole cycle is successfully completed. Make-to-Order process takes a lot of time because Boeing has to design the aircraft, make the aircraft and deliver it to its customers.
3. Which cell do they fall into the process characteristic matrix?
Boeing falls into Project/Make-to-order process characteristic matrix because every aircraft is uniquely made for each customer.
4. What are some of the factors influencing their process selection?
The factors that may influence Boeing’s process selection would be the competition, market conditions, and capital requirements such as budget, labor, supply, technology and cost overall. Airplanes are not like potato chips that a manufacturer can pour into a bag, each plane is different. Making an airplane requires large capital, skilled labor and up to date technology to guarantee the satisfaction of the customers’ needs.
5. Can they adopt any of the mass customization methods discussed?
Boeing Co. already adapted Customization to their airplanes, since different Airlines request different seating arrangements, different entertainment systems, etc. To fulfill the airline’s needs, Boeing spends a lot of capital on customizing these airplanes piece by piece. If Boeing was to use mass customization, it would be a great way to use resources such as money and labor more efficient. Postponement of option would be a fitting form of mass customization for Boeing. This way, the airplanes could be mass produced and customized later on, in a different facility to fit the costumer’s needs. Seats and entertainment system, also carpets and curtains could be added later on to fulfill any airlines wants and expectations.