2009-10 Team Project Summaries

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The Boeing Company
Long Beach, CA, USA

C-17 Supplier Management Lead Time Reduction Team

Presentation: Monday, May 24, 10:45 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Room: 262

Type of Team: Improvement

The Boeing C-17 Supplier Management Lead Time Reduction Team’s objective was to reduce the overall program cycle time of the C-17 Globemaster. The team used a variety of lean+ tools, including value stream mapping, Gemba workshops, affinity diagram, Hoshin Kanri (A3 reports), brainstorming, pareto analysis, fishbone diagram, critical to quality (CTQ) chart, failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), and quality functional deployment (QFD). The following quality methodologies were utilized: Six Sigma (DMAIC), Boeing’s lean principles of defining requirements, performing pre-work, conducting workshops, execution of action plans, and creating metrics to control process. The result was an overall 10% cycle time reduction of the entire aircraft build cycle, and 19-percent reduction of lead time on major sub-contract components. The team was successful in mitigating millions of dollars in risk funding for the program. The team not only achieved results, but established control methods to ensure the reduction plans are sustained.

 

C-17 Forward Fuselage Redesign Team

Presentation: Tuesday, May 25, 11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Room: 266

Type of Team: Improvement

The forward fuselage redesign project objectives were to improve an existing process that generated waste, rework, and repair; reinstate delivered product quality; recover schedule conditions; and execute an aggressive manufacturing project that realizes cost avoidance and generates savings over the life of the program. Tools utilized to reach goals included brainstorming, fishbone diagrams, Pareto charts, flowcharts, simulations, and cause and effect diagrams. Quality methodologies used to achieve goals were benchmarking, DAMIC and DMADV, and lean manufacturing. DMAIC failed in the control phase; consequently the process was redesigned and verified. This project positively impacted the organizational goals by correcting quality non-conformances that severely disrupted Boeing’s production assembly processes and delayed part delivery up to 90 days past the scheduled start of assembly date. The team was experiencing a 48-percent part rejection rate. It positively responded to the voice of the customer that expressed dissatisfaction in Macon, GA, and Long Beach, CA, with the product initially. Positive project results were achieved. Assembly disruptions were reduced from four days to one day, forming related defects were reduced by 80 percent, part fabrication takt time was reduced by 40 percent, and Boeing’s commitment to ISO 14001 was substantiated by elimination of heat treat.

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