Assembly Planbook - April 2008 - (Page 24) ASSEMBLY Quality in Assembly Little Lessons from the Big Boys Sometimes, even lean leaders suffer quality lapses. O Toyota has dramatically increased its production capacity in recent years. Photo courtesy Toyota Motor Corp. By Austin Weber Senior Editor nce a product leaves the assembly line, even the tiniest quality problem can quickly escalate into a big headache for manufacturing engineers. The key is to address quality issues on the plant floor and to build quality into every product. Unfortunately, that’s often easier said than done, even at world-class manufacturers. Recent quality glitches at Boeing Commercial Airplanes (Renton, WA) and Toyota Motor Corp. (Nagoya, Japan) have raised quite a few eyebrows in the manufacturing world. Both companies are considered to be lean leaders in their industries. Many of the problems that each manufacturer has encountered have involved snafus on the part of suppliers, but they have trickled down to wreak havoc on the final assembly line. Boeing is currently building a revolutionary new airplane with new materials, new production processes and a nontraditional supply chain model. It is relying on a network of suppliers to assemble the bulk of its fuel-efficient 787 Dreamliner. The first flight of the carbonfiber aircraft has already been pushed back several times. Targeted delivery dates have also suffered due to missing links in the supply chain. Deliveries are now expected to begin in early 2009, rather than late this year. “The fundamental design and technologies of the 787 remain sound,” says Scott Carson, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “However, we continue to be challenged by start-up issues in our factory and in our extended global supply chain.” Boeing outsourced a record amount of work to speed up its manufacturing cycle. Suppliers spread out around the world are building a bigger share of the 787 than on any previous Boeing jetliner. Approximately 80 percent of the Dreamliner, including its fuselage and wings, is being assembled by third parties vs. 50 percent for traditional Boeing aircraft. The highly anticipated 787 has been plagued with a wide variety of production snags that are primarily due to suppliers that have been unable to meet critical deadlines. Boeing engineers have been scrambling to address problems associated with wiring, documentation, software programming and a shortage of fasteners. Unfinished parts and components from suppliers, known as “travel work,” have hampered final assembly and forced Boeing to push back its ambitious schedule. According to Richard Aboulafia, senior aircraft analyst at the Teal Group Corp. (Fairfax, VA), most of the challenges facing the 787 program involve ramping up production rather than just poor quality parts. “There have been problems with wiring harnesses, fasteners, drilling and fuselage sections,” he points out. “But, it’s mostly an integration issue. The big challenge is getting the right parts in the right place at the right time.” Aboulafia says Boeing’s woes have 24 ASSEMBLY / April 2008 www.assemblymag.com http://www.assemblymag.com
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.