Boeing: 787 on track to meet revised program schedule
Wednesday December 12, 2007
Boeing said yesterday that it has made a number of changes to the 787 program that will enable it to meet the revised schedule it announced in October, including first flight by the end of the 2008 first quarter, first delivery in late November or December 2008 and 109 deliveries in 2009.
"I believe the rate of improvement and progress [in production processes] will allow us to meet our commitments," said GM and VP-787 Program Pat Shanahan, who took over leadership of the program in October after Boeing announced a six-month delay of first delivery (ATWOnline, Oct. 17). Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Scott Carson told analysts and reporters yesterday that he was "pleased with the steady progress" and that while the revised schedule is "an aggressive one," it contains "normal margins" for error and is achievable.
Shanahan said the vast majority of his time has been spent working closely with 787 suppliers to shore up the program's global supply chain, adding that he is targeting the end of January to "power on" the first aircraft and begin testing in anticipation of first flight. "The biggest constraint continues to be the traveled work [shipped to Boeing's Everett plant by suppliers] and I've spent most of my time on redesigning the processes" for dealing with that work, he explained.
Previously, Boeing tried to solve incongruities in the traveled work through "brute force" rather than "systematically working through" the problems as it is now, Shanahan said. "Now we have detailed processes and a clearer understanding [across the supply chain]." Added Carson: "The thing that we learned through the summer was the amount of work [done by suppliers] that had been traveled out of sequence to the Everett factory. There are still challenges but we think we have a better grip on what those challenges are."
Shanahan said "basic design" of the 787-8 is "now 100% complete" and Boeing and FAA "have reviewed and agreed on all the technical requirements." It is the first time the company has reached agreement with FAA on all certification requirements prior to first flight, he added. While that is a "big step, now we need to show compliance" during flight testing, he said. Carson noted that while the manufacturer is "ironing out significant supply chain wrinkles," his confidence in the global partners remains "high."
by Aaron Karp
ATW online
Wednesday December 12, 2007
Boeing said yesterday that it has made a number of changes to the 787 program that will enable it to meet the revised schedule it announced in October, including first flight by the end of the 2008 first quarter, first delivery in late November or December 2008 and 109 deliveries in 2009.
"I believe the rate of improvement and progress [in production processes] will allow us to meet our commitments," said GM and VP-787 Program Pat Shanahan, who took over leadership of the program in October after Boeing announced a six-month delay of first delivery (ATWOnline, Oct. 17). Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Scott Carson told analysts and reporters yesterday that he was "pleased with the steady progress" and that while the revised schedule is "an aggressive one," it contains "normal margins" for error and is achievable.
Shanahan said the vast majority of his time has been spent working closely with 787 suppliers to shore up the program's global supply chain, adding that he is targeting the end of January to "power on" the first aircraft and begin testing in anticipation of first flight. "The biggest constraint continues to be the traveled work [shipped to Boeing's Everett plant by suppliers] and I've spent most of my time on redesigning the processes" for dealing with that work, he explained.
Previously, Boeing tried to solve incongruities in the traveled work through "brute force" rather than "systematically working through" the problems as it is now, Shanahan said. "Now we have detailed processes and a clearer understanding [across the supply chain]." Added Carson: "The thing that we learned through the summer was the amount of work [done by suppliers] that had been traveled out of sequence to the Everett factory. There are still challenges but we think we have a better grip on what those challenges are."
Shanahan said "basic design" of the 787-8 is "now 100% complete" and Boeing and FAA "have reviewed and agreed on all the technical requirements." It is the first time the company has reached agreement with FAA on all certification requirements prior to first flight, he added. While that is a "big step, now we need to show compliance" during flight testing, he said. Carson noted that while the manufacturer is "ironing out significant supply chain wrinkles," his confidence in the global partners remains "high."
by Aaron Karp
ATW online
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