Title: BOEING PLANS MAJOR CHANGES IN 777 PRODUCTION ; GOAL IS TO CUT TIME OF
FINAL ASSEMBLY; COMPANY WANTS LOWER COSTS, MORE EFFICIENCY
Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer du 15.07.2003
The Boeing Co. plans significant changes in the way it assembles its 777
jetliner here, with the goal of cutting by about half the time it takes for
final assembly of the jet, the company's top
executive at its Everett plant disclosed yesterday. John Ouinlivan, vice
president and general manager of its 777, 767 and 747 programs, said final
assembly time for the 777 probably won't come down to the three days that
Boeing hopes to achieve with its proposed 7E7 superefficientjet. But I think
we will be in the single digits, he said. Final assembly of the 777 now
takes from 13 to 15 days. Changes will be needed in the factory to make the
production go faster, he said. Under the new production methods, for
example, the large overhead cranes in the plant won't be used as much to
move big pieces of fuselage. Boeing's goal is to have the 777 production
gains by 2006, he said. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer previously reported
that Boeing was looking to make its Everett factory more of a final assembly
site, taking a page from how it plans to assemble the 7E7. In an interview
with a small group of reporters, Quinlivan said Boeing is looking at
7E7-assembly type of opportunities in Everett in order to cut costs and
improve efficiency. We could see very big benefits, he said. Boeing has not
decided where it will assemble the 7E7. In addition to the Everett plant,
Moses Lake in Eastern Washington is one of the contenders. A number of
states besides Washington also are vying for the 7E7 work. Quinlivan said a
new rail-barge pier in Everett will help Boeing with its 777 production
plans, as well as with the other two airplane programs in Everett. As part
of an all-out effort by the state to win the 7E7 work, the Legislature set
aside $15.5 million in its capital budget for the new pier that will be able
to handle oversized cargo. Should the 7E7 be built in Everett, Boeing would
need the pier to handle the bigger pieces of plane that are expected to
arrive by ship from Japan or other places. The new 600-foot pier will make
it easier to get big airplane parts from the water directly into the Everett
plant. Currently, big parts are shipped to the ports of Tacoma and Seattle
and then barged to the Port of Everett. They are then carried on a railroad
line to Mukilteo before being diverted to a Boeing spur for the final trip
to the Everett plant. This requires closing the main rail line for up to two
hours. With the new pier, the parts can be off loaded and taken directly to
the Boeing plant by rail - without closing the main line but for a few
minutes. The largest Boeing airplane piece that now arrives from Japan is
the 777 center wing section. The new pier will allow us to have flexibility
to bring in larger pieces without shutting down the rail line," Ouinlivan
said. We are looking at what is the fastest way we can put this together, he
said. What can we do in our own back shop, what can we do with our suppliers
?" More than 3,000 people work on the 777 program. That includes engineers
as well as machinists. It is not clear how these future factory plans will
affect Boeing s Everett work force. But Boeing has made no secret that fewer
people will be needed in the future to assemble its jetliners. That's why it
has been saying that the 7E7 program will only require from 800 to 1,200
workers, far fewer than are needed today for a jetliner. Changes are also
coming for the 747. That plane's center wing section will soon arrive in one
piece from Japan. It now comes from Bombardier in Canada but the assembly is
built up at the Everett factory. Mitsubishi of Japan will take over
production of the 747 center wing section and ship a complete assembly to
Everett, eliminating the buildup work now done there. Over the past two
years, Boeing has consolidated its three widebody airplane programs in
Everett under one management team headed by Quinlivan, who last week
celebrated his 35th year with Boeing. It has eliminated infrastructure and
costs, he said of the consolidation. We are seeing big benefits With lower
production rates, Boeing must continue to look for new ways to be ever more
efficient, Ouinlivan said. Boeing has held a series of workshops with teams
to look at ways to further cut costs by reducing production or flow time. We
have set targets on how we want to bring the airplane together in a faster
way, he said of the 777. Ideas have come from workers on the factory floor
as well as from what has already been done in Renton to speed production, he
said. The concept of a final assembly site is to have fewer bigger airplane
parts that can be easily and quickly snapped together. "Final assembly is
where it all comes together," Quinlivan said. "We think we can make some
significant inroads. We are pretty excited."