If you had a few billion riding on a project, what would you say if the following happened? Would you still be employed?
May 2007: One of the smallest and cheapest parts on The Boeing Co.'s 787 Dreamliner could become its Achilles' heel as the company considers production rates to meet growing demand. The potential problem is a critical shortage of fasteners, which are used to hold airplane structures together.
July 2008: Earlier this month, the fuselage of the fourth 787 test plane was damaged when a worker at key supplier Alenia North America reportedly used the wrong fasteners. The aircraft is now expected to arrive in Everett, Wash., for final assembly two to three weeks later than planned.
November 2008: In a setback that could cause more delays to ripple through its troubled 787 Dreamliner program, Boeing Co. said Tuesday that it needs to replace thousands of improperly installed fasteners on the first of the new jets before they can be flown.
Yes, and you don't even need a Dreamlifter to move fasteners around. What happened... this time?
Improper instructions. Installed primarily by suppliers. Sigh... So if those components were being made at nearby facilities in Everett instead of at the four corners of the globe, what would the impact have been? Would it have happened in the first place? Unfortunately those nearby facilities no longer exist, nor do the tens of thousands of workers with hundreds of thousands of years of experience and knowledge.
But on the balance sheet it still looks like labor costs are lower thanks to this new outsourcing strategy. But total true cost? What is the impact of a few Dreamlifters and a bazillion incorrect fasteners?
Many hold Boeing up as an example of lean manufacturing. We've already demonstrated that they don't really understand the supply chain and total cost aspects of lean and the respect for people pillar of lean. Someone should spend a few minutes telling them about standard work and root cause analysis as well.