An Adaptation of TPS at Boeing

In a recent Wall Street Journal Article, entitled, "Boeing Teams Speed Up 737 Output; Jet Maker's Innovation Crews Search for Ways to Boost Efficiency, Reduce Costs as Demand Sours,"a process similar to Toyota's TPS is described at Boeing. The article even states, "Boeing started emphasizing employee-generated ideas in Renton (one of Boeing's assembly plants) in the late 1990s, when the 737 plant began adopting 'lean' manufacturing techniques that were developed by the Japanese auto industry and embraced by U.S. car makers in the 1980s." This is very relevant to our discussion in class of why "quality" and "efficiency" no longer can be the sole distinguishing features of Toyota. But it is interesting to see quasi-TPS successfully implemented by a company in another industry, in another country.

The WSJ article starts by introducing an innovative solution to one of Boeing's recent production problems. The problem was that stray metal fasteners on the factory floor sometimes punctured tires on the assembly line during the production process. Jay Dohrmann, a 46-year-old engineer at a 737 plant, was inspired to come up with a unique solution to this problem while watching NASCAR. Canvas wheel covers now protect the planes four main tires as the single aisle plane advances through an assembly line. In total, this innovation saves the company about $250,000/year.

Mr. Dohrmann is part of an extensive effort Boeing has made in recent years to rally its employees to create ways of making its jets more efficiently to avoid expanding its factories and increasing its costs. A key question at many assembly plants is, "How do you produce more aircrafts without expanding the building." This question has spawned many other creative solutions from employees. In 2011, one team figured out how to rearrange its work space to prepare four engines at a time, instead of three, for attachment to 737's wings. A year earlier, paint-shop workers completely revamped their work routines to cut 10 to 15 minutes per worker off each job. With all these small innovations, workers in Renton boosted their output per month from 31.5 jets up to 35 jets. By 2014 Boeing hopes to be able to produce 42 jets/month at the plant. All of this is in an effort to keep up with the rapidly increasing demand for Boeing planes. The company currently has an order backlog of 3700 jetliners.

In my opinion, it seems like the key to TPS, and the key to innovation and increased productivity at Boeing, is actively engaged and empowered employees. Gone are the days when assembly workers are ignorant instruments used and abused by manufacturers. Granted, at Boeing, these workers are highly trained and technically gifted engineers, but this also works at Toyota, where i'm not sure if this is the case. The point is, knowledge of a company or at least some of its components is not limited to top level executives. It is the lower level workers who often have the best insights into how to increase productivity, and make their jobs easier and more efficient. When their suggestions and ideas are heard, good things happen for their employers. Simple as that.