Boeing has faced intense scrutiny and pressure because the panel blew up the Boeing 737 Max 9 shortly after the Alaska Airlines flight took off on Jan. 5. This episode raised recent questions about the quality of the planes the corporate produces. Just a few years later, two Max 8 planes crashed, killing almost 350 people.
Interviews with greater than two dozen current and former employees reveal long-standing concerns about quality, especially amid increased pressure to maintain production running at the corporate’s factories.
Today, Boeing faces an unlimited challenge in making changes that may improve the quality of its products and regain credibility with lawmakers, regulators, airlines and the general public.
Here are some takeaways.
Quality problems return years.
Current and former Boeing employees said that for years, quality appeared to take a backseat to keeping planes in factories.
In interviews, former and current Boeing employees described disturbing practices, including attempts to bypass quality procedures. One was “inspector shopping,” during which staff searched for inspectors who would conform to sign a contract with little opposition.
Boeing has said it doesn’t allow inspectors to buy and has increased the variety of quality inspectors for business aircraft by 20 percent since 2019. The variety of inspections per aircraft also increased by the same amount through the period, the corporate said.
Even before the 2 deadly Max crashes, in 2018 and 2019, Boeing was struggling to maintain pace with its principal rival, Airbus, which had introduced a brand new, fuel-efficient plane just a few years before the Max began flying. Airbus gained much more ground within the wake of the crashes, putting pressure on Boeing to clear the backlog after the Max was approved to fly again in late 2020.
The company lost hundreds of experienced employees.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Boeing has experienced high worker turnover. The company lost hundreds of experienced employees through layoffs, buyouts, retirements and resignations.
Although Boeing has since added to its ranks, current and former employees say much of the institutional knowledge has been lost and staff have less experience than they once had. Boeing’s suppliers, scuffling with similar problems, also had trouble producing parts at the speed Boeing needed.
Since January 5, the corporate has been coping with a wave of negative publicity. Its regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration, has increased inspections of the corporate’s factories. And his customers criticized Boeing.
The FAA’s six-week audit of Boeing 737 Max production documented dozens of lapses in quality control practices. The agency gave the corporate until the tip of May to resolve quality control issues. The Department of Justice also opened an investigation into the corporate.
Boeing says it’s making numerous changes.
Boeing announced several steps to enhance quality, including adding inspections at its plant in Renton, Washington, where the Max planes are assembled.
It also said it can now not accept Max bodies from Spirit AeroSystems, a key supplier based in Wichita, Kansas, that also need work. Previously, defects were tolerated that could possibly be fixed later to satisfy the tight production schedule.
The company also said that employees have been asking for more training since Jan. 5 and that it’s working to satisfy those needs, including by adding on-the-shop training this month.
On Monday, Boeing announced sweeping changes to its leadership: Chief Executive Officer Dave Calhoun, who took the job in January 2020 on guarantees to enhance the corporate’s safety culture, will step down at the tip of the 12 months; Boeing business aircraft chief Stan Deal leaves immediately; and board president Larry Kellner has stepped down and won’t seek re-election to the board.
