produce, deliver, operate and maintain current and future products, on the blind side to create a magnetic field. A screen showing a systems and services. cross-hair turns green once the pilot hole is found, providing an When it comes to innovation that benefits customers and accurate location for final drilling. the Boeing enterprise, replication is just as important, if not The device’s accuracy—down to the tens of thousandths more important, as invention, noted Matt Ganz, Boeing Research of an inch—has drastically reduced errors on the Everett and & Technology vice president and general manager. Renton, Wash., assembly lines. Before the Halosensor, workers “Boeing has an advantage over other aerospace companies— used a manual tool that was not as accurate, requiring timely and it’s the power of ‘One Boeing,’ ” Ganz said. “When we combine expensive rework that added weight to the wing and required the talents of our business units with the technical and functional additional stress analysis and FAA oversight. leadership provided by EO&T, we are able to solve our customers’ “We knew this device had the potential to solve a lot of toughest technical challenges. Once we do that, we want to production issues,” Go said. replicate the solution as much as possible. Given the size, scope The device’s original success on the 747 line caught the and diversity of our operations, it’s hard to imagine why we can’t attention of others, and soon the use of Halosensors was replicate great ideas two, three or even more times in different replicated on the 737, 767 and 777 lines. n places throughout the enterprise.” nathan.a.hulings@boeing.com Consider the widespread success story from the use of a new drilling device known as the Halosensor. Like his other teammates, Dino Go, an engineer with Boeing Research & Technology, keeps an eye out for discoveries that can help multiple Boeing programs. Go knew he had a game changer when he began working with the drilling device several years ago after seeing it demonstrated at a trade show in Seattle. Equipped with a computer processor, the Halosensor works by latching to the outside of a wing while a magnet is placed PHOTOS: (Left) Mechanic Curtis Glaze operates the Halosensor PHOTOS: (Above) Marty Inman, a 767 mechanic, uses a wand-like on the 767 wing to locate blind pilot holes for more accurate tool to perform a helium leak test on a 767 wing fuel tank in Everett, drilling. Since being introduced several years ago, the Halosensor Wash. (Below, clockwise from left) Mechanic Chung Nguyen has been replicated on the 737, 747, 767 and 777 lines. performs a helium leak test on the lower 767 wing fuel tank at the TIM STAKE/BOEING factory in Everett, Wash.; Inman; Nguyen. MATTHEW THOMPSON/BOEING Glaze operates the Halosensor. TIM STAKE/BOEING “Replications are the bread and butter of technology development.” – Amir Anissipour, program integration manager, Boeing Research & Technology BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 2012 27
Frontiers August 2012 Issue
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