Myth breakers Employees apply Lean+ for a fresh take on problem-solving—and debunk myths about what ‘can’t be done’ By Eric Fetters-Walp “If we’re going to reinvent the way we do things, we need to break some of the myths and norms we have today.” – Bill Schnettgoecke, vice president of Supply and Operations Chain, Boeing Defense, Space & Security, and Lean+ initiative leader more than tackling obvious opportunities to increase efficiency. It requires taking a fresh look at long-standing processes across the company, said Bill Schnettgoecke, vice president of Supply and Operations Chain, Boeing Defense, Space & Security, and Lean+ initiative leader. “If we’re going to reinvent the way we do things, we need to break some of the myths and norms we have today, Preventing satellite quality issues, completing quarterly financial reports on time and accelerating 777 production are challenges that might appear to have little in common. Yet employees trying to address these challenges found that applying Lean+ was effective in each case. But first, they had to overcome certain myths about what can and cannot be accomplished. “Lean+ is about solving problems and realizing opportunities,” said Dayde McLaughlin, director of the company’s Lean+ initiative. Although employees are putting Lean+ into action more often across the entire enterprise, she noted, “even with our best efforts now we know that 40 percent of hidden opportunity is left on the table.” Capturing that lost value requires doing Schnettgoecke said. “And we need to devote resources to permanently solving the right problems. We are being challenged to adopt a myth-breaking mindset to increase productivity, improve safety, develop new products more efficiently—and more.” Myths about what can—and cannot— be accomplished abound in a company of Boeing’s size. Often problems are fixed without adequately addressing all their 38 BOEING FRONTIERS / JUNE 2013
Frontiers June 2013 Issue
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