happened,” said Melanie Lorang, Associate Technical Fellow and Product System Analytics program manager in Huntington Beach. “They only could see what happened and eliminate the problem tools after the fact.” Using tools that are beyond their safe tolerance range can require rework on parts of the airplane that were touched by those tools, potentially causing expensive production rework and delays for customers. It’s happened before, said Steve Onustack, senior manager of the Metrology Lab Operations in the Puget Sound region. Metrology employees, part of Boeing Test & Evaluation, are tasked with making sure Boeing’s tools stay calibrated. Lorang and the project’s primary IT data specialist, Irene Umamoto, along with statistician and Associate Technical Fellow Bob MacLean and Aviana Global Technologies consultant James Bettles, combined their specialties in designing a computer program specifically for predicting out-of-tolerance tools. While using predictive mathematical formulas and computer programs has boomed in a number of industries in recent years, MacLean has worked with predictive models since the 1970s. The main difference is that today’s technology makes it easier to harness facts and figures into useable prediction tools. Ortman and the lead analyst on his team, Alan Davis, led implementation of the analytics software at Commercial Airplanes sites. It quickly made a difference, they said. For example, one torque wrench that was taken out of service in Renton, Wash., after it was identified as being out of tolerance would have stayed on the factory floor for up to a year under the old recalibration schedule. In all, more than 40 SOOT tools were discovered and a significant number of less seriously out-of-tolerance tools were discovered as well, Ortman and Davis explained. Using the predictive software program and its findings has led the Metrology team to help mechanics calibrate their tools more often than before, Onustack said. At the same time, there is a related effort to remove more than 13,500 older tools, which are at greater risk for creating tolerance problems, from Commercial Airplanes factories by the summer. “Right now, we’re choosing to err on the side of reducing risk as much as possible,” Onustack said, adding that the Metrology team has developed other tools to help users identify specific poor-performing tools so they can remove them from service. Also, commonality among tools is increasing, and the company is planning to place torquechecking devices closer to mechanics’ work areas at Commercial Airplanes sites. Meanwhile, Lorang’s team is trying to make this project repeatable throughout Boeing’s businesses. Commercial Airplanes is sharing what it has learned as well, Ohman said. “Our SOOT team is working on making analytics a permanent part of the tool management system,” Ohman said, “and we are also sharing our discovery with Boeing Defense, Space & Security to see if they may be able to benefit from the use of advanced analytics.” As Commercial Airplanes sites from Everett, Wash., to Salt Lake City to North Charleston, S.C., use the predictive program to find problem tools, more information is gathered, Ortman added. “As we discover new insights, we can add substantial new data to fine-tune this,” he said. “All signs point to this being the right thing to do for the business. We’re remedying the potential for damage and reputational risk by doing this.” n eric.c.fetters-walp@boeing.com PHOTOS: (Clockwise, from far left) Lohnes inspects a motor in a tool storage area at the Everett, Wash., factory; Wingrove, left, and Davis refer to a laptop for a list of at-risk tools by tool family and location; bins full of worn-out and out-of-tolerance screw guns, nut runners and torque wrenches are destined for destruction after being retired from the factory floor in Everett. Frontiers May 2014 19
Frontiers May 2014 Issue
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