by more than 40 percent since 2011. The site also hit its 2013 and 2014 financial targets to reduce its overall cost forecasts, Starr said. The plant has its eye on the future, too. It offers 28 apprenticeships and 70 internships each year, providing prospective machinists with training and full-time jobs if ready and selected. Once teeming with machine shops, the Portland area has experienced a decline in this skill set, necessitating the Boeing classroom instruction, according to Starr. Daniel Jones is a graduate of the program. A machinist, he’s been a full-time employee for four years after spending four as an intern. He works on the 777 pilot steering column, which includes the yoke. He’s grateful for the opportunity. “I don’t know how many companies are out there where they pay you to learn on the job,” Jones said. “I thought that was a unique situation.” Typically outfitted in safety goggles, a Boeing Fabrication T-shirt and cargo shorts, Iesalnieks spends three hours on a flap-track part. It weighs 115 pounds (43 kilograms). He uses a crane to move the piece from a machine that bores the roughed-in hole to an area for finishing work, which he performs with a hand-held tool. It might keep the daily commute simple, but there’s plenty of challenge inside the Boeing Portland gates. “We produce components for the wings, for a really important part of the plane,” Iesalnieks said. “And we have a sense of pride that we do high-quality work here.” n daniel.w.raley@boeing.com Frontiers is interested in reader stories for future editorial use. Tell us about your own experience working in Fabrication at boeingfrontiers@boeing.com. Photos: (From far left) Machinist and team leader John Iesalnieks operates a crane during 737 flap-track boring and honing; team leader Chris Lambert, left, and first-line leader Klynn Bragg inspect a completed 737 flap track. APRIL 2015 29 weren’t involved nearly enough. “The Toyota philosophy is to share knowledge to make the world a better place,” O’Neill said. “We had the tools. We were missing the culture piece.” The Boeing Portland Production System was created, incorporating more people into decision-making and problem-solving. Communication was enhanced. Goals were streamlined. Innovative ideas exchanged. Today, white organizational boards, customized to fit different workstations and often created by the employees they track, are filled with job directives, sticky notes or color-coded magnets. Parts carts come with instructional cards attached. Tasks are checked off hourly, helping spot unexpected shortfalls. Klynn Bragg, a first-line assembly manager, once logged 10 to 12 miles (16 to 20 kilometers) per day on foot in pursuit of parts across the plant, and wore a pedometer to prove it. She had masking tape stuck to her wrists, filled with scribbled parts numbers. Now she simply takes a few steps to a screen and checks it for part location and identification. “It’s unbelievable, the change,” Bragg said. “I’ll never outlive the masking tape. When I retire, that will be my gift.” Steve Watson, a Boeing machinist who also works on 737 flap tracks, came up with a creative solution for using floor space. He once was surrounded by as many as 16 parts-filled carts; it’s four now. The Panama native suggested stacking things for efficiency. “This job is great; I have input in the work—and that’s the best part,” Watson said. “If you have something you think can make an improvement or make things better in any way, you can bring it up. We’re willing to try it. We’ve been very successful.” Since 2008, Boeing Portland’s on-time delivery has increased from 70 percent to 97 percent, and overtime pay has dropped from 20 percent to 9 percent. Both lost-workday and recordable-injury rates have decreased
Frontiers April 2015 Issue
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