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Frontiers May 2015 Issue

more ergonomic for employees. The improved safety aspect of the new manufacturing tools and processes isn’t incidental, said Mary Sullivan, chief engineer for Boeing Fabrication Production Engineering. “The majority of all injuries can be eliminated by designing for safe manufacturing. It begins with spending more time in the production areas listening to the operators we support. We then create designs, build plans, tools and equipment to implement advanced manufacturing,” Sullivan said. “In the areas where we have applied advanced manufacturing, we are seeing a significant reduction in injuries, as well as improvements in quality and productivity.” But much more is coming. The cutting-edge future of advanced manufacturing is the Fuselage Automated Upright Build (FAUB), which uses programmable robots to drill holes for and install approximately 50,000 fasteners on fuselage sections— a repetitive job done by hand today. The repetitive stress is hard on people’s shoulders and hands, and this new technology will significantly improve ergonomics, eliminating this stress, according to Sullivan. This precision drilling also improves quality in the build process. FAUB will be used for the first time on the 777 and the 777X. A 200,000-square-foot (18,600-squaremeter) addition on the east end of the Everett factory will house FAUB systems to put together sections of both planes. “Advanced manufacturing—like FAUB—is helping us transform our production system to maximize our competitive advantage,” said Jason Clark, vice president of operations for the 777 and 777X programs. “It’ll be used soon on today’s 777, and later on tomorrow’s 777X, helping to propel production into the future.” With other industries already ahead of aerospace in advanced manufacturing processes, it is time to put aside hesitation and move forward, Odisho added. But he acknowledged that as advanced manufacturing technology and processes improve, so can employee anxiety about the future of the human workforce. Automation, however, can’t replace the innovative and flexible decision-making that employees bring to their jobs, Odisho said. “There’s no better design than the human capacity to respond to situations quickly,” Odisho said. “If our goal was to just replace all people with machines in production, we’d be bound to fail.” The new way of making the 777 tee duct, for example, underscores just how important employees are to advanced manufacturing. Murray, the team lead, pointed out that it took his team’s ingenuity and repeated trial and error to perfect the production process. “Regardless of the amount of advanced technology we have at our disposal, the one resource that we cannot purchase is our team’s continuity, tenacity and expertise,” he said. “Without this, the advanced technology is rendered inoperable.” At the same time, employees also say they see the benefits, for themselves and for Boeing, of advanced manufacturing tools and processes. “It’s going to happen,” said Anthony, one of the 777 mechanics. “Everyone is switching to it, and you get consistent production times and good quality.” Murray echoed that, saying his team, which programs computercontrolled machines, sees many opportunities where advanced manufacturing can make a difference. “In my opinion, people in the company today have the opportunity to utilize advanced manufacturing tools and processes far greater than any other time in the history of The Boeing Company,” Murray said, “and the need has never been greater for them to do so. We need to back them so we can ensure their success.” n Eric.C.Fetters-Wal p@boeing.com Photo: Structure mechanics Ricky Anthony, left, and Ron Masset, top, set up a Flex Track automated drilling machine on a 777 fuselage in the Everett, Wash., factory. am y 2015 21


Frontiers May 2015 Issue
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