OCTOBER 2016 | 17 seek ways to increase factory productivity as Boeing’s new airplanes come on line. In moving from the 777 to 777X, for example, they’ve reduced the tools for the flight-deck console from 30 to eight, subassembly parts from 22 to nine, and workbenches from two to one. Other programs might share in this breakthrough, too. “If there’s a good idea that works on the 777X, we say, ‘Why don’t we do it on the 737? What’s the next step?’ ” Newton said. “There’s a lot of synergy.” Boeing Salt Lake’s Information Technology specialists fit in this category as well—they helped create digital software for the factory floor that connects all machine tools to a common network and tracks data on all activities involved. They were part of an innovative Boeing test case that continues to draw plaudits, site leader Coughlin said. Local employees Steve Wikstrom, Martin Austin and Clarence Whetten teamed with company IT experts and came up with the Common Network Factory Solution, or CNFS. This digital concept has led to significant cost savings and streamlined production, according to site leaders. Previously, when something went wrong with a factory tool, a site monitor had to call in a host of troubleshooters to restore order; now, selective hardware and ready data manage all of this and simplify the process. “This was a first for Boeing,” Whetten pointed out. “Instead of a person monitoring, we input 23 sensors to take readings every day and send out charts and graphs, send out alerts, to do temperature and humidity readings.” The IT specialists received site approval in 2013 to pre-wire the new factory in West Jordan, which relies on automated machines, before it was physically laid out. They came in ahead of schedule and under budget with their digital plans, and continue to look for ways to add to the system. Employees at the site, which has been operational for nearly two years, build horizontal stabilizers. Aided by automated machines, they form parts on molds the size of flatbed trailers with tape-laying machines. The tape comes in rolls of carbon-fiber composite material that is stored in a freezer at minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 23 Celsius). They create skin panels and lay them over and under five span- wise spars; the assembly is baked in an 18-by-55-foot (5.5-by-17-meter) autoclave, producing the center section of the 787’s horizontal stabilizer, called the multi-spar box. “Basically, we’re making a big composite sandwich,” said Joshua Carlsen, a Boeing Salt Lake manufacturing engineer. Toward the end of the production process, the horizontal stabilizers come into contact with the aforementioned Butch and Sundance. The robots work on tracks in an area that is cordoned off for safety. Employees operate the machines using computers that carry the same Western-themed logos. As Butch and Sundance stood in a rare idle moment, Fabrication specialist Teresa Bennett worked nearby, putting edge protection on a multi-spar box. This action, she explained, keeps the different layers of carbon fiber from separating. A 15-year Boeing Salt Lake employee, Bennett shares in the attitude that she and her fellow factory workers are capable of performing any task. Back at the Northport facility, Michael Goodwin, a 27-year Boeing Salt Lake mechanic, tells how he worked on the MD-11 nose cowl and MD-80 and -90 empennage assemblies when his aerospace career began. He now works in the computer numerical control machining center, programming and milling components for the flight-deck structures. Goodwin and his fellow factory employees originally weren’t trained in metal fabrication. They didn’t know how to mill or bend a part. When that need became obvious, Goodwin and others quickly learned a new trade. This resourcefulness led to Boeing Salt Lake employees years ago being dubbed the “Can-Do Crew.” “They’ve always been able to call on us to get things done,” Goodwin said. “We have a very diverse knowledge base and a desire to succeed. Our people are our success story.” • DANIEL.W.RALEY@BOEING.COM
Frontiers October 2016 Issue
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