In 1998, Boeing Co. (IW 500/16) needed 71 days to assemble its behemoth 777. Now it only needs 37. The company also has shaved nine days off the final assembly of its best-selling 737, going from 20 days to 11.
How does Boeing do it?
- By looking outside the box to solve every conceivable production problem and bottleneck.
- By exploring far-fetched ideas and concepts and discussing them in teams until they make sense.
- By persisting until a problem is solved.
Boeing has an innovation culture, and the results underscore how innovative thinking can be adopted -- if employees are encouraged to be creative, disciplined and persistent.
'Moonshine Shop'
For example, plant engineers struggled mightily with a time-consuming bottleneck in the 757 assembly line: the lifting of the plane's heavy seats up to its doorway and inside for installation.
Once the seats came to the plant, they were fitted with wheels, lifted by an overhead crane to the airplane doorway, unloaded, rolled into the cabin, divested of their wheels and finally installed. The process took 12 hours. Members of Boeing's "Moonshine Shop" (named for developing ideas in late sessions under moonlight) began looking for a speedier process. But they knew the cranes would have to be replaced by some sort of conveyor system. So they attended county fairs and studied Ferris wheels. Then they looked at ski lifts. Then automated roofing carriers. Nothing quite fit the bill.Lessons Learned
There are several lessons here for any company seeking to innovate:
- Be persistent. Many of the Boeing solutions were achieved after earlier efforts had failed. Many required tinkering and refinement. Don't stop before the goal is achieved.
- Consciously and consistently apply creative thinking to the problem. Get out into the world and survey unrelated industries for ideas. Work the problem by looking outside of the conference room.
- Develop teams to address innovation issues. Boeing's "Moonshine Shop" works full-time to address lean manufacturing productivity concerns. You may not need full-time innovators, but project teams can accomplish similar results with the right guidance.
- Embrace continuous improvement. Boeing has borrowed this concept from Japanese lean manufacturing, and it has paid off handsomely for the company. Never stop striving to make things better, faster and easier.
Sally Mounts, Psy.D, is president of Auctus Consulting Group, a Washington, Pa.-based management consulting firm.