They Didn't Call It Lean - They Called It War

Boeing is going back to the future.

The same lean manufacturing principles that Boeing uses today to build airplanes more efficiently are similar to ones used in World War II to build high-quality, low-cost warplanes at the rate of 17 a day.

At the peak of the B-17 bomber program, Boeing employed 34,000 workers to produce an airplane every 1.3 hours with few defects.

As soon as workers finished assembling the plane, they rolled it out the doors across East Marginal Way to Boeing Field. There, a pilot climbed in and flew it away for delivery. When the fog shut down the airport, workers parked the airplanes wingtip to wingtip down the center of the highway until the weather cleared.

As production increased, the cost of the airplane declined from $242,000 each to less than $140,000.

Bill Vogt, senior engineer for the 777 program, studied the similarities between Boeing's 1940s production system and the principles of lean manufacturing Boeing is trying to implement today.

The parallels, he found, were stunning.

"I was frankly amazed at how many lessons there were," Vogt said. "It underscores that what they're saying today is correct. It worked 50 years ago at Boeing very well."

Because of space limitations, Boeing engineers were forced to create a production system similar to Lean manufacturing concepts. Instead of traditional straight lines used by other B-17 producers, Vogt said, Boeing had to create multiline systems with U-shaped turns.

It shortened the distance between the raw materials and final assembly. Narrow aisles limited wasted motion and the stockpiling of unnecessary parts. Hourly workers - more than half were women - built fuselage sections vertically rather than horizontally.

Workers saved precious plant space and manufacturing time by making seven main airplane sections separately and completely, then rapidly joined them. The fuselage sections came preassembled. The wiring, tubing, lights, radio and seats already were installed, which is very similar to how the new-generation 737 is assembled today.

Moving assembly lines were used, Vogt said, a principle Boeing is using today at the wing and propulsion centers in Renton and Auburn.

Employee collaboration that solicited suggestions for improving assembly methods was encouraged. That's similar to today's Accelerated Improvement Workshops.

Parts and tool kits were placed next to the production mechanics in a logical and clear order; inventories were kept low, just enough parts to keep the line rolling.

Even the lean notion of a continuous flowing production line was used back in the 1940s and was expressed by the phrase "flow like a river," which appeared in Boeing literature of the time.

At their peak, Boeing production workers built 7,000 B-17s in a 30-month stretch - a stunning pace that remains unmatched today.

"We should take this old knowledge, learn it thoroughly, and blend the old with the new to come up with something better in the future," Vogt said. " We'd be darn close to unbeatable."

Stanley Holmes' phone message number is 206-464-2732. His e-mail address is: sholmes@seattletimes.com