Case Study
Cutting Functional Test Turn Times
Issue:
The Boeing 747-8 Change Incorp Functional Test Team averaged 10 days to complete their Landing Gear Functional Tests on each aircraft. During a functional test, the aircraft is raised on jacks and no other discipline can board the aircraft to complete work. Leadership realized that unless they could reduce this time to less than 6 days, we would miss multiple aircraft delivery dates, and customers already had routes scheduled for their expected aircraft.
Actions:
We assembled a cross functional team including Functional Test, Warehouse, Supplies, Tooling, Quality, the factory Functional Test team and Safety. We carefully reviewed the work package and removed jobs that could be completed before the aircraft was raised or after the aircraft could be brought down. We then optimized the schedule to eliminate any unnecessary delays. We kitted parts and supplies, staged equipment and firmed up the coordination between teams.
Results:
The team completed the next functional test in 6 days, then in 5 days, and the next two in 4 days each. The last one was completed in 3 days. All 5 aircraft were delivered on schedule.
