Arafat Hossain

Awh5365

THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY

Department of Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering
IE466: CONCURRENT ENGINEERING
INDIVIDUAL HOMEWORK #1 BOEING 787: THE DREAMLINER
Boeing 787: The Dreamliner Case Study (download from Angel)
During the past decade, Boeing watched as their competitor, Airbus, launched several
new and very successful aircraft. In 2004, Airbus surpassed Boeing in commercial airplanes
delivered and future orders placed. This is the first time that Boeing has ever lost its leading
market share.
The 787 is the first new airplane that Boeing has introduced to the market in a decade.
This case study examines how the 787 is strategically transforming Boeings approach to aircraft
design and development, and Boeing itself.
Questions for Boeing 787 Dreamliner Case Study
1. Is the 787 appropriately positioned in the marketplace with a high likelihood of success?
Why or why not?
The Boeing 787 is in fact positioned in the marketplace with a high likelihood of success. The
787 has a good design, and the aircraft is designed in a way that is tailored to its customer.
Composed of a new material composite, the aircraft has a lighter weight and higher fuel
efficiency than any other aircraft. The aircraft also made sure the composite materials are noncorroding so that the aircraft lasts longer. It has a unique feature both for cargo and passengers.
The seats/cabins are bigger, and new technology is installed for the entertainment of passengers.
The aircraft also offers a variety of interchangeable parts, which increases efficiency and saves
money. The aircraft has a longer wingspan so that the customer can take longer flights without
stopping. The aircraft has two types of engines that uses 20% less fuel than the previous model.
Boeings 787 series also offers a standard engine interface for the two types of engines which
makes it flexible and really easy to move the engines for the carrier. Boeing also got material

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from all over the world from different suppliers to develop different parts of the plane. With all
the steps that Boeing took, it was guaranteed that Boeing would be successful in the market.

2. How does the approach used for the 787s development differ fundamentally from other
airplane projects undertaken by Boeing?
The approach that Boeing 787 took was fundamentally different than other airplane projects
undertaken by Boeing. Boeing built 70% of the products of Boeing 787 from different countries
of the world. Boeing has a long-standing reputation to be secretive with their projects, so it was a
big step for Boeing to break their privacy and work with a group of people across geographical
boundaries. 35% of the planes structure was supplied from Japan. Approximately, 26% of the
products were supplied from Italy. There were teams of 15 companies responsible for the
structure of the plane, 10 teams from USA and the rest from seven other countries. A lot of the
other products were also ordered from different parts of the world, including the vertical fin from
Frederickson as well as the fixed and movable leading edges of the wing from Tulsa. Once all the
parts were built, they were sent back to USA for the assembly. Also, 787 would be the first
aircraft of its kind to bring long-range capabilities to a midsized airplane. It was also the first
time Boeing had its structural suppliers fund their own research and development so that
suppliers had a greater financial incentive to maximize their cost. Boeing 787 also implemented
one of the largest project-life cycle management systems to manage the global integration.

3. What are some of the important pitfalls that Boeing must avoid in pursuing this project?
Boeing 787 team worked with suppliers from all over the world. They had suppliers from Italy,
Japan, China and many other countries. Even though they are making the parts in different

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geographical areas, Boeing needs to be careful with the exact specifications and design so that
there isnt any problem trying to assemble the plane in the States. This process engendered a
culture in which Boeing engineers were quick to intervene and realize that their supplier was not
building to the specification asked for and needed technical assistance. Also, Boeing is typically
very secretive with their projects. For the 787 project, however, Boeing has to form 15 teams, so
it is essential that every member feel comfortable to share his or her ideas. The transition in
concept, behavior, and Boeing engineering culture is huge. There is alsoa technical and
behavioral hurdle that the 7E7 team may face such as: designing a wingspan for both 197 foot
Dreamliner and one for a shorter range 20 feet one. It is challenging for Boeing to design a wing
that can work well in both sizes. They may also face problem in efficiency to mount the high
bypass engine on airplane. It is required to be done with no extra weight from pylon, fatter
nacelle or landing gear so that it can save fuel. Boeing 787 also requires extensive testing to
convince airlines that they will not increase maintenance cost for electric powered cabins and
other pressurized systems. Boeing also need make sure that they are able to mass-produce
inboard skins of carbon fiber wing. Since this is first time Boeing is working as a group with
other industries and customers, they may also face trouble in decision making or designing some
parts of the aircrafts. For example, while designing the cockpit some designers wants to keep the
old 777 design, so that pilots can fly both airlines whereas some other customers demands for
modern cockpit with all technology and display screens. Boeing also needs to make decision on
keeping the side stick controls like Airbus does. On top of that, Boeing needs to make sure that
they are right on track on terms of scheduling and delivering the aircraft.

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4.Is Boeing creating its own new competitors from Japan and China? Is this inevitable? Is it the
right course of action?
Boeing was creating its own new competitors from Japan and China. With the companys global
systems integrator strategy, 70% of the companys products was built outside of the nation. The
company was giving up its unique position of superior knowledge of building a commercial
aircraft. Previously, Boeing was always very secretive with its creation of building a commercial
airplane. However, for this project, Boeing had to share a manual with details of how to build a
commercial airplane. So, there is a possibility that todays partner can become a competitor
tomorrow. Japanese company learned to build different parts of commercial aircraft from
previous contracts with Boeing. And with the new contract, they were filling the missing critical
parts. Also, China had placed the second-largest order for 787s after Japan and was partnering
with Boeing to build the rudder for the 787. China, as a country, had long declared its objective
of developing a civil aerospace industry and, in fact, it had launched a long-term program to do
so.
5. Numerous technical, behavioral, and competitive challenges face the 787-team; what
recommendations, if any, do you have for Mike Bair and his team regarding these challenges?
There were a lot of changes in the development of Boeing 787. Boeing took a lot of new steps to
develop their new commercial aircraft. Boeing faced lots of challenge while building their
aircraft and there is numerous ways to prevent those challenges. For example: Boeing should
have an alternative design both for the short and long range wings if they are unable to design a
wing that will work for both sizes. They should do a research on possible weight sheading areas
as an alternative choice if they fail to add weight from the longer engine pylon, fatter nacelle and
longer landing gear. For extensive testing, Boeing should use their trial planes from older fleet

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with new electrically powered cabin pressurization system. This will assure that their
maintenance cost will not increase over time. To overcome thickness and constrain of carbon
fiber wings, Boeing should develop a technology that will reduce inboard skin of the wing.
Behavior hurdles can be different for every company. Boeing has a problem doing work in a
group. My recommendation will be that Boeing should arrange some small meeting with the
group before the teamwork so that the members feel more comfortable with each other. Also,
they can implement marshmallow challenge among the team members to help them to get to
know each other and share their ideas each other. Also, a lot of Boeing supplier can turn into a
competitor in the near future. To prevent that Boeing should make a patent and always have the
right to produce their design and technology, this will help them to have some kind of security if
their supplier decides to bail on Boeing and make their own commercial aircraft.
6. Finally, Airbus announced plans to develop the A350 in response to the 787 what, if
anything, should Boeing do in response?
Airbus is the largest competitor of Boeing in manufacturing the commercial aircraft. Airbus also
holds the largest market share on the commercial aircraft that can develop A350 in response to
Boeings 787. They are also expected to use lightweight material for their aircraft and the same
engine that was used in building Boeing 787. This will help Airbus to secure its title as the leader
of manufacturing commercial aircraft in the market. In response to such plans, Boeing should
work on increasing their market share by coming to market first with a more economically
feasible plane in the long run for airline. They should try to develop and test product to develop
new and better technology so that they can always be one step ahead of airbus. Boeing should
conduct more research on the engines so that it takes less than 40% of the total operating cost.

Arafat Hossain
Awh5365