Now that Boeing has achieved the 5/month assembly rate on the 787 program, the challenge is to make sure the higher rate doesn't contribute to the increase in the number of stored 787 at Everett. This backlog is about $20bn worth of WIP inventory on Boeing's balance sheet and they have made great progress in the last couple of months to reduce it.
The key, however, is to make sure that this inventory doesn't increase because of the higher rate. The way to do that is to make sure that 787 deliveries exceed the assembly rate each and every month so that the stored inventory is reduced to 0 (this should happen sometime around the 2nd half of 2014).
This month so far Boeing has delivered 3 787s including one straight from final assembly. Boeing has the potential to deliver 4 more 787s straight from the Everett line (these four are already on the flightline with 2 of the four already having flown) in addition to several frames that went through change incorporation at the EMC. While the challenges remain, delivery rates will again be dependent on Boeing's resources as well as the readiness of certain customers to accept delivery of the frames.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
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13 comments:
If only all customers were like ANA, JAL and ET. I guess some of the hold ups might be because Boeing invests resources into frames that gets delayed by its customers.
When this time could have been spent on a frame with a customer that wants its frames as fast as possible.
Worst must be those customers that delay acceptance and then in the end whine about not getting its frames fast enough...
4 new a month and 4 with engines in EMC, that will add 8 frames over the next month maybe.. I say they need to repeat the september numbers for many moths now. If they can deliver about 2 or 3 frames more than gets added to flight line every month that will ease the situation some.
All the rented space must cost Boeing a lot, a whole runway..
Just seen this on Flight Radar 24 - which one is it? its over area Stauton now :
Information
ModeS: AAAAAA
Reg: N787BK
Typecode: B788
Type: Boeing 787-800
Serial number: 34837
Airline: Boeing Company
Images of N787BK
just seen this over stuaton on flight radar 24:
Information
ModeS: AAAAAA
Reg: N787BK
Typecode: B788
Type: Boeing 787-800
Serial number: 34837
Airline: Boeing Company
Images of N787BK
Code its showing is N264PA
That serial number is assigned to a 787 that was already delivered to JAL. Sameone made a mistake.
That tail number is assigned to a Beech King Air 100 hardly a 787:
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N264PA
wonder what's stopping all these scheduled B1's day after day... it's been over 10 days since they've gotten a new frame in the air. I'd say there's zero chance a United, ANA, or second Ethiopian get delivered this month now. Also China Southern, Hainan, and a second Qatar gotta be definitely scratched for October again just due to test flight schedule slippage.
Matt Cawby is saying it's weather. Does B not have a contingency plan for continuous bad weather? What if it rains for a month strait, they just stop delivering airplanes for a month?
Weather has been the issue. ceiling cannot be lower than 1500 ft for B-1 flights. Boeing rule.
I take it you've never been to Washington State.
Boeing will fly the planes when they're ready to fly.
interesting. I remember seeing a video of line 7's first flight
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tv8GDh88S7k
towards the end there, it disappears into clouds pretty quick. I guess that's probably over 1500 feet though.
How much ground testing of systems can be done that normally is done in the air? If some of this is done during idle time, this may shorten over-all pre-delivery flight schedules?
Uresh,
Complicating matters is that the 747 program is going through much the same issue as the 787: Boeing simply isn't getting aircraft through flight line/flight test activity as quickly as they'd hoped.
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