EVERETT, Wash. — Boeing mechanic Ken Zabel is using a handy new tool that halves the work involved in one intricate job where the wing and fuselage of a 787 Dreamliner are joined together. Boeing says the device is so accurate it cuts out the need for a quality inspection.

That elimination of a check for defects is part of a sweeping transformation of Boeing’s quality system that’s now being implemented throughout its production lines. The ambitious revamp includes changing the design of parts to make them easier to build right, adjusting the sequence of work to make assembly simpler, and adding tools and automation to ease the jobs of the mechanics.

One element of what Boeing is calling its “Quality Transformation” has unnerved the machinists union and current quality inspectors: The company told the union last month it will eliminate thousands of quality checks as no longer necessary. Boeing said it will cut about 450 quality-inspector positions this year and potentially a similar number in 2020.

In the Puget Sound region, there are currently just over 3,000 Boeing Quality Inspectors. By the end of next year, Boeing’s plan would bring that down to not many more than 2,000 people. Nevertheless, the company insists the overall changes will improve quality and reduce the need for rework.

“This is a shift in thinking,” said Ernesto Gonzalez-Beltran, vice president of quality. “It will take some time, but we believe it will make our quality better.”

Auto manufacturing as the model

Quality inspectors check wiring connections, the dimensions of holes drilled in metal or composite parts, and the torque applied to a nut.

In accordance with Federal Aviation Administration requirements, they record every check as part of an immense regulatory system designed to document the safety of every plane Boeing rolls out. Boeing envisions a new streamlined production system that builds every component and performs every task without defects from the get-go, so there’s no need for inspections afterward.

The model is the auto-manufacturing industry, and at Boeing the transformation is spearheaded by former auto executive Gonzalez-Beltran. He joined Boeing Commercial Airplanes 19 months ago and has quickly accelerated implementation of the new plan. Working for Toyota in California, he saw how streamlining, simplifying and standardizing final assembly work revolutionized efficiency.

“I see the future,” he said, “because I have seen it in the auto industry.”

The machinists union balks

For Jon Holden, District 751 president at the International Association of Machinists, the central concern is job losses.

“They’ve notified us they are trying to eliminate thousands of inspection processes,” said Holden. “That will eliminate jobs.”

The union and Boeing are in formal negotiations on the impact of the changes.

Gonzalez-Beltran insisted the worry about job losses is misplaced because Boeing is increasing production rates and hiring people. He said displaced inspectors will be moved to other work.

New smart tools

Working underneath a 787 wing, mechanic Zabel slipped a thin electronic ribbon into the small gaps between the body of the aircraft and the thick metal plates that lock the fuselage to the wing.

The ribbon measures the gap at the location of each of 120 bolts; based on Zabel’s measurements, Boeing fabricates precise shims to fill each one.

This used to be a painstaking, time-consuming process. Now, the new tool connects with Boeing’s computer system via Bluetooth, automatically recording each measurement and sending the data to the shop. It’s quicker and more accurate, said Zabel’s boss, Robert Handshy, the 787 wing-to-body join manufacturing manager.

“Instead of checking 100 percent, they will check once every 100 parts or every 1,000 parts,” Gonzalez-Beltran said.

FAA monitoring

Gonzalez-Beltran said Boeing data show that inspections are “at best 87 percent effective” in spotting defects and that the approach it is now implementing can produce better results.

“Right now, everybody is dependent on a second person to come around. We’re trying to walk away from that and give them the respect and the tools to actually confirm that they did a good job,” Gonzalez-Beltran said.

An internal Boeing document providing “talking points” for managers, obtained by The Seattle Times, points to another motivation for the company: faster completion of tasks: “By allowing the mechanics to verify their own work, wait time is eliminated.” Boeing cannot move forward with such a radical shift in its manufacturing processes without the approval of the FAA.

One item in the “talking points” document says Boeing is working with the FAA.

FAA spokesman Gregory Martin said the regulatory requirements for inspection of airplane-manufacturing work have not changed, and that Boeing is changing only the methods it uses to conducts inspections and verify compliance to standards.

Improvement or false data?

To convince the FAA, Boeing has compiled data on how it is reducing defects. The Seattle Times obtained an internal Boeing chart compiled in December that shows the number of defects per airplane for each jet program and compares the figures in 2017 to 2018.

Only the 767 program showed slightly more defects per plane in 2018. Every other program showed fewer defects, with an overall reduction of 20 percent.

The union is suspicious this data showing fewer defects has been massaged to make a case to the FAA that inspections can be dropped. At the December union meeting, several inspectors spoke of being pressed by managers not to write up nonconforming parts or to write “pickups” for rejected parts. Instead they were urged to have defects fixed, without a record.

FAA investigators substantiated a complaint by a whistleblower working at Boeing’s Electrical Systems center inside the Everett, Washington, plant. They found quality inspectors had issued final acceptances on some projects, although afterward Boeing employees fixed defects, without writing a record of the work. The FAA noted an earlier complaint alleging similar violations was substantiated.

Gonzalez-Beltran said these were isolated cases of employees not following company procedures.