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Boeing whistleblower raises doubts over 787 oxygen system

bbc.com

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Re: Boeing whistleblower raises doubts over 787 oxygen system

#31

Post by jacquesm »

esel2k wrote: post #4

Coming from another highly regulated industry: Medical Devices, I think it is not uncommon that Bosses ignore processes and for the sake of numbers (cash & career) would just override them. As long as they are protegee of any higher up on the ladder people generally don’t care and as long no serious lawsuit would put people into jail I am wondering if this is ever going to change. Anyone has made other experiences?

Just did tech DD on a medical device manufacturer. The CEO was very much on the ball to ensure that everybody kept patient safety as their #1 priority over commercial interests. I've also seen much worse...

Re: Boeing whistleblower raises doubts over 787 oxygen system

#32

Post by sambe »

briandear wrote: post #10
jMyles wrote: post #2

Wow - more serious story than I first imagined. > Mr Barnett, a former quality control engineer, worked for Boeing for 32 years, until his retirement on health grounds in March 2017. From 2010 he was employed as a quality manager at Boeing's factory in North Charleston, South Carolina. This plant is one of two that are involved in building the 787 Dreamliner. In terms of credibility lent by a career, you can't do muc…

John Barnett’s potential involvement with the union ought to be disclosed. There are repeated claims of “problems,” that are strangely coincidental to union opposition to right to work states. Attributing altruism when in fact there had been a concerted campaign against right to work states and factories moving there is journalistic malpractice. “Many analysts say that Boeing decided to put its second Dreamliner airc…

I’d contest the airlines would not act as you suggest:

1) they’d believe they can get away with it.

2) it wouldn’t be the end of the airline. Large fine, negotiated down, cost of doing business.

Even if people died, would the fine be that huge? I can’t find numbers for past incidents, but somewhere in my memory I have $2m for wrongful death. 300/4 * 2m = 150m. Is that way off? BA just got fined 230m for a data breach...

Re: Boeing whistleblower raises doubts over 787 oxygen system

#34

Post by kmlx »

torgian wrote: post #29
mikekchar wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> [...] The FAA, however, said it could not substantiate that claim, because Boeing had indicated it was working on the issue at the time. > [...] I hope we can all agree that this is an embarrassingly obvious fox guarding this particular hen-house. I can imagine situations where I would not agree, to be honest. If a manager says, "There is a bug in this system here" and I say, "I'm investigating that problem and wi…

In the meantime, people die, or have the potential to die. There's nothing preventing the FAA from proceeding with its own investigation, except for Boeing saying, "Nah, don't do that, we got our own thing going on here... btw, how's your bank account? Get that 250k yet?"

people always "have the potential to die" no matter what.

i'd wait for the FAA before jumping to any conclusions, as unfashionable as this is in today's "speak first, think never" culture.

Re: Boeing whistleblower raises doubts over 787 oxygen system

#35

Post by Rapzid »

usr1106 wrote: post #16

There is at least one big airline that denies to accept airliners built in Charleston. Don't remember which. So quality problems are not invented by a single disgruntled employee. There have been news articles before https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/20/business/boeing-dreamline... says that Qatar Airways "stopped" accepting planes fron Charleston. Not sure whether that means indefinitely or until the planes in questio…

The Air Force halted deliveries of planes from Boeing due to parts and debris found in closed compartments: https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/u-s-a...

Re: Boeing whistleblower raises doubts over 787 oxygen system

#36

Post by piva00 »

usr1106 wrote: post #16

There is at least one big airline that denies to accept airliners built in Charleston. Don't remember which. So quality problems are not invented by a single disgruntled employee. There have been news articles before https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/20/business/boeing-dreamline... says that Qatar Airways "stopped" accepting planes fron Charleston. Not sure whether that means indefinitely or until the planes in questio…

Al Jazeera has a long report on YouTube [0] covering the allegations around Charleston, I know that they can be biased against the US but this report is quite eye opening. Even more given the interview with a VP (or director, can't remember exactly the position) being cut short by the PR person involved, the reports from workers inside the factory stating they wouldn't fly a plane built there, etc.

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvkEpstd9os

Re: Boeing whistleblower raises doubts over 787 oxygen system

#37

Post by tolien »

Previously covered by the NY Times [1], calling out rushed production and parts left inside aircraft, including that Qatar Airways stopped accepting aircraft from Charleston because of delays and required rework.

John Barnett, the whistleblower mentioned here, had complained to the FAA about sharp metal slivers and had his complaint upheld on inspection by the FAA.

1: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/20/business/boeing-dreamline...

Re: Boeing whistleblower raises doubts over 787 oxygen system

#39

Post by seren »

esel2k wrote: post #4

Coming from another highly regulated industry: Medical Devices, I think it is not uncommon that Bosses ignore processes and for the sake of numbers (cash & career) would just override them. As long as they are protegee of any higher up on the ladder people generally don’t care and as long no serious lawsuit would put people into jail I am wondering if this is ever going to change. Anyone has made other experiences?

This is not my experience so far, sure we have some pressure to deliver features in rather short time frame, but on the other hand, whenever the safety of the patient is involved, and indirectly the reputation of the company is at risk, this takes precedence above the bottom line.

We just had a potential safety issue in the last few months because of a manufacturing process defect. While no one was injured, this was a potentially hazardous situation. The company stopped the production, and reworked every affected system on customer site. While our profit have taken a hit this year, at least I am glad the right decision was taken, and no one (that I know of) challenged it.

To be fair, I don't know at which level above me the (costly) decision was taken, but at least someone had the courage to take it. But I am working at a fairly big company so likely it is easier to absorb an unexpected cost to defend the company brand, compared to a smaller company that have only one product line and that maybe can't afford it.

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