Top Administration figures bungle SMS application to Boeing
The outgoing DOT Secretary and his FAA Administrator, coincidentally (?), recently gave their personal opinions about the SAFETY CULTURE at Boeing. Their comments (i.e. “much more to do” see below) suggest that the company has not yet attained full SAFETY CULTURE perfection. Mr. Whitaker postulated that for the aircraft manufacturer to meet his expectations, oversight by his team “is here to stay” or “unwavering”.
The agency’s regulatory foundation for all safety is labeled SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS (SMS). Any aviation organization that believes it has reached safety culture nirvana is in trouble. The goal of this discipline has no completion milestone; each entity subject to (and volunteering to comply with) 14 CFR Part 5 must constantly and comprehensively searching for potential flaws. Without such vigilance, SMS will not achieve its outcome.
Without direct knowledge of the conditions in Renton and Everett, Washington; North Charleston, South Carolina; and Wichita, Kansas, it is impossible to assess their current workplace. There is no doubt that Boeing’s commitment to quality and safety diminished in the recent past. The company has elevated the technical judgment of its Board[1] and its senior executives.[2] One would assume that their qualifications include commitment to SMS and their stewardship of the safety culture among their 135,000 employees worldwide.
Upping the technical competence of its leadership heightens SAFETY CULTURE down through the ranks and files. The measure of the infusion of this attitude is better tested by reading the temperature of those 135,000 Boeing folks. Not as important as measurable actual changes in priorities from Board to the shop floor, this new team has published and actively promotes a new Our Safety & Quality Plan (see below). The words are all well written and their EXAMPLES (see below) appear to indicate that the new message is being received. The specific elements of the plan follow the SMS regimen and respond to the experts’ criticisms.
The most difficult to comprehend is the admonition that FAA ENHANCED OVERSIGHT IS HERE TO STAY. Perhaps inartfully said, a most credible interpretation is that the BOOTs on the GROUND (Renton, Everett, North Charleston and Wichita?) will be there permanently. Having a tutor watching every action can cause Boeing staff to not act because the SMS rubrics call for examining an action but worrying whether a risk exists in the eye of the FAA overseer, or an action will be preferred by the FAA babysitter. SMS is a process in which the Boeing safety team must learn by exercising ITS INDEPENDENT judgment. As the Hawthorne Effect found, the act of observing someone can alter their behavior. There needs to be a time in which the FAA boots move back to their offices, follow the KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (see below) and intervene when/if appropriate.
The primary founder of SMS, Peggy Gilligan, recognized that Congress was not likely to authorize enough staff to station FAA staff in all the offices of US certificate holders and devised a system based on data which would provide the field with indicators that greater attention should be applied to that airline, OEM, airport, repair station, flight school, etc. Is it possible that
- an individual system failed to capture the RIGHT numbers,
- the certificate holder(s) failed to report the appropriate key performance indicators,
- the FAA safety offices may have failed to recognize trend lines deserving of intervention,
- or a combination of these?
If there has been a study to determine what was the culprit here, it has not been seen here.
In any event, this Congress is HIGHLY UNLIKELY to appropriate the funds for long term BOOTS ON THE GROUND here or at all certificate holders!!!
One Year after Boeing Door Plug Incident
By Mike Whitaker, FAA Administrator
(excerpted)
“…Boeing is working to make progress executing its comprehensive plan in the areas of safety, quality improvement and effective employee engagement and training. We’re actively monitoring the results and keeping a close eye on work at key Boeing facilities. FAA safety experts continually review the effectiveness of the changes; senior FAA leaders meet with Boeing weekly to review their performance metrics, progress, and any challenges they’re facing; we have conducted an unprecedented number of unannounced audits; and we conduct monthly status reviews with Boeing executives to monitor progress. OUR ENHANCED OVERSIGHT IS HERE TO STAY.
But this is NOT A ONE-YEAR PROJECT. What’s needed is a fundamental cultural shift at Boeing that’s oriented around safety and quality above profits. That will require sustained effort and commitment from Boeing, and UNWAVERING SCRUTINY ON OUR PART.
…
[full text]
Outgoing US DOT Secretary Says Boeing Has “Much More To Do”
[EXCERPTED; FULL TEXT]
“The incumbent United States Secretary of Transportation has remarked that BOEING STILL HAS A LOT OF WORK ON ITS HANDS TO FIX ITS CULTURE and that only the future will show whether the plane maker has made the right moves to improve the quality and safety of its products.
Work to do
In an interview with Reuters, Pete Buttigieg , the Secretary of Transportation of the US, said that Boeing still faces deficiencies and that the plane maker has “much more to do.”Buttigieg also remarked that the company’s culture was a work in progress.
Buttigieg added that a full assessment of its progress to improve the quality and safety of its commercial aircraft will be made once it consistently improves its results across its production sites.
Our9(Boeing) Safety & Quality Plan
[excerpted]
“…BOEING’S SAFETY & QUALITY PLAN generally aligns to four focus areas: Investing In Workforce Training, Simplifying Plans And Processes, Eliminating Defects, And Elevating Our Safety And Quality Culture. The plan also sets forth measures to continuously monitor and manage the health of our production system.
We are committed to this plan and to continuous improvement, which has helped make commercial aviation the safest mode of transportation
[1] Tim Buckley, who previously served as Chair and CEO of The Vanguard Group, will join the board effective January 1, 2025. He will serve on the Finance and Governance & Public Policy committees. David L. Gitlin has significant aerospace experience and serves on the Aerospace Safety and Finance Committees. Lynne Doughtie is the former Chairman and CEO of KPMG U.S. and brings extensive experience in audit and risk management. Stayce Harris is a retired United States Air Force Lieutenant General and brings valuable military and aviation expertise. Steve Mollenkopf is the new independent board chair in 2024.
[2] Kelly Ortberg became president and CEO on August 8, 2024, bringing more than 35 years of aerospace experience to Boeing. Ortberg began his career in 1983 as an engineer at Texas Instruments, before spending over three decades at Rockwell Collins, Inc. There, he began as a program manager and held various leadership positions before being named president and chief executive officer of the company in 2013. Mike Delaney is the chief aerospace safety officer of The Boeing Company, senior vice president of Global Aerospace Safety and a member of the company’s Executive Council. Elizabeth Lund is senior vice president of Quality for Boeing Commercial Airplanes and chair of the Enterprise Quality Operations Council, serving as a member of the executive council. She leads the Boeing focus on driving quality excellence and adopting best practices across the global organization. Within Commercial Airplanes, she drives efforts to ensure first-pass quality throughout the value stream, including the global supply chain and all supporting functions. Among her key responsibility she works to continuously enhance the relationship between Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration. She also leads and promotes culture initiatives that improve quality and compliance in every aspect of the business.
