Boeing Tackles Quality with a 'War of Defects'

THE NEW YORK TIMES - The 737 Max starts its journey through a Boeing factory near Seattle when its empty central tube is hoisted onto a structure high above the floor.  There, about a dozen workers fan out to search for defects.

The inspection is part of a new quality-control regimen at Boeing after a nightmarish episode nearly two years ago, when a part on a Max blew away at 15,000 feet, exposing passengers to roaring winds and potential catastrophe.  No one was seriously injured, but the January 2024 episode prompted a reckoning.

Boeing installed new management and made wide-ranging changes at this factory in Renton, on the shore of Lake Washington.  Some improvements were straightforward, such as tightening equipment arrival inspections, doing more jobs in their intended order and simplifying paperwork - changes that some aerospace experts say should have been made long ago.  Other problems will be more difficult to address, like winning over workers who have complained for years that the company was prioritizing speed over quality.

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Note:  The 737 is manufactured at Boeing's Renton Production Facility.

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