1. Tableof Contents
Executive Summary..................................................................................................................01
Introduction to the chosen organizations .................................................................................02
Aspects of Operations Management for Boeing & Airbus .......................................................03
TQM, JIT, .........................................................................................................................04
Comparison between Airbus & Boeing and Global Competition ....................................05
A suitable change in Boeing’s Operations plan .......................................................................06
Operations strategy that could solve the problems of Boeing in this 787 Dreamliner ............07
The current supply chain management practices and suggest any improvement if needed .....08
Project management with the help of a PERT/CPM diagram and a GANTT Chart ..............09
Critical analysis ........................................................................................................................10
The role of IT ............................................................................................................................11
Conclusion and recommendations ............................................................................................12
References.................................................................................................................................13

2. Executive Summary
This research has been done to analyze and evaluate the operational issues of
manufacturing Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s and the problem they have faced, making
comparison with airbus A380 project and how the Airbus 380 is giving Boeing a
tough competition. Also, it will include the understanding of Boeing’s method of
operations and how to apply the key concepts of operations management. This report
is a result of videos analysis and research.
In the beginning we started with small introduction about airbus and Boeing as they
are the leaders of aircrafts manufacturing also we discuss Boeing’s and Airbus’s
aspects of operations management such as just in time and total quality management
aspects and applying master Production schedule (MPS) materials requirement
planning (MRP) and production activity control (PAC) . Also, I examined all the
issues which Boeing has while manufacturing aircraft 787 dream liner’s . Including
examining any suitable change in Boeing’s Operations plan, and understanding of the
current supply chain management practices. As well as expanding an operations
strategy that might fix Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner issues.
In addition to the above I made a project management to make sure that Boeing
completes the defects on time with the help of a PERT/CPM diagram and a Gantt
chart. Making a critical analysis of Boeing‘s and Airbus’s tools that they used, also,
including the IT role of Boeing. Finally this study includes recommendations to
perform better and a conclusion.

3. Introduction of Boeing
Boeing Considers one of the largest aerospace companies all over the world in manufacturing
commercial and military aircrafts. Boeing is established in 1916 in Seattle by William
Boeing.
Boeing has many customers from 150 countries. They are ordering their airplanes to enhance
their travel experiences.
Boeing has many employees which is more than 165000 employees from all over USA and
other countries to get more talented people and innovative staff. Boeing has produced many
airplanes 737, 747, 767, 777, 787 Dreamliner’s
Boeing started a Hugh investments in United States in world war as they were manufactured
military aircrafts and more than 70% of Boeing sales came from Middle East.
Boeing headquarter in Chicago. In 2012 the company has achieved high income of 3.8 billion
dollars by 2014 the total revenue was 90 billion dollars. Boeing has a good reputation in the
market therefore they have received more than 1200 orders from different countries and
airlines to buy their airplane to enhance the travelling experience with Boeing luxury
aircrafts. As Boeing also looks for customer satisfaction and high quality.
The government of United States is supporting Boeing because it’s an American company
and the profit will get benefits for government as well.

4. Introduction of Airbus
Airbus started as consortium of European aviation firms to go for competition between an
American companies such as Boeing
Airbus has been founded in 1970 and headquarter in France. The company group has more
than 170 location all over the world most of the company orders now are growing fast and
not only European countries but beyond Europe and also industrial location such as china and
US also they produce helicopter in brazil, the company has researches centers in India and
Singapore.
Airbus has around 138000 employees. They have raised the number of employees from
89000 employees in 2000 to 138000 as of now.
In 2014 the company achieved 96 billion euro as total revenues, now airbus became the first
company manufacturing aircraft and helicopters all over the world, after the group has been
founded in 2000 the revenues has been increased by 145 % and the annual orders increased
by 346% which is Avery successful group.

5. Explain the aspects of Operations Management that both Boeing and Airbus have, how
they differ and which aspect of their OM practices contribute to the failure of Boeing
787 Dreamliner.
 Airbus A380 OM practices
Airbus is the competitor for Boeing and they had a big challenge to produce an airplane can
compete Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s which it can carry more than 250 passengers. Airbus came
up with the idea produce large airplane to travel for thousands of kilometers and carrying
around 550 passengers with luxury seats, lounges, low cost for seat and high customer
services.
The design of airbus A380 has been made to serve the long flight as all passengers will meet
in major airport and the airplane will travel to the other destination.
JIT (Just in time) Practice for Airbus A380
JIT is an important element of operation management process as it shows how you can
handle the inventory with less waste and just placing the order on time and receive the
materials on time to start the process of manufacturing and not fulfil the inventory with
materials which unnecessary to be there in that stage especially aircraft manufacturing it
takes a lot of time to build an aircraft and to reduce the inventory cost.
Airbus has followed the JIT Practice during the production of airbus A380. When they found
that they need to design a new aircraft bigger than Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s and wider they
placed orders for the major aircraft components from around 1500 different suppliers from 30
countries with high technique transportation system to deliver it to France.
They got the wings from wales, engines from United Kingdom, vertical tails from Germany,
horizontal tails from Spain. All the parts came together to finish the assembly plane.
Airbus has saved time and money because of inventory management all parts came same time
and they have started to build the aircraft same time.

6. TQM (Total Quality Management) Practice for Airbus A380
Total quality management is an approach for organization to improve their products, services,
and culture to deliver the high quality to customers.
When Boeing built 787 Dreamliner’s to compete in the market as it carry around 250
passengers with low cost per seat and excellent services. Airbus was thinking how to build an
aircraft can be competitive aircraft comparing with Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s and without any
failures.
Airbus designed the shape of airbus A380 as mega size aircraft they run the design figures
through computers they were shocked as the design of A380 is very heavy to fly. Here was
the challenge to decrease the weight of aircraft to less than 277 tens. They need lighter
materials, powerful engines and larger wings.
They made an agreement with rolls Royce to build an engine more 30 % faster than Boeing
787 Dreamliner’s and it consume a lot of fuel as that aircraft designed to travel a long
desistance so the engine need test to make sure it save for flight.
Airbus has made test on the engine costs 50 million dollars to make sure if any failure will
happen will not cause any damage for whole aircraft.
Building Hugh wings it was the second challenge to make it lighter than the other aircraft the
made it with Carbone fibers with plastic covers and they checked all components have been
fixed with high quality by using new reboots and monitoring that all parts have been fixed
together in right way
Transportation for major components of aircraft A380 were transferred by beluga aircraft
which can carry aircraft parts and the remaining by shipping and roads.
To build a Hugh aircraft so Hugh factories need to be built. And they built 3 more factories to
start the process of manufacturing aircraft. Airbus followed all quality implements to make
sure the aircraft is safe to fly has a good shape, perfect and luxury designed and more
convenient for all customers.

7. MasterProduction Schedule (MPS) for Airbus A380
The goal of master production schedule (MPS) is to meet delivery dates and effective use of
all resources such as inventory, customer demands , orders data, production cost .
Airbus was succeeded to use MPS while manufacturing A380 aircraft, the global airlines
needs a new aircraft has Hugh number of seats including luxury cabin, lounges and seats with
low cost per seat and more customers are travelling and the numbers are increasing that why
airbus they made customer demand then they came up with airbus A380 to meet all
requirements for all customers and to travel long distance.
Inventory cost reduced as they have received all parts same time and they started to build the
aircraft, and at the end they have met the delivery dates and used all resources effectively and
the output comes as high quality productions.
Materials Requirements Planning (MRP) for Airbus A380
It is production planning and inventory control used to manage the manufacturing processes.
Airbus followed MRP while manufacturing A380 they make sure that all required materials
and parts are available for production by getting all aircrafts parts from different suppliers on
the same time to reduce inventory cost to start the production directly. And speed up the
production timing of the aircraft to meet delivery dates for all customers because to build one
aircraft A380 it takes a lot of time so it was challenge for them .

8. Production Activity control (PAC) for Airbus A380
Airbus has followed the production activity control during manufacture of A380 aircraft by
executing the MPS (Master Production Schedule) and MRP (Materials Requirements Plan)
They have used the lobar and machines effectively during production process to meet the
delivery dates and to reduce the work in progress time to build more aircraft and maintain
customer service level and deliver products on time.
Histogram for Airbus A380
Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s OM Practice

9. Boeing had competition with other competitors to build a Hugh aircraft. They came up with
Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s to enhance travelling experience. Aircraft 787 Dreamliner’s was
built for many reasons. 787 has been created to save fuel more than 20 % efficient and carry
more than 300 passengers and to travel along distance. The aircraft has many features swiped
wings, electrical flight system and reduce noise.
JIT (Just in time) Practice for Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s
JIT system is an important element in production and manufacturing firm. It measure how the
company can handle the inventory without in wastage or to make full space without usage
and increase the cost for inventory. Boeing followed the JIT system during production of 787
Dreamliner’s. Instead of ordering all parts from different place and keep it in inventory and
increase the inventory cost. They ordered part which they need in specific stage of production
and use it same time. Many suppliers from many different countries France, japan, India,
United Kingdom and South Korea.so the main goal of using JIT system is avoid and waste
will happen because of over production or waiting time in inventory.
TQM (Total Quality Management) Practice for Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s
Total quality management is an approach for organization to improve their products, services,
and culture to deliver the high quality to customers.
When Boeing built 787 Dreamliner’s to compete in the market as it carry around 250
passengers with low cost per seat and excellent services.
Boeing didn’t stick with total quality management practice while manufacturing 787
Dreamliner’s aircraft. Starting from the battery of the aircraft, it was made by Japanese

10. company. Battery was made of lithium which is very unsafe for flight as the components for
that battery due to long travelling hours it may explode. Boeing made test for this battery but
big explosion happened on their factories and if that happened on board, no chance of
survival however the main concern for boeing to save money. The battery passed in boeing
test even it failed 2 times in 9 days and they said it will not cough a fire on board.
In 1997 it was the beginning of failure when boeing merged with competitors macdonnell
douglas because those two companies with two different business models. Boeing was
successful and Douglas was not successful so the quality and integrity of the product will
suffer as they run the business for cash and reduce the cost.
There was no communication between workers, engineers and executives.
Boeing made the shape of airplane with plastic barrels not with aluminum to reduce weight
and saving fuel and make it cheaper airplane to run.
Due to manufacturing issues there was a delay of schedule to launch the aircraft and deliver it
to customers. The schedule and report say that they might require a deviation because of
quality process but Boeing pushed engineers to work to meet the schedule and the quality
was just a sign on paper.
In 2008 because of strike of workers in Boeing and economic crisis. South Carolina offered
cheaper land and workers as well. They hired uneducated and unskilled staff with no union
between the management and factory there. Some customers didn’t accept to get that aircraft
because it was made in South Carolina because they know that the quality was compromised
and it is just a shape of aircraft.
MasterProduction Schedule (MPS) for Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s
The goal of master production schedule (MPS) is to meet delivery dates and effective use of
all resources such as inventory, customer demands, orders data, production cost

11. Boeing didn’t apply MPS (Master Production Schedule) for all resources while
manufacturing 787 Dreamliner’s. they didn’t work on quality and use all resources
effectively to build the aircraft and they production cost increased because many suppliers
were involved and transfer the work to another place on the other side they didn’t meet the
schedule of delivery because of quality issues as more than 2 years delay to deliver the
aircraft to their customers.
Materials Requirements Planning (MRP) for Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s
It is production planning and inventory control used to manage the manufacturing processes.
They have used inventory correctly and ordered each part on time of process and they
ensured that they maintain the lowest level of availability of inventory and it has all needed
components and items for production process.
Production Activity control (PAC) for Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s
PAC is responsible for executing the master production schedule and the material
requirements plan. At the same time, it must make good use of labor and machines,
minimize work-in-process inventory, and maintain customer service.
When you apply PAC on Boeing you will find they didn’t use the labor on quality standard as
they hired uneducated and unskilled labor in South Carolina to build 787 Dreamliner’s to
reduce the cost. They have maintained the inventory level and availability of materials and
items required for production. Regarding customer services they didn’t maintain the customer

12. service as they have delayed the delivery dates 2 years because of quality issues and many
customers refused and cancelled their orders especially when they knew that it was
manufactured in south Carolina.
Pareto analysis
(Pareto analysis is based on the idea that 80% of a project's benefit can be achieved by
doing 20% of the work or conversely 80% of problems are traced to 20% of the causes.
using that technique to shows the production of aircraft cause number of problem and quality
issues by getting all aircraft parts even small parts from different supplier and hardly to fit all
parts together it caused number of error and quality issues battery, and aircraft shape and
wings.
Comparison between Boeing & Airbus
Table 1.1 OM Practices
Airbus Boeing
TQM ✔ ---
JIT ✔ ✔
Examine the need for any suitable change in Boeing’s Operations plan.
Main failure of Boeing operation plan 787 Dreamliner’s aircraft
Battery: Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s battery is one of main issue on that aircraft it made by
Japanese company. It was made from lithium which is very dangerous for flight as it might
caught any fire while boarding because all elements for fire will be there. Boeing made test

13. for this battery but big explosion happened on their factories and if that happened on board,
no chance of survival however the main concern for Boeing to save money. The battery
passed in Boeing test even it failed 2 times in 9 days.
Merge between to different business models.
In 1997 Boeing has been merged with their competitor macdonnel douglas to reduce cost and
save money. When Boeing was considered as successful company for aircrafts industry and
merging with unsuccessful business models which douglas so the quality and integrity of the
product will suffer as they run the business for cash and reduce the cost.
Poor materials
Boeing had agreement with Italian company to build the shape of airplane with plastic barrels
not with aluminum to reduce weight and saving fuel and make it cheaper airplane to run
which is against the quality standard which should be followed while manufacturing an
airplane
Schedule of delivery
Due to manufacturing issues there was a delay of schedule to launch the aircraft and deliver it
to customers. The schedule and report say that they might require a deviation because of
quality process but Boeing pushed engineers to work to meet the schedule and the quality
was just a sign on paper.
Many customers had cancelled their orders because of the delay and they felt that there are
issues on airplane as Boeing announced that it will delivered on certain date but they delayed
many times which more than 2 years
Poor management and relocate to another site
The management was poor and there was no communication between workers, engineers and
executives because the workers and engineers are saying that the quality and process are
incorrect and they didn’t follow all quality aspects however Boeing Executives are saying
that they have followed all quality process .
In 2008 because of strike of workers in Boeing and economic crisis. South Carolina offered
cheaper land and workers as well. They hired uneducated and unskilled staff with no union
between the management and factory there. Some customers didn’t accept to get that aircraft

14. because it was made in South Carolina because they know that the quality was compromised
and it is just a shape of aircraft.
Developan operations strategy that could solve the problems of Boeing in this 787
Dreamliner project.
Boeing needs new changes to solve all the problems of Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s
Boeing need to re-engineer all processes and build a new supply chain for their production.
Using different battery instead of lithium battery which it may cause fire while travelling to
another type of battery and engine can be reliable to travel long distance and test it well
before manufacturing and make sure it is safe for flight.
Boeing need to have a good management and communication between all management’s
levels to make sure that the process and strategy are followed correctly
Quality is the most important element in aircraft manufacturing so they can bring experts of
quality from federal aviation in United States to make sure that Boeing is following the
quality aspects in all production processes. Also the quality of part which comes from
suppliers need to be checked as it follows the standard quality process and its fit together
Main materials shouldn’t be changed to another kind of materials which is cheaper especially
if it’s critical parts. For example Boeing shouldn’t change materials of shape instead of
aluminum parts they put plastic barrels to reduce weight and saving fuel and make it cheaper
airplane to run which is against the quality standard which should be followed while
manufacturing an airplane.
Customer service and deliver the product on times is the meter of how much the company is
successful and trusted because they have delayed many times to deliver the airplanes to their
customers therefore many of their customer had cancelled their orders because they were
afraid that it’s not following the quality process.

15. Boeing needs to give due date which is matching their schedule of production to make sure
that they will delivered on time without any delay as more delay effect on company
reputation.
Relocate from main factory to another place just because it cheaper land and labor will effect
on quality of the airplane because they might be uneducated workers or unskilled to work in
this critical process and it will be far away for the management to travel a lot to monitor the
work. Also relocating will increasing the production cost. Boeing needs to steak with the
same place with the same talented and experienced workers.
Forecasting is looks like looking through a crystal. And it shouldn’t be like that, in particular,
with the 787 Dreamliner’s project. Operations managers shall have the ability to make
forecasts in order to keep it close as what the outcome will be. To achieve a success it is very
important to get accurate forecasting details and this should be taken in consideration by
operations manager. Upon setting up a schedule, it will be necessary for the operations
manager to write down a START date and a FINISH date and then to record all things in-
between. The Estimations, can be made by calculating work hours by mentioning number of
workers, how many hours they can do, the budget of human resources and so on.
External suppliers
All communications shall be done by one person or one team to be responsible for it.
- All the suppliers shall send regular updates on their progress.
- Weekly reports shall be provided in specific times;
- The daily communication between the team and each supplier will be fundamental.
- Each supplier shall receive a timeline for delivery of components and parts.
- Suppliers shall present frequent written reports to the team using different means such as the
use of Intranet or electronic mail.
- Suppliers need to report any issue or problem to the coordinating team ASAP.
- The team shall use the software of the project for coordinating the data and information that
will be reported thereto.
- The communication plan shall include the necessary reports, the transportation to be used for
shipping, dates of shipping, and times of delivery. Thus, it would be possible to mitigate the
risks of communication errors.
Understand and evaluate the current supply chain management practices and suggest
any improvement if needed.

16. 787 Dreamliner’s project has poor supply chain management quality process not followed
production cost is high because of sourcing many suppliers and relocate from place to
another, unskilled workers and cheap place. Battery has dangerous effect on aircraft as it
could catch fire while travelling and miscommunication between departments and also
between management and suppliers. All of them above have caused failure on that project
also delay on delivery and aircraft accidents.
To improve the supply chain for Boeing they need to follow competitive performance
principles which can guide the supply chain manager
 Responsiveness
 Reliability
 Resilience
 Relationships
Project management that has to be designed to ensure Boeing completes the defects on
time with the help of a PERT / CPM diagram and a Gantt chart
Activity Start
after
Immediate
predecessors Completion
days
A- Cost None - 30
B- Selecting suppliers Start after A-Cost 20
C- Placing orders Start after B- Selecting suppliers 10
D- Receiving parts Start after B,C- placing orders 30
E- production Start after D- Receiving parts 60
F- Quality Check Start after E production 15
G- Storage of stock Start after F- quality 7
H- Marketing Start after ,G 80
I- Assembly Start after H, G- Storage of stock 10
J- Sales Start after G 90

17. Diagram 5.2 PERT/ CPM Network
Diagram 5.3 The Critical Path
(50,60) (182,262)
(50,60) (172,252)
(40,60) (150,165) (165,172)
(30,50) (90,150) (150,165) (165,172) (172,182) (252,262)
(60,90) (172 ,262)
( 60,90) (172,262)
A
30
B
20
C
10
D
30
E
60
F
15
H
80
I
10
J
90
00
G
07
00
A
30
B
20
D
30
E
60
F
15
I
10
J
90
00
G
07
00
C
10
H
80

18. The role of IT in the case of both Boeing and Airbus
I think that the role of IT in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner case was missing as per the
researches which I did. In manufacturing companies they have devices or machines can check
if all parts are fitted correctly or not to avoid any mistake from any worker, if Boeing had all
these devices or technological machines, they would have found some mistakes. For example
they had battery failure and engines failure as well which leads to big failure of Boeing 787
aircraft. The role of IT should handle all quality issues and implementing the all aircraft parts
in the production processes this to avoid any big disasters of creating an aircraft with issues.
In Boeing case, I think that Boeing didn’t give much attention to this role.
Conclusions and recommendation
After this research I conclude what I have done and what I have
noticed, there are many things which shall be taken into
consideration upon the Boeing 787 Dreamliner design. Making
sure that the quality has been followed for all manufacturing
processes,. The operations manager reporting progress to the main
shareholders is necessary to achieve the success. In addition, it is
necessary to focus and track the cost of the project and to adhere
strictly to the budget. It is important, as well, to improve the 787 Dreamliner project to the
likings or even the toughest faultfinders. Regardless of the competition and potential difficult
conditions, as operations manager of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the plan is to get this
innovative and incredible aircraft off the ground successfully.

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cassystems.com,2016. MPS. [Online]
Available at:http://www.cassystems.com/oms/p06.htm
[AccessedJan2016].
investopedia.com,2016. pareto-analysis. [Online]
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[AccessedJan2016].
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[Accessedjan2016].
youtube.com,2016. AirbusA380. [Online]
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[AccessedJan2016].
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Available at:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvkEpstd9os
[AccessedJan2016].