Kitting Process Improvement on the 787 Dreamliner Program

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is one of the most innovative products that The Boeing Company has ever produced, and the aircraft faces ever-increasing demand from commercial airlines. Mechanics building the aircraft complete work using premade kits; however, these kits are not always fully stocked with the parts needed to complete work. The purpose of this project is to optimize the kitting process to reduce the amount of time that the mechanics spend in non-value added activities, such as locating the correct tools and parts needed to complete a job, maximizing the time mechanics spend on the airplane, and reducing delays in production.

View team project summary

Student Team:
Yatri Patel – EGL (BSE Mechanical Engineering/MSE Industrial and Operations Engineering)
Kartik Raju – Master of Business Administration

 

Project Sponsors:
Michael Jordan – Manager, 787 Manufacturing Engineering
Miles Mason – Manager, 787 Manufacturing Engineering
Zachary Tyree – Senior Manager, 787 Manufacturing Engineering

 

Faculty Advisors:
Prakash Sathe – College of Engineering
Andrew Wu – Ross School of Business

Project Photos