In the future factory of Boeing Co., immersive 3-D engineering drawings will be paired with communicative robots, while mechanics from around the world will be connected via Microsoft Corp.'s $3,500 HoloLens headgear.
It is a picture of Boeing's ambitious new ambition to merge its massive design, production, and airline services divisions into a single digital ecosystem — in as little as two years.
Boeing's critics assert that the company has already made equally strong commitments to a digital transformation, with mixed outcomes. However, insiders report that the company's broad aims of increasing quality and safety have taken on more urgency and significance as it confronts several threats.
The planemaker is battling to reclaim engineering dominance following the 737 MAX debacle while setting the groundwork for a future aircraft program over the next decade - a $15 billion gamble. Additionally, it hopes to avert future manufacturing issues, such as the structural faults that derailed Boeing's 787 Dreamliner during the last year.
In his first interview in over two years, Boeing's chief engineer, Greg Hyslop, told Reuters, "It's about strengthening engineering." "We're discussing how we work as a company as a whole."
Following years of ferocious market competition, the need to deliver on ballooning order books has created a new front in Boeing's conflict with Europe's Airbus, this time on the production floor.
Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury, a former head of automotive research, has committed to optimizing the company's industrial system by "inventing new production systems and leveraging the power of data."
Boeing's approach thus far has been piecemeal, focused on single aircraft programs or tooling rather than the systemic overhaul envisioned by Hyslop.
The simultaneous drive by both airline titans is symptomatic of a global digital transformation underway, in which manufacturers such as Ford Motor Co and social media businesses such as Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc are relocating work and play to an immersive virtual environment dubbed the metaverse.
So how does the metaverse – a shared digital area frequently accessed via virtual reality or augmented reality – operate in aviation?
As with Airbus, Boeing's holy grail for its next generation of aircraft is to create and connect virtual three-dimensional "digital twin" duplicates of the jet and a simulation-capable production system.
The digital mockups are supported by a "digital thread" that connects every piece of information about the airplane from its inception – from airline needs to millions of parts and hundreds of pages of certification paperwork – all the way through the supply chain.
Reforming old paper-based practices could result in significant change.
More than 70% of quality failures at Boeing can be traced back to a design flaw, Hyslop added. Boeing believes that such technologies will be critical in bringing a new airplane to market in as short as four or five years from conception.
"You will gain speed, improved quality, improved communication, and increased responsiveness when issues arise," Hyslop explained.
"When the quality of the supply base is improved, when the airplane is built more smoothly, and when rework is minimized, financial performance improves."
Enormous difficulty
Nonetheless, the initiative confronts enormous obstacles.
Skeptics point to technical issues with Boeing's 777X mini-jumbo and T-7A RedHawk military training aircraft, both created using digital technologies.
Boeing has also placed an excessive premium on shareholder profits at the expense of engineering dominance, and has continued to decrease R&D spending, Teal Group analyst Richard Aboulafia said.
"Is it worthwhile to pursue?" Without a doubt," Aboulafia stated. "Will it resolve all of their issues?" No."
Digital technology has already been adopted by juggernauts such as airplane components manufacturer Spirit AeroSystems. Major aircraft manufacturers have partnered with Dassault Systèmes, a French software company. However, hundreds of smaller suppliers spread across the globe lack the financial and human resources necessary to make significant advances.
Numerous companies have been harmed by the MAX and coronavirus crises, which followed a decade of Boeing or Airbus price pressure.
"They're going to specify not only the hardware we can purchase, but also all the fancy digital junk that goes on top of it?" According to one supply chain executive.
'A difficult game'
Boeing has recognized that digital technology is not a panacea in and of itself. According to industry experts, it must be accompanied by organizational and cultural reforms throughout the corporation.
Boeing recently appointed veteran engineer Linda Hapgood to lead the company's "digital transformation," which, according to one industry source, involved more than 100 engineers.
Hapgood is most known for converting black-and-white paper schematics of the 767 tanker's wiring bundles to three-dimensional graphics and equipping mechanics with tablets and HoloLens augmented-reality headsets. According to one insider, the quality increased by 90%.
Hapgood's new post required her to hire engineers who worked on a digital twin for the now-canceled NMA midmarket airliner.
Additionally, she is drawing lessons from the MQ-25 aerial refueling drone and the T-7A Red Hawk.
Boeing's first T-7A jets were "built" in simulation using a model-based design. The T-7A was launched to the market in less than 36 months.
Despite this, the program is experiencing component shortages, design delays, and increased testing needs.
Boeing got off to a fast start with their 777X wing manufacturing in Washington state, where the layout and robot optimization was completed digitally for the first time. However, the overall initiative is years behind schedule and beset by certification issues.
"This is going to be a long game," Hyslop stated. "Each of these approaches addressed a different aspect of the problem. However, what we want to do now is complete it."
