Tool Selection and Kitting : Technical and Organizational Issues

Boeing South Carolina builds the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the world's first composite-skinned wide-body jet. This new manufacturing facility is evolving to meet the demands of building this complex aircraft. One of the challenges faced by this site is providing the manufacturing workforce with the best tools for the job in an efficient manner. Two different research streams investigate this high-level problem. First is a technical investigation into the selection of a cutter (drill bit) for use in drilling Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) and titanium stacks found in the door surrounds of the aircraft. It was found that a double margin tungsten carbide (WC) cutter with a 1350 point angle and double margin design had superior cost and quality performance as compared to a 1180 point angle polycrystalline diamond (PCD) cutter with a single margin design that was previously used. For this specific application, changing to the proposed WC cutter resulted in savings of approximately 66% per airplane in tool costs alone and a 62% reduction in defects. Second is an investigation into the use of tool kits as a means of providing the manufacturing workforce with commonly needed tools. It was found that kits were not as effective as anticipated in reducing the wasted time from retrieving tools at a central location known as a Tool Crib. To ameliorate this, a series of investigations were conducted, creating analytical tools for identifying shortcomings in the tool kitting distribution system. A team was formed to execute improvements based on the analytical tools developed and achieved a 45% reduction in tools retrieved from outside mechanics' work areas over a 12-week period. Thesis Supervisor: Daniel Whitney Title: Senior Research Scientist Emeritus, Engineering Systems Division Thesis Supervisor: Steven J. Spear Title: Senior Lecturer, MIT Sloan School of Management