Boeing has achieved an 11-day assembly flow for the first time on the 737 line at Renton, Washington, marking the culmination of production improvements that began in late 1999.
The major change was the introduction of the moving line, which saw the flow time drop from 23 days to around 17 by the end of January 2002. This rate has continued to improve over the past three years, with the latest flow time now representing an effective 50% cut over the original assembly time.
Boeing has also rolled out the first 737 without "eyebrow" cockpit windows - considered obsolete because of modern navigation aids - which saves 9kg (20lb) in weight.
* Airbus is reducing production lead time for its single-aisle and A330/A340 models. For the A320 family lead time will drop from the current 7.5 months to six months by 2006, while the A330/A340 will reach nine months by late 2007, compared to 12 months in 2003.
GUY NORRIS / LOS ANGELES
Source: Flight International
