February 26, 2024, © Leeham News: A congressionally mandated safety review study for Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA) was halted this morning. The 50-page report from a committee appointed by the Federal Aviation Administration found serious deficiencies in Boeing's safety culture, despite years of attempts to improve it.
LNA is still working on the study, which can be downloaded here: FAA Panel Boeing Safety Study 2-26-24
The summary is summarized below.
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Summary
- The expert panel observed a discrepancy between Boeing leadership and other members of the organization regarding safety culture. Respondents, including members of the ODA Unit (UM), also questioned whether Boeing's safety reporting systems functioned to ensure open communication and no retaliation. The expert panel also found inadequate and confusing implementation of the five components of a positive safety culture (reporting culture, fair culture, flexible culture, learning culture and informed culture).
- The expert panel found that Boeing's SMS practices reflect the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and FAA SMS frameworks. However, Boeing's SMS procedures are not structured so that all employees understand their role in the company's SMS. Procedures and training are complex and constantly changing, leading to confusion among employees, particularly between different workplaces and employee groups. The expert panel also found that there is a lack of awareness of security-related metrics at all levels of the organization. Employees had difficulty recognizing the differences between different measurement methods, their purpose and results.
- Boeing's restructuring of the ODA unit's management reduced opportunities for interference and retaliation against UMs and ensures effective organizational messaging regarding UMs' independence. While the restructuring is better, it still presents opportunities for retaliation, particularly in terms of salary and vacation rankings. This affects the ability of UMs to perform their delegated functions effectively.
- The expert panel also found other problems at Boeing that impact aviation safety, including inadequate consideration of human factors commensurate with their importance to aviation safety and a lack of pilot involvement in aircraft design
Failure to implement security measures
The panel was not tasked with “investigating specific aircraft incidents or accidents or making recommendations regarding a specific aircraft incident or accident that occurred either before or during the work of the expert panel,” the summary continued. “During the work of the expert committee, however, serious quality defects in Boeing products became public on several occasions. These quality issues reinforced the expert panel’s concerns that safety messages or behaviors are not being implemented across the Boeing population.”
More reports will follow.
To update:
A Boeing official responded: “We have transparently supported the panel’s review and appreciate their work. We have taken important steps to promote a safety culture that empowers and encourages all employees to express their opinions. But there is still more to do. We will carefully consider the panel’s assessment and learn from their findings as we continue our comprehensive efforts to improve our safety and quality programs.”
Further Boeing comments will appear in tomorrow's LNA post.
SPEEA, the union of engineers and technicians and member of the expert panel, issued its own statement:
“SPEEA welcomes the report and believes it can be a catalyst for positive change at Boeing.
“Our members have long reported a discrepancy between the messages they receive from Boeing headquarters in Chicago or Virginia and the messages they receive from their direct supervisors here,” said Rich Plunkett, director of strategic development at SPEEA . “Quality and safety must be Boeing Co.'s core values valued by all, but the report reflects the reality that people who see something are afraid to say something for fear of jeopardizing their careers.
“Our union, in collaboration with Boeing and the FAA, has proposed an Aviation Safety Action Program that would allow our members to come forward without fear of retaliation if they discover a manufacturing or design defect – or make one themselves,” Plunkett said.
“We hope Boeing accepts our proposed program so we can work together to restore Boeing’s reputation for quality that generations of SPEEA members have worked so hard to achieve.”