Page 617 - Introduction to Business

CHAPTER 17 Management Information Systems 591

Management Information Systems at
the Boeing Company

n the mid-1980s, the Boeing Company invested in three-dimensional
computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM)
Itechnology for strategic reasons. By the end of that decade, a single strategy
for applying this capability emerged after numerous pilot programs were
conducted. The pilot programs clearly demonstrated the benefits of modeling
airplane parts as three-dimensional solids in the computer-aided three-
dimensional interactive application (CATIA) system. Developed by Dassault
Systemes of France and marketed by IBM in the United States, CATIA, along
with several Boeing-created applications, allowed Boeing engineers to simulate
the geometry of an airplane design on the computer without the costly and
time-consuming investment of using physical mockups.
Studies at Boeing showed that part interference, incidents of assembly
parts overlapping each other, and difficulty in properly fitting parts together in
aircraft final assembly are the most pervasive problems in manufacturing
airplanes. By 1989, the Boeing engineering organization was confident that it
could significantly reduce the costly rework caused by part interference and fit
problems by digitally preassembling the airplane on the computer. The
improved accuracy in part design and assembly, as well as the instantaneous
communications capability of this technology, convinced Boeing that the
significant investment required to implement it would more than pay for itself
in the long run by improving the quality of airplane designs and reducing the
cycle time required to introduce new airplanes into the marketplace.
The opportunity to apply the new CAD/CAM approach, as well as other
new engineering and manufacturing ideas, came in 1990 with the launch of the
Boeing 777 twin jet. The 777 program established design-build teams to
develop each element of the airplane’s airframe or system. Under this
approach, all of the different specialties involved in airplane development—
designers, manufacturing representatives, toolers, engineers, financers,
suppliers, customers, and others—worked jointly to create the airplane’s parts
and systems. Based at the same location, team members worked concurrently,
sharing their knowledge rather than applying their skills sequentially.
Communication among the program’s 238 design-build teams was
accomplished by using sophisticated computers linked by the largest
mainframe installation of its kind in the world, consisting of eight IBM
mainframe computers. This computer network consisted of mainframes and
workstation installations in Seattle, Washington; Wichita, Kansas; Philadelphia;
Japan; and other locations.
Central to the digital design approach was the CATIA system. From the
beginning of the 777 program, the three key participants in the system—
Boeing, Dassault Systemes ,and IBM—developed a working-together
agreement signed by their respective chief executive officers. The three
companies made a commitment in the agreement to deliver products and
services on schedule to the 777 program computer users. But the basic
CAD/CAM technology provided by the CATIA system was not enough. The
possibilities this technology provided required Boeing to rethink the entire
process of designing and building an airplane, in order to leverage these
capabilities to their maximum extent. The company found that several
enhancements to the CATIA system were required in order to allow engineers
to productively design an entire airplane using these new processes. Boeing

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