Page 26 - Insurance Times May 2024

Boeing: Is it

Really about Praveen Gupta

Supply Chain? Continues to pursue his passion of exploring,
learning and sharing from the exciting inter-
sections between Climate Crisis, Diversity,
Governance, Risk and Tech. He essays his
passionate views through his blog:
www.thediversityblog.com.

"The current woes at Boeing tend to get lumped under the heading of 'supply chain'. There are
compelling reasons as to why they do. However, there are also good reasons - as some astute
observers point out - as to why three signals (which I highlight later in this article) should not get
buried under the mountain of supply chain noise."

Pleased to reproduce an opinion article by Praveen Gupta CEO Dave Calhoun a 45% pay rise; Airbus claiming it will
for the Journal of Chartered Insurance Institute (UK) as leave Boeing in the dust this year. In operation for at least
published by him on the LinkedIn. "Underwriters and risk four decades, the last one-and-a-half months are proving not
managers must ensure they do not operate in silos, lest they to be a good time for Boeing’s US-made AH-64 Apache heavy
miss the root cause", he tells me. attack helicopter. (Stories with respective links in the
comments).
While everyone seems to be pointing at supply chain as the
proximate cause, Clinical Professor Alison Taylor of NYU Boeing’s acquisition of McDonnel Douglas, believe some,
Stern demonstrates: "this is squarely an issue of unethical was the starting point of this turbulence. It compounded
leadership, and that’s the beginning and end of the story". with the outsourcing of Dreamliner (787). The root cause,
however, can be traced to its board room rather than
For a discerning flier - howsoever infrequent - an airline and hashtag #supplychain. A case study of one of the finest
its fleet are no longer under-the-radar. Not just the 737 engineering companies going off the flight path. Thanks to
MAX, anything everything to do with the top aircraft an astute observer and commentator - Alison Taylor - that
manufacturer Boeing tends to raise an alarm. we arrive at this level of discernment.

Some assorted stories flying in the popular media range The current woes at Boeing tend to get lumped under the
anything from: Assembling of 787 Dreamliner sections that heading of 'supply chain'. There are compelling reasons as
could weaken the aircraft over time; deliveries falling off the to why they do. However, there are also good reasons - as
cliff; stock on its worst losing streak since 2018; the Federal some astute observers point out - as to why three signals
Aviation Administration looking into an engine cover that (which I highlight later in this article) should not get buried
came off a flight; a supplier said it tried using other under the mountain of supply chain noise. Hopefully, risk
household products like Vaseline and cornstarch as lubricant managers and risk carriers will not miss out on these
before it settled on using liquid Dawn soap; awards outgoing subtleties.

24 May 2024 The Insurance Times