But the FAA has to approve the overall process and certify that the cutting-edge, plasma-deposition technology is reliable enough to ensure identical strength and other properties from batch to batch. The Norwegian firm, Norsk Titanium, which has been laying the groundwork for the initiative for several years, already has FAA approval to produce a limited category of structural titanium parts for Boeing’s 787. By using titanium wire, rather than powder, as the raw material, the company is able to tackle larger parts and churn them out much faster than would be possible otherwise. Norsk’s 3-D printed production runs can be 100 times faster than those using powder, meaning some parts could be ready in a matter of hours, instead of days or weeks.
There are scores of companies itching to join the 3-D printing trend for aerospace alone. A large jetliner has between 300 and 1,000 structural titanium parts. GE is using a different, more time-consuming process for more intricate parts. It has approval to print thousands of fuel nozzles, for jet engines powering new planes from Boeing and Airbus , featuring complex internal structures that would be impossible to produce by traditional methods.
Classroom discussion questions:
Why is 3-D printing a major issue for operations managers in aerospace?
Mounting the engines over the top of the wings reduces the drag in flight
“Honda is finally getting its wings,” writes The Wall Street Journal (May 18, 2015). Some new products, as we discuss in Chapter 5, go from inception to market in months, and some in years. But for Honda, it involved 3 decades of planning and development to deliver one of its most unusual innovations: an ultrafast business jet that carries its engines above its wings. The $4.5 million 7-seat HondaJet is set for delivery to customers mid-2015. For Michimasa Fujino, the 54-year-old CEO of Honda Aircraft, it is the culmination of a decades long fight to make a Honda aircraft in the face of skeptical executives, technical delays and the global recession. His influence touches every aspect of the design, from its curves to the manufacturing process. “This airplane is my art piece,” he states.
The jet gives Honda—which also makes robots, boat motors, and lawn mowers—entree into a new market. But no modern car company has successfully made the transition to building aircraft. Honda is betting that technological advances will trigger new demand from buyers with its lightweight body made of carbon-fiber composites–providing 17% better fuel efficiency than competitors while having the highest speed in its class: 480 miles per hour.
Fujino’s first decade produced a pair of designs, but the breakthrough came in 1996 when he sketched the basics of the plane’s current design on the back of a wall calendar. Inspired by principles in a 1930s aerodynamics textbook, the design mounted jet engines atop the wings to boost cabin space and cut noise. In 1997, Fujino presented the business case to the board with the sketch in hand, receiving approval for a flying prototype. It would take 3 years of persuasion, using simulations and wind tunnels to prove his point. He and 40 employees started building the prototype in 2000 in a hangar in Greensboro, N.C. The prototype flew successfully in 2003. Today, HondaJet’s workforce has grown to 1,300 at its 133-acre N.C. campus, providing easy access to the U.S. and Europe, 80% of its estimated market.
Classroom discussion questions:
1. Why did product development take so long?
2. Provide a brief SWOT analysis of the new product.
Discussing the issue over lunch with my friend Michael yesterday, we agreed that these incentive packages don’t do much to help the overall economy. The benefit to one state is simply a loss to another. Michael, the retired CEO of 2 major multinationals, has made many location decisions in his career. In almost every case, the location selection hinged on a slew of other factors (qualified employees, distribution channels, right-to-work, among others). Incentives were the bonus that he fought for after finding the best site–never the #1 criterion.
But backers of incentives say aerospace factories are especially attractive because they lead to follow-on investment and other jobs at suppliers. Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley admits wooing Airbus “was an expensive project.” The funding will support training for many of the 1,000 new staff, new equipment and local infrastructure. For every new position at the Airbus facility, Bentley predicts 4 additional jobs at suppliers and service businesses will be created. Similarly, S. Carolina estimates the Boeing factory, employing more than 6,000 people, will create thousands more jobs in the local supply chain and generate $4.6 billion in annual economic benefits to the region.
Discussion questions:
1. Refer your students to the Chapter 8 OM in Action box regarding Mercedes decision to open a plant in Alabama. What do the auto and aerospace industries have in common?
2. What factors should OM managers focus on in decisions such as these?
