In the last article, we have established that Boeing’s path to regaining our trust necessitates a return to its engineering roots. But that’s just the beginning. For a company once synonymous with innovation and safety, the road back is fraught with challenges. What is the next critical step in Boeing’s journey to redemption? Invest more money into quality control, testing, and training.
Investment in Quality Control and Training
We looked at the last 10 years of Boeing’s financial reports. Boeing spent $43 billion on share buybacks in the six years leading up to its first crash. Before the crash, investors loved Boeing’s focus on financial returns, and the stock price surged by 5 times. But at what cost?
In 2011, Boeing needed to compete with Airbus, which was dominating the single-aisle airplane market. Boeing had two choices: design a new aircraft with the latest safety technologies or refurbish its aging 737, a plane designed in the 1960s. To save on time and costs, Boeing decided to refurbish the 737 and called the new plane the 737 MAX. One of the upgrades was a new flight control system called MCAS, which proved to be flawed. Boeing also failed to properly train pilots on this new flight system.
Catastrophe soon followed. Two planes crashed, killing 346 people in the span of one year. After the crashes, whistleblowers came forward alleging cost-cutting, rushed development, design flaws, and poor manufacturing quality and safety practices. They called out not only the 737 MAX but also other aircraft like the 777 and 787 dreamliner.
The financial impact on Boeing has been harsh. Production of planes was halted, the stock price crashed, and Boeing pleaded guilty to criminal fraud. Yes, Boeing is a convicted felon, a rare occurrence for a company.
Conclusion
To rebuild trust, Boeing must reinvest in new designs, safety technologies, production quality, and training. Boeing has already taken positive steps to improve its safety practices and oversight, but it will take years to see the impact.To monitor Boeing’s progress on safety practices, you should keep an eye on how much they are spending on safety programs. Another way is to see what Boeing’s employees are saying on websites like Glassdoor. AI tools like Portageur can help you find this information quickly. Sign up for a free trial here.
In our next post, we’ll unveil the final piece of the puzzle: the third thing Boeing must do to rebuild trust.
