Boeing 737 MAX crisis escalates: More and more parts are leaving subcontractor Spirit AeroSystems with defects, insiders claim - and improved stats are due to 'staff being too scared to report issues to bully bosses'

The Daily Mail ^ | 13 Jan 2024 | Keith Griffith

[MinorityRepublican]

Claims of quality control issues at key Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems are mounting, following near-disaster on an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX flight.

Spirit, the manufacturer of the door plug that blew out of the Alaska flight in mid-air, runs a factory in Wichita, Kansas where the sprawling fuselage for the troubled jets is produced.

Current and former Spirit employees told the Wall Street Journal that workers at the factory rush to meet unrealistic quotas, and that raising safety concerns is discouraged, if not outright punished.

'It is known at Spirit that if you make too much noise and cause too much trouble, you will be moved,' Joshua Dean, a former Spirit quality auditor who says he was fired after flagging misdrilled holes in fuselages, told the newspaper.

'It doesn't mean you completely disregard stuff, but they don't want you to find everything and write it up.'

[JSM_Liberty]

I assume that Boeing out sourced the work to Spirit AeroSystems in order to save money. Well done Boeing.

[spacejunkie2001]

try to find the video of the entire team at spirit being DEI women (I didn’t see any men).

[frank ballenger]

When Chrysler was on the skids in the 1980s a friend of mine was a supervisor at a manufacturing plant. He said he and others would put tags on engine parts that were faulty in some way. Most failed a test of some kind.

Then “the suits” would arrive and walk down the row tearing the tags off and saying “we have to meet our production quotas.” My friend knew every one of those would someday result in a customer being inconvenienced or angry and vowing never to buy a Chrysler corporation car again.

[Chgogal]

Wonder if those suits were Poison Ivy grads?

[Shady]

When over a hundred people die and now that the problem sub is known, Boeing may not be such a great investment.

[maddog55]

Counterfeit parts are rampant through the industry. Even the Navy P-8 had many counterfeit parts (737-800 variant) and the Government/to Navy let it ride

Pathetic at best.

[Jim Noble]

This is a picture of people from the Spirit Aerosystems website:

Spirit Aerosystems is based in Wichita, Kansas.

This is a LINK to Spirit Aerosystems "Culture and Values" page on their website.

[Uncle Miltie]

Spirit AeroSystems’ Commitment to Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Spirit AeroSystems is committed to creating a world class company — one that is actively working to build an inclusive culture, where all employees diverse skills and talents are valued.

Spirit values the full range of differences, perspectives and abilities that our employees bring to the workplace. We strive to create an environment where all employees feel welcomed and a sense of belonging.

Cultivating a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion directly aligns with our values and is a key enabler to achieving our overall business strategy to enhance performance.

https://www.spiritaero.com/company/diversity-equity-inclusion/overview/

[MinorityRepublican]

I’m all for DEI if they put the Japanese in charge.

[Uncle Miltie]

Note that SAFETY is not a core value:

“Sustainability

At Spirit AeroSystems we are committed to sustainable practices in our work and in our communities. We are guided by our core values of transparency, collaboration and inspiration. To do our part to build a better world, we bring innovation to the products we build and how we build them, with a focus on the well-being of the environment, our employees and our communities. Spirit’s Board of Director’s Governance Committee oversees policies and practices related to Sustainability.

Environment

Spirit AeroSystems is committed to protecting human health and the environment.

LEARN MORE

Our People

Spirit AeroSystems employees are supported by our core values – Transparency, Collaboration, Inspiration – that drive all we do.

LEARN MORE

Governance

Spirit AeroSystems is properly adhering guidelines to provide transparency into the roles and responsibilities of the board and management.

LEARN MORE

Policies and Reporting

Learn about Spirit sustainability policies and reports.

LEARN MORE

https://www.spiritaero.com/company/sustainability/overview/

[gathersnomoss]

America has turned into a waiting room for $hithole developers.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Why hjack when you can install 9/11 at rhe factory?

[heartwood]

Is that a team from Malaysia?

[13foxtrot]

The Spirit Aero angle is being amplified to protect Boeing.

I read that Boeing removes the door plugs while doing interior work and then reinstall as part of final assembly in Renton.

Thus, even if the door plug was miss-assembled by Spirit Aero the Renton machinists reinstalled it incorrectly.

When I did employment law I interviewed some machinists from the Renton plant with various discrimination complaints.

My take away was that Boeing Renton was closer to a middle-school than a precision/high-skill manufacturing/engineering center.

(Remember it wasn’t Spirit Aero that was causing the US Air Force to reject newly delivered tankers because of sloppy assembly.)

[rovenstinez]

Wow, that is some heavy REPORTING. I wonder if Fox News will run with this.....

[Mariner]

Spirit is now well and truly screwed.
As are the leaders at Boeing who outsourced to them without adequate QA.

[dfwgator]

If they are run, like the airline of the same name, it stands to reason.

[Drew68]

It looks like their “diversity” is exclusively Asian so I’d expect some measure of quality.

[DAC21]

Accompanying that company photo is the following text. (I kid you not)

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Spirit values diversity, actively working to build an inclusive culture that recognizes and values employees' diverse skills and talents.