Improving Efficiency of Operations in Paint Shop and Pre-flight Processes at Bombardier Aerospace Company

The principles of lean engineering design are well documented for the automotive industry – where they have served to revolutionize the efficiencies of North American manufacturing operations. Lean engineering has subsequently been transferred into other sectors – where it continues to generate impressive results. The aerospace industry is faced with demands for efficiency of operations, and the throughput of existing plant operations are being challenged to meet increased needs for aircraft to support the growth of emerging markets, and the need for more fuel efficient aircraft. The aerospace industry has a legacy of craftsmanship execution and knowledge transfer through skilled employees that have employed their trade in the industry for decades, and have developed a wealth of expertise and tribal knowledge. In order to increase efficiencies of operations – it is necessary to develop a rigorous documentation protocol to record the exact tasks performed at all stages of the assembly process – in a format that can be used by industrial engineers. Once this process is thoroughly documented through SOP – production bottlenecks and efficiency bottlenecks can be understood and measured – with opportunities for improvement clearly identified.

Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Villiam Makis

Student:

Farnoosh Naderkhani ZG, Leila Jafari &Chen Lin

Partner:

Bombardier Aerospace

Discipline:

Engineering - mechanical

Sector:

Aerospace and defense

University:

University of Toronto