FOD - Foreign Objects and Debris

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Alisoncc
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FOD - Foreign Objects and Debris

#1 Post by Alisoncc » Sun Apr 21, 2019 7:32 am

'I never plan to fly on it': Boeing workers blow whistle on 787 plant
When Boeing broke ground on its new factory near Charleston in 2009, the plant was trumpeted as a state-of-the-art manufacturing hub, building one of the most advanced aircraft in the world. But in the decade since, the factory, which makes the 787 Dreamliner, has been plagued by shoddy production and weak oversight that have threatened to compromise safety.

A review of hundreds of pages of internal emails, corporate documents and federal records, as well as interviews with more than a dozen current and former employees, reveals a culture that often valued production speed over quality. Facing long manufacturing delays, Boeing pushed its workforce to quickly turn out Dreamliners, at times ignoring issues raised by employees.

Complaints about the frenzied pace echo broader concerns about the company in the wake of two deadly crashes involving another jet, the 737 Max. Boeing is facing questions about whether the race to get the Max done, and catch up to its rival Airbus, led it to miss safety risks in the design, like an anti-stall system that played a role in both crashes.

Safety lapses at the North Charleston plant have drawn the scrutiny of airlines and regulators. Workers have filed nearly a dozen whistleblower claims and safety complaints with federal regulators, describing issues like defective manufacturing, debris left on planes and pressure to not report violations. Others have sued Boeing, saying they were retaliated against for flagging manufacturing mistakes.

Joseph Clayton, a technician at the plant, one of two facilities where the Dreamliner is built, said he routinely found debris dangerously close to wiring beneath cockpits.

"I've told my wife that I never plan to fly on it," he said. "It's just a safety issue."
https://www.smh.com.au/business/compani ... 51fza.html
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Re: FOD - Foreign Objects and Debris

#2 Post by Slasher » Sun Apr 21, 2019 11:35 am

I thought any swarf at all invalidates the Certificate of Hygenic Contruction. In Boeings it's located on the left wall fuselage close to the RPB. Airbuses I think is on the right.

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Re: FOD - Foreign Objects and Debris and TLAs

#3 Post by Rossian » Sun Apr 21, 2019 8:19 pm

.....wot's the "RPB" when it's at home Slash?

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Re: FOD - Foreign Objects and Debris

#4 Post by Slasher » Mon Apr 22, 2019 12:57 am

Rear Pressure Bulkhead sir.

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Re: FOD - Foreign Objects and Debris

#5 Post by Rossian » Mon Apr 22, 2019 7:48 am

Thanks matey, not all of us flew newish aircraft and the TLAs are different.
PS I hope your job becomes less intense soon-ish,

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Re: FOD - Foreign Objects and Debris

#6 Post by Slasher » Mon Apr 22, 2019 8:53 am

Ta Ross. 👍🏻

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Re: FOD - Foreign Objects and Debris

#7 Post by Krystal n Chips » Wed Apr 24, 2019 8:12 am

History repeats itself then.

The first batch of 767's were notorious for centre tank fuel pump failures. Until the problem was solved.....the problem being the vast amount of swarf in the tank.

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Re: FOD - Foreign Objects and Debris

#8 Post by om15 » Wed Apr 24, 2019 8:38 pm

Cessna Citations had a well deserved reputation for slack quality control at the build factory at Wichita, first maintenance check after build revealed the airframes were full of riveting blocks, gripper pins, swarf and so on, really pretty gash.

A 2 BA open ended spanner (very small for the non technical) was dropped down the side of a VC 10 on maintenance, it migrated into a position where it could not be reached without cutting an access hole in the pressure hull, the remedy was to smother the area with PRC to keep it in place, this was checked by regular X Rays to ensure that it hadn't moved.

One of the better EASA initiatives was the requirement for EWIS training for airframe tradesmen to show the dangers of swarf ingress into wiring looms, not a requirement for manufacturing teams unfortunately.

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Re: FOD - Foreign Objects and Debris

#9 Post by Pontius Navigator » Wed Apr 24, 2019 8:46 pm

Not aircraft or safety, but an indication of tyranny of the production line.

Fixing something on the wing of my SAAB 99 I dropped a long plastic spacer behind the washer bottle. I had to remove the bottle to retrieve ute. I found 4 spacers. One was the one I dropped. Another was one that should have been fitted and two spare.

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Re: FOD - Foreign Objects and Debris

#10 Post by Krystal n Chips » Thu Apr 25, 2019 6:46 am

om15 wrote:
Wed Apr 24, 2019 8:38 pm
Cessna Citations had a well deserved reputation for slack quality control at the build factory at Wichita, first maintenance check after build revealed the airframes were full of riveting blocks, gripper pins, swarf and so on, really pretty gash.

A 2 BA open ended spanner (very small for the non technical) was dropped down the side of a VC 10 on maintenance, it migrated into a position where it could not be reached without cutting an access hole in the pressure hull, the remedy was to smother the area with PRC to keep it in place, this was checked by regular X Rays to ensure that it hadn't moved.

One of the better EASA initiatives was the requirement for EWIS training for airframe tradesmen to show the dangers of swarf ingress into wiring looms, not a requirement for manufacturing teams unfortunately.
Not be to outdone, the same "ethos " can be found in maintenance.

For anybody not familiar with the BAC 1-11, there are two large panels on the sides of the rear airstairs. Removed one and was interested to find not only swarf, but rivet heads, mandrels, stems in abundance. Apart from the obvious, I suppose I should mention these panels allow access to the control cables and pulleys so what could possibly be of any concern. I submitted a quality lapse, only to be "advised " by the "manager " to forget the matter as it would reflect badly on those who had carried out the work....I am being serious here. Clearly, being me, this advice was duly ignored and treated with the same contempt I held for him anyway. Eventually, a more senior "manager " got off his office chair and had a look...he embarrassingly agreed I had a valid point.

The "manager " in question was the same moron who decided to officially rebuke me for delaying the input of an aircraft into the hangar one night. The delay I induced was by applying the brakes, the tow bar shear pin worked as intended, because it was evident that, if we had continued the tow, about 2 feet of the wing tip would have become embedded in the hangar external support girders. He implemented his action despite numerous witnesses confirming my action had been relevant.

Then there were those representatives of a "large airline based at LHR " who were doing some work on a Tri-Star one day when it was a bit breezy and the engine blades were, not unsurprisingly, windmilling away . Cue the how to stop this plan. Now an engine blank would seem the obvious solution but not in this case. Instead a large rubber chock was used !.....it gets better, or, to be frank, worse. With the chock now firmly wedged, sod the walk round, our "hero's " duly decide to do a ground run on said engine. The chock put up a valiant fight before it was shredded....and the innocent engine duly changed

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