Wing Tank Pressure Test - Learning Launch

Challenge

I have recently moved from a production operative role into the manufacturing engineering department within the company. I was asked to join the team looking into the wing tank pressure test where we check and certify the integrity of the wing before production can continue. There were many different elements of the test that were looked into, from the time it takes to the health and safety issues involved in the test, and from the equipment used to do we even need to do the test? This is a time consuming part of the production process so there were big benefits in improving the test.

Selection

The project had already started before I joined the team and good progress had already been made in identifying some of the areas that could be improved. As the test is performed on a number of different variants, there had been some trials completed in the past on some aircraft, but not others. Learning Launch was selected as the tool for this project as we could test ideas and prototypes rapidly and effectively without the need for major investment or time consuming analysis.

Application

After having a few sessions with the team around the problems with the current method of testing and pain points the operators were experiencing, we had a number of quick win improvements that could be implemented. One of which was taking a method used on one program and applying to another. We engaged with the production operators and asked for their thoughts and feedback through a questionaire. We took this feedback to our next session and came up with further improvements. We were also made aware of other issues around the test and how things might be made faster and safer.

At the next meeting we invited operators from different shifts along for further insight, experience and suggestions. The findings from this session were positive and some of our initial ideas could be bolstered and others quashed. It is becoming increasingly common for the ask for savings to come in the form of health and safety and near miss reduction. This has led us down the path of another way of thinking rather than making things more efficient and faster.

Insight

By using the Leaning Launch tool, we could try our ideas in a short space of time, evaluate them and then we could decide if they were worth pursuing or not. One idea that we trialed was a method of sealing used on another project. But due to the complexities of shape, access to the area and the lengthy cleaning process afterwards, it was deemed unsuitable for this test.

Approach

As the project is still in its infancy and has still not yet been given a budget, Learning Launch is the best tool to use for this project as it enable fast idea testing as well as the right team, feedback from the core users as well as all main stakeholders, and finding the right solution to the problem. We are a step closer to eliminating near misses as well as reducing the non recurring costs of the test, time taken to perform the test and the environmental impact too.

