• Vanth@reddthat.com
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    1 month ago

    The report cites inexperienced workforce, exacerbated by the limited pool to hire from in New Orleans and the non-competitive wages Boeing offers compared to other aerospace companies. Mobile and Huntsville are right there. Lol, pony up, Boeing.

    And the report mentions operators are given work instructions that lack detail and require the operator to go diving through multiple levels of specifications and historical records to understand what to do. This speaks to inadequate manufacturing engineers and processes, who are putting out the inadequate work instructions. So I’m assuming the non-competitive pay and retention problems apply to their engineers too, not just the hourly operators and mechanics.

    Work for Boeing for bad pay and to see this shit in the news? Or hop over to Mobile, AL to work for Airbus at a better wage on a popular commercial plane with good reliability and a good reputation. Decisions, decisions.

    • Grimy@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      the report mentions operators are given work instructions that lack detail and require the operator to go diving through multiple levels of specifications and historical records to understand what to do

      Damn, That’s a red flag for anything that flies. I imagine their compliance checklists during assembly are a mess.

      • bowser1035@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        I work in automotive as an engineer and that would be a red flag in our industry too. Our safety standards are only a fraction as strict as aerospace for obvious reasons (we’re not shooting cars through the atmosphere at the speed of sound!), but we’d never get away with this with the amount of audits and accountability that we’re held to. This whole saga is absolutely insane.

          • Vanth@reddthat.com
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            1 month ago

            Ah, but Tesla is really an AI company that happens to sell cars.

            • 🪄Musk as he waves away the auditors
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        1 month ago

        Hmm, space is a little different because so many products are one-offs. It’s hard to design checklists and detailed procedures when you’re making what are essentially prototypes each time. So you make more general processes and then your engineers apply them as needed to each unique build. It can end up looking like a bit of a mess. Space builds rely a lot on expert techs, good modular documentation, and multiple layers of engineering oversight because things change along the way and you can’t always plan for it.

        I’m a process engineer at a different aerospace company. I standardize as much as I can and work hard to make instructions clear but man it’s a struggle. Boeing’s space group needs to pay people enough to retain good talent, because they’re all making decisions all day long.

      • Vanth@reddthat.com
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        1 month ago

        Bold assumption that someone has written good, comprehensive checklists. Sounds possible if not likely that they’re underpaid and under supported too.

    • sunzu@kbin.run
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      1 month ago

      non-competitive pay and retention problems apply to their engineers too

      Bruhh this is how it is pretty much everywhere… The thing is even if the employee is competent there are but so many times being told your labour ain’t shit, you don’t deserve money for it … How many times of no raise will a good worker take before either changing jobs or just doing work that the wages covers.

      About time these" leadership" got exposed for their looting

      • Vanth@reddthat.com
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        1 month ago

        Oh, agreed. And partially why I mentioned Boeing getting smeared in the news in my statement too. Pay means a lot but it’s not everything. Good managers and work a person can be proud of goes a long way.

        Space industry attracts a ton of passionate people who would stick around to do cool things for mediocre pay. But not if the pay gets too low and/or when the work is not something to be proud of.

        E g., I’ve already got a mediocre paycheck, why accept a mediocre paycheck and the grief of a worsening reputation. Someone currently at Boeing for mediocre pay can find another mediocre job elsewhere but it will still be better because the new company isn’t getting dragged in front of Congress for killing people to save money.

    • Demdaru@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      …imagine fuxking NASA pulling this off. After so many fuckups in USA that didn’t end with nationalising, a goddamn NASA going “welp, that’s it” and managing to push for nationalising Boeing…

      • fitgse@sh.itjust.works
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        1 month ago

        NASA’s biggest issue over the last 35 years is that it became a political target. It is really hard to do long term design when your mission changes every 4 years along with a different budget. NASA should have a budget that is only reapproved every 30 years and should not have to worry about outside influence from a president dictating its mission.

      • frezik@midwest.social
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        1 month ago

        Them and the military. There’s only one other major airplane military contractor, Lockheed, and then a couple of smaller companies.

        The 6th gen fighter program, Next Generation Air Dominance, is supposed to be a family of planes where one human plane controls a small squadron of drones of various models. The Air Force gave contracts for two of those drones to some of the smaller companies beside Boeing and Lockheed. They tend not to come right out and say these things, but a good guess as to why is that they don’t want to have those two be the only options.

    • Cocodapuf@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      Oh god, they certainly don’t deserve that. When a company screws up this bad you don’t buy them… Fuck…

      You just stop giving them contracts and watch them go belly up. Problem solved. We have plenty of other aerospace companies to fill the void and plenty of new startups who would love the chance to prove themselves.

      When a company is collapsing in on itself, why would you want to pay a bunch of executives for privilege of inheriting their mess? Wait… are you the CEO of Boeing?

    • werefreeatlast@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      C’mon man, you know that 40 million dollar sign in bonus is absolutely necessary to get at least your garage and kitchen in order when you move.

      • Excrubulent@slrpnk.net
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        1 month ago

        Honestly most of that gets eaten up just airlifting my mansion. I’m sick of doing it, but I’m glad I invested early in the airliftable frame kit when I had the place built. The foundations wouldn’t have held up more than one or two moves otherwise, and there’s no way I’m commuting more than 15 mins.

        • werefreeatlast@lemmy.world
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          1 month ago

          Maybe 🤔 with the right airship we could just work a few lifetimes to move Seattle closer to the East Coast? Maybe as far as Chicago? Sure many will die and loose their homes and way of living?

  • Andromxda 🇺🇦🇵🇸🇹🇼@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    1 month ago

    Just like their planes. Al Jazeera made a really awesome documentary about Boeing and their terrible quality control. They gave some workers at one of the major Boeing assembly facilities hidden cameras and microphones, and let them interview their colleagues. The factory is full of crackheads, and most of Boeing’s own employees who literally put the fucking planes together said that they wouldn’t fly on these planes themselves.

  • Kalysta@lemm.ee
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    1 month ago

    At this point the government just needs to sue Boeing into bankruptcy. They cannot be allowed to continue to gamble with others’ lives while taking taxpayer money

    • PM_Your_Nudes_Please@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      The need to seize the company. Boeing holds too many military contracts to be allowed to die. They build planes for the military, so they’ll get an inevitable bailout.

      Instead, the government should start seizing parts of the company as part of the bailout. “Oh hey, we paid you all this money, so we own these parts of the company now. Shareholders have been fairly compensated for it by the bailout money, so you can’t say it’s unfair. You have proven that your leadership is lacking and you can’t be allowed to operate without oversight. So now that we own large swaths of the company, we’ll be making lots of the big decisions.”

    • AdrianTheFrog@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      lol boeing gets like half of their money from the government, I don’t see the government suing them anytime soon

    • nifty@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      I don’t think that’s a fair assessment, everything people have built up to now relies on a significantly greater amount of complexity. There is a lot which works well and is held together by hardworking, unsung normal everyday folks, but you don’t make the national news for getting shit done or keeping stuff functional.

      That said, yeah the bean counters have fucking ruined engineering firms, and it’s a story which repeats itself over and over. There’s also the issue of nepo babies or “I know this person” incest in a lot of places where qualified people are passed over for someone “you know”. The nepotism and cronyism phenomenon is a huge problem for many institutions, not just engineering firms. Nepotism and cronyism is not just an American issue, it’s something you see everywhere.

      Regarding unqualified people, I do think maybe standards should be raised for entry into some college programs. But the only way raising standards would make sense if we significantly invest in public education. In short, a lot of “breaking” of America is the direct result of short sighted Republican policies.

      • EnderLaw@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        Boeing shifted production to break the Seattle unions. That’s been a sound financial decision so far…except for all of the failures and dead people.

      • Angry_Autist (he/him)@lemmy.world
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        Boeing is just a symptom of the rampant corporate greed and irresponsibility that modern MBAs teach as part of normal daily operations.

        It affects everyone, makes everyone less safe and less secure. Enshittification on a world scale brought to you by Next Quarter Only bottom line capitalism.

        But the powers that be are fine with it for now, mainly because of class war.

        • TubularTittyFrog@lemmy.world
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          I taught business ethnics for MBAs when i was in graduate school.

          The only ‘ethics’ they learned was ‘maximize shareholder value at any price’. They spent an entire semester learning to to argue why murdering people and abusing people was morally justified as long as the share price goes up. That was the curriculum. Nothing else mattered.

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            1 month ago

            If humanity survives this with our records intact, future historians will put a huge chunk of the blame on that mentality.

            It really started with Dodge vs Ford, that codified the mentality as mainstream and we have paid the price for it every year since.

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      Didn’t two Chinese rockets just blow up a couple months ago? I don’t think a couple specific aerospace examples on the cutting edge are indicative of broader issues lol

  • Muteman30@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    Holy shit. At this moment it really feels like Boarding just need to start at the top and fucking fire everyone involved with safety standards and manufacturing.

    • Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.works
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      Hell no. FAA needs to realize what a disaster they’ve created by allowing self regulation of this industry and Crack down to a level that essentially strangulates a company like Boeing. Let them die and allow space for something newer with a quality and safety focus to grow. Saying they’ve fired people and put new people in won’t change anything. They’ll still slack on safety for profits.

      • Telorand@reddthat.com
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        The sad part is that will never happen in a timely manner as things stand currently, thanks to SCOTUS weakening the powers of federal agencies. The FAA should put their foot down, but it will likely get dragged out in legal battles over “the meaning of words like ‘safety.’”

        • evatronic@lemm.ee
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          1 month ago

          Thomas Jefferson never added airplane safety regulations to the Constitution ergo, it’s completely unregulated. Also, Justice Alito would like to cite a man with tapestries tied to his arms as he jumped off a cliff in the 9th century saying of course it’s safe.

      • ChocoboRocket@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        I’ve wondered about this, killing the “company” never really seemed like that big of a deal, as the structure (both physical building/tool/systems and operationally) don’t simply vanish. You still have the knowledge and skillsets in the population, and the supply chains still exist.

        The real problem with these “too big to fail” entities is that the people pulling the levers that cause failures never have any consequences whatsoever.

        Yeah, you’ll always need banks, energy, transportation, defence etc - operational mechanisms for exchanging goods, building, buying etc will never go away or ‘fail’ - but their operational practices absolutely could and should change

        I’m so sick of the wealth class abusing absolutely everything to guarantee themselves more money than they could ever spend.

      • Eldritch@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        Sure the FAA needs to do this. We also need to fund the FAA and other regulatory agencies at the level they could. Whole towns in Texas have had large portions of them vaporized. Due to no proper OSHA and hazardous chemical safety handling inspection and accountability. And yes you read that right. Plural, it’s happened multiple times.

        Often tens to hundreds of inspectors at most. Employed by these agencies are responsible for inspecting tens of thousands of sites each across several States because they are so under staffed and funded. And you want to guess who’s responsible?

      • Skunk@jlai.lu
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        1 month ago

        Sadly getting something new and better will take decades and Airbus cannot handle the (airline) market alone. They also need to have a concurrent cause having an Airbus monopoly could make them sloppy on the long run. The C suite at Airbus are probably the first ones to want Boeing to survive as they know the trouble they’ll be in if they are alone.

        • ironhydroxide@sh.itjust.works
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          Nah. The C suite would love it if they were the only game in town. Shareholder profits and stock goes through the roof. They don’t have competition so they don’t have to innovate or improve anything but profits. They get a HUGE bump in net worth and “retire” while still collecting their board approved stock options.

          Yes the company would eventually kill a ton of people and might be shut down like Boeing, but “I got mine, fuck you”.

          • Skunk@jlai.lu
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            1 month ago

            Yeah I’m not sure about that. Work culture, and even C suite culture, is very different in Europe.

            Airbus publicly said they want Boeing to continue being a good opponent. The comments on this video talks a lot about working for one or the other manufacturer and the differences in the way people are treated.

            Airbus is still lead by an engineer and not an accountant. That could change for sure but EU country won’t let it slip to a shit company as easy as it happened in the US, just because of our culture.

            Worst case scenario, French, German, Spanish and other Airbus locations will go on strikes and riots if conditions are getting worse.

            • ironhydroxide@sh.itjust.works
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              Of course a company would say that they don’t want a monopoly publicly. If it’s known they are, or want a monopoly, then they are more likely to fall in public favor and get hit with fines and legal action, hurting shareholder profits.

              You have a lot of faith that capitalism won’t do a capitalism when the opportunity presents itself.

              Yes Europe has a lot better hold against the evils of capitalism, but it’s still capitalistic.

              • Skunk@jlai.lu
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                1 month ago

                Ah ah yes thanks I try to dream and be positive even if it’s sometimes dumb 😁

                Another thing I forgot is that Airbus (and all EU aviation) are applying the HRO (high reliability organization) and just culture for a long time now.

                I have read somewhere that Boeing started implementing just culture after the Max crashes, so very late. And apparently wrongly as some employees still fear repercussions if they make safety reports (and according to latest NTSB report 2 employees had been punish lately for that reason).

                If true that is totally unbelievable.

    • Cocodapuf@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      Who cares what Boeing does, the solution is simply to stop giving them contracts. Let them work out how to reimagine their company, just not on our dollar.

  • Steak@lemmy.ca
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    1 month ago

    That’s most industries. Society is falling apart lol. Look how the secret service responded to an assassination attempt on trump. It was absolutely pathetic. These people are supposed to be the best of the best of the best. It doesn’t surprise me that other industries are also experiencing this.

    • ᗪᗩᗰᑎ@lemmy.ml
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      1 month ago

      There’s no point for democracy when ignorance is celebrated

      NOFX wrote about the rise of ignorance in America and the song “The Idiots Are Taking Over” is more appropriate now than ever before.

      full lyrics below. link to song for anyone not familiar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sNWDfryyMk


      It's not the right time to be sober
      Now the idiots have taken over
      Spreading like a social cancer, is there an answer?
      Mensa membership conceding
      Tell me why and how are all the stupid people breeding
      Watson, it's really elementary
      The industrial revolution
      Has flipped the *removed* on evolution
      The benevolent and wise are being thwarted, ostracized, what a bummer
      The world keeps getting dumber
      Insensitivity is standard and faith is being fancied over reason
      Darwin's rolling over in his coffin
      The fittest are surviving much less often
      Now everything seems to be reversing, and it's worsening
      Someone flopped a steamer in the gene pool
      Now angry mob mentality's no longer the exception, it's the rule
      And I'm starting to feel a lot like Charlton Heston
      Stranded on a primate planet
      Apes and orangutans that ran it to the ground
      With generals and the armies that obeyed them
      Followers following fables
      Philosophies that enable them to rule without regard
      There's no point for democracy when ignorance is celebrated
      Political scientists get the same one vote as some Arkansas inbred
      Majority rule, don't work in mental institutions
      Sometimes the smallest softest voice carries the grand biggest solutions
      What are we left with?
      A nation of god-fearing pregnant nationalists
      Who feel it's their duty to populate the homeland
      Pass on traditions
      How to get ahead religions
      And prosperity via simpleton culture
      The idiots are taking over
      
    • exanime@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      I’m still thinking they send the “barely qualified” secret servicemen to protect Trump

    • KillingTimeItself@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      Look how the secret service responded to an assassination attempt on trump. It was absolutely pathetic

      it was perfectly fine??? They shot and killed the guy within like 3 seconds of the event happening???

      Sure it’s weird that he was up there, but i’m not sure that’s a failing of SS specifically, but they certainly did their job in regards to neutralizing the threat.

      Also trump isn’t even the current president, so it’s not like he’s going to get all the coverage in the world.

      • Steak@lemmy.ca
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        The fact he even got shots off while laying on literally one of the only spots a sniper could get a shot off is absolutely bad enough. They should have had minimum one sniper looking at that roof constantly. That’s like step one.

        • KillingTimeItself@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          i believe they did, though it’s worth noting, you’re constantly scanning rooftops as a sniper, so there’s always going to be a small amount of time before targeting and shooting.

          I’ve heard, havent verified but apparently local police were working the grounds and apparently maybe that roof? So it might have been their responsibility entirely. I’m guessing the kid only peaked the roof shortly before shooting though, that’s the only way he would’ve gotten a shot off.

        • Cocodapuf@lemmy.world
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          Apon rereading, your comment isn’t any more coherent. It’s like a vague “what is this world coming to?!”, drawing disparate concepts together as if they form some grand pattern, but there’s nothing there.

  • aaaaace@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    The whole word, “No NASA, don’t send astronauts on Boeing equipment!”

    NASA, ¯_(ツ)_/¯

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    Define “unqualified.”

    Like, unqualified to even build a see-saw for a public playground? Agreed

    Unqualified to work for Boeing? Highly debatable at this point

    Can we please instate a corporate death penalty? And some sort of persona non grata for executives who contributed to the condemnable behavior?

    Also, new rule: if the sum of pay and benefits for a company’s C-suite and stock buybacks is greater than the sum of the pay for your non-contractor employees then all the stocks bought back must be transferred to your employees and contractors.

    • Zorque@lemmy.world
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      Can we please instate a corporate death penalty?

      That shit doesn’t even work for petty crimes, why do you think it would work for people who can buy their way out of it?

      • thefartographer@lemm.ee
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        Don’t say “no” just because it hasn’t worked yet!

        Be bold! Be daring!

        Stomp on a CEO’s crotch!

        • Zorque@lemmy.world
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          Nah, I don’t want to be choked out by their private militia.

          But hey, if that’s something you’re up for dying pointlessly for, be my guest!

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          Stomping on their crotch will hurt them less than taking their money.

          Fine the CEO’s personally at 90% yearly salary for fuckups like this and shit will change real fast.

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    That’s how you squeeze profits from a good company and turn it to shit. That’s the capitalist nazi way!

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    Every company is trying for the most unqualified workforce these days… but at least most of them don’t involve flight.

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    Well that’s nothing new - I worked for them “briefly” (as in weeks - ended up with a better job offer!!) and as an actual aircraft mechanic I was disgusted by what I saw - they had supervising roles filled with non-aircraft trades people, training was done by a former boat mechanic, there were butchers and carpenters - who, if you asked them thought they were far more capable than an aircraft mechanic as, actual aircraft trades are considered “problematic” by Boeing management (who are all ex Toyota staff for the most part…) because - aircraft mechanics are too slow for a production line environment as we tend to take our time too much for their liking (oh because we want to get it right first time?!) 🤦🏼‍♀️

    I left and a week later the Max was grounded - the garbage that was spewing from senior management right before the grounding was eye roll inducing - about how they stand by the product bla bla bla and have no idea how shiny new aircraft could just fall out the sky……of course we know how that turned out for them….

    But yeah, Boeing, like Rolls Royce are not the brand a lot of people should think of as “high quality” until they sort their QA shit out and start employing actual aircraft tradespeople and engineeers who know what they are doing 🤷🏼‍♀️