How the Boeing 737 Max Incidents Could Have Been Avoided

Hubert Rampersad, Ph.D.?

“The one thing missing from the board of directors of Boeing is a holistic view on cultivating a purpose-driven culture of sustainable design innovation” — Hubert Rampersad

The Alaska Airlines incident on January 6, 2024, involved a Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft that suffered a mid-flight blowout of its fuselage, leading to an emergency landing at Portland International Airport. The incident raised safety concerns and prompted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to ground all US 737 Max 9 aircraft with the door plug feature until the plane could be thoroughly inspected. Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun acknowledges ‘quality escape’ but defends the company’s ‘proven design.’ During a new interview with CNBC, he said he was “devastated” and “emotional” after seeing a video from the Alaska Airlines midflight blowout. He emphasized that he is “confident” in the FAA’s ongoing work to “inspect every one of the airplanes” and make “certain that they’re in conformance with our design, which is a proven design.” Read also RECENT updates: “Cracked window on Boeing 737 forces All Nippon Airways flight to turn back”, “Alaska Airlines CEO: We found ‘many’ loose bolts on our Max 9 planes following near-disaster”, “In another blow to Boeing, a Delta Airlines 757 jet lost a wheel under its nose just before takeoff from Atlanta“, “Spirit AeroSystems rises on media report of possible Boeing errors,” “United Airlines Boeing 737-800 Lands In Atlanta After Engine Fails Mid-Flight“, and “United Airlines flight diverted because Boeing jet had cracked windshield in another flight near-disaster.”? And still, Boeing does not want to learn from its mistakes. Read “Latest 737 Max Accident Shows Boeing Has Not Learned Its Lesson”.This is due to arrogancy, read: “Despite lawsuits, monopoly may keep Boeing’s business intact.”?

In the meantime, the new CEO is dealing with the aftermath of Boeing’s repeated quality and safety issues with its aircraft. The company has faced these issues for five years, leading to the long-term grounding of some jets and the halt in deliveries of others. The design of the 737 Max was found to be responsible for two fatal crashes, one in Indonesia in October 2018 and the other in Ethiopia in March 2019. These crashes killed all 346 people aboard the two flights and led to a 20-month grounding of the company’s best-selling jets, which cost more than $21 billion. The Boeing 737 Max had flaws in its design due to unreliable sensors and cut corners to save money. Some crashes were linked to the absence of warning lights and issues with pilot training and maintenance logs. Ethics were a contributing factor in this situation. Internal communications released during the 737 Max grounding showed one employee describing the jet as “designed by clowns, who are supervised by monkeys.”

Recently, Boeing asked airlines to inspect all of their 737 Max jets for a potential loose bolt in the rudder system after an airline discovered a possible problem with a critical part on two aircraft. United Airlines found loose door plug bolts on an undisclosed number of its Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft while performing the FAA-mandated inspections of the jets. During inspections, Alaska Airlines also found loose hardware on some of its 737 Max 9 planes.

Former CEO?Jim McNerney?systematically promoted non-technical people to executive positions, particularly on the?board. Incredibly, the?MAX was developed under him and the commercial unit CEO—neither of whom had a technical degree. Former CEO Dave Calhoun, who is also not an engineer, has followed the same path, promoting people with similar financial backgrounds (left-brain bookkeepers). The whole board should be fired!

It is concerning that the company is only treating the symptoms of the problem and not addressing the root cause. This may not be effective in the long run, and the company may continue to face challenges. The root cause of the problem is the poor Boeing culture that values profit and DEI above engineering and safety, the poor design methodology, and the mental absence of assembly workers due to disengagement, which leads to a lack of usage of their cognitive capacity and critical thinking skills. Plug bolts can become loose for various reasons, such as vibration, wear and tear, or improper installation. Loose bolts caused by vibrations are often due to poor design. However, it is essential to note that a lack of mental capacity, self-awareness, or critical thinking skills can also cause loose bolts. These skills are necessary for all Boeing employees to ensure the safety and quality of their products because airplanes are imperative products that affect human lives. Read:?Boeing ‘overworked’ employees are linked to its 737 Max issues. Read also: “Boeing lost its way. Other companies should take heed.” It’s become clear that Boeing’s problems run far more profoundly.?

Due to America’s deteriorating business culture, Boeing’s trajectory has veered off course, prioritizing swift profits for shareholders over aircraft safety. This shift was initiated by Jack Welch approximately 40 years ago. The recent Boeing crisis lays bare years of flawed American corporate philosophy centered around shareholder interests. Many of today’s corporate challenges can be traced back to the legacy of GE’s former chairman, Jack Welch, who was revered by CEOs worldwide. Interestingly, Boeing’s former Chairman, David Calhoun, once served as Welch’s deputy. Like many CEOs in corporate America, Calhoun was focused on maximizing profits for his shareholders. It’s probably no surprise that CEO pay increased by 1,322% from 1978 to 2020

This article is based on my experience as a senior design innovation coach at ASML, the most crucial tech company in the world, Europe’s most valuable tech firm, and the only tech company in the world with a design-driven culture.

Poor design process in Corporate America

The design process in Corporate America has been criticized for its shortcomings. It lacks critical elements that affect safety, accountability, transparency, integrity, and empathy.? Examples of bad designs include Elon Musk’s $3 billion Mars rocket failure, Boeing’s 737 Max airplane disasters, the doomed Titan sub tragedy, Citibank’s loss of $500 million due to an unfriendly loan management tool, and the $2 trillion F-35 project. According to my?article “Why OceanGate’s Design Approach Sucks,” these bad designs are mainly due to a lack of critical thinking skills, personal integrity, empathy, resilience, and creativity on the part of the designer, lack of a holistic design model, no sustainable design tools, and mental absence of the designers. I have also written an article titled “Top-10 Causes of Bad Designs”............. read further

Hubert Rampersad, Ph.D.

Orlando, Florida |? [email protected] |? Phone/WhatsApp: +13053992116