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Boeing
goes for a plane view
By JOURNAL STAFF
February 20, 2004
Photo
courtesy of Boeing
Boeing renovated the
final assembly building, creating open
offices where engineers can interact
and see the planes. Construction on Boeing's
"Move to the Lake" project
has been completed at the commercial
airplane site in Renton. The project
converted unused factory space into
offices in the 737/757 final assembly
building. NBBJ did the design,
which called for office areas to be
separated from factory space by a translucent
wall with windows so employees in the
offices can see the planes.
Work
spaces were designed for openness, with
no hard-walled office areas, and ample
room for collaboration. The plan called
for groups who need to work together
to be seated near each other. NBBJ
devised a bright color palette for the
interior, in contrast to the drab colors
of the past.
The project is
part of Boeing's consolidation in the
final assembly and wing center buildings
at the north end of the Renton site
on Lake Washington. Lean manufacturing
and other improvements in plane production
have reduced the need to store inventory
in the factory, Boeing officials said.
This freed up floor space to put most
of the workers who design, build and
support Boeing 737 and 757 planes under
one roof.
By year's end, more
than 2,500 employees from the engineering,
finance, program management and other
groups will relocate to the final assembly
building and others nearby.
"This
isn't intended to be just a facilities
move," said Carolyn Corvi, 737/757
programs vice president and general
manager. "We want to change the
way we work together, to create a linkage
between builders and designers and get
people to connect in ways that will
help us better communicate, operate
more efficiently and become even more
competitive."
In a test
of the new arrangement, engineers found
that being close to the airplanes made
it easier to meet with mechanics to
discuss quality and installation issues,
officials said.
Turner Construction
was the general contractor. MKA was
structural engineer; Notkin Engineering,
mechanical; Sparling, electrical; and
SSA Acoustics, acoustical. Steelcase/Barclay/Dean
supplied the furniture
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