Automation Key to Boeing’s Latest 777 Rate Hike
Boeing’s paint spray robots can paint a 777 wing in less than 25 minutes.
Boeing’s paint spray robots can paint a 777 wing in less than 25 minutes.

Automation in the aerospace industry remains fundamentally immature, and Boeing’s efforts in introducing robotics into 777 production might look like baby steps to the world’s automobile makers. But at Boeing’s widebody plant in Everett, Washington, those steps have translated into some considerable efficiency gains following the company’s transition some eight years ago to a moving, U-shaped assembly line and simultaneous implementation of so-called lean production processes.