波音787从梦想沦为梦魇了吗

    虽然这不太可能是设计失误，但波音要想过关仍然不容易。这些年来伴随787型飞机项目的所有这些机械问题如今都已经无可辩驳。所有有关这款飞机将“解决遗留问题”或这是“磨合问题”的借口现在已经行不通了。你能否想象一下，如果一家汽车制造商告诉客户说，新车上的小火灾和漏油是正常现象，因为这款车是新车，还有“一些问题没有解决”？

    787型飞机推迟交货和技术问题的最初根源在于波音错误地决定将这款飞机的制造和部分设计外包给全球几十家供应商。波音吃了苦头才认识到，不掌控供应链的关键环节，就很容易陷入无穷无尽的麻烦，比如推迟交货。一旦收到不符合标准或不匹配的零部件，它还必须应对质量控制问题。

    波音已收回了对美国制造流程的全部控制，但它仍依赖GS Yuasa等外国供应商为提供高品质产品；GS Yuasa是787型飞机的锂电池制造商。波音今年在将产量提高至每月10架前，还需要加强组装线的质量保障。否则，所有这些小故障可能毁了这款机型的声誉，使其沦为“波音最失败的产品”。（财富中文网）

    译者：早稻米

    But while it is unlikely to be a design flaw, Boeing shouldn't get off easily. All the mechanical issues that have marred the 787 program over the years have now become inexcusable. All this talk about the aircraft having to "work out the kinks" or having "teething issues" and such is getting old. Could you imagine if an automaker told its customers that the small fire and fuel leakage on their new car was normal because it's new and was simply "working out the kinks?"

    The original source of the 787's delays and technical difficulties laid in Boeing's disastrous plan to outsource the aircraft's production and some of its design across dozens of suppliers from around the globe. Boeing learned the hard way that without control over the critical parts of its supply chain it left itself vulnerable to a number of annoying issues, such as delays. It also had to deal with quality control issues as parts arrived that weren't up to snuff while others simply didn't fit right.

    Boeing has taken back full control of the production process in the US but it still relies on foreign suppliers, like GS Yuasa, the maker of the 787s lithium-ion batteries, to deliver a quality product to them. Boeing needs to step up its quality assurance on its assembly line now before it ramps up production this year to 10 planes per month. If not, then all these little hiccups could give the aircraft the unfair reputation of being Boeing's big fat lemon.