APRIL 1, 2014 VOLUME 7 ISSUE 1 (past issues) |
|
GoForZero Employees Initiative Launched
In an effort to reduce labor costs, Boeing announced a new GoForZero
Employees initiative launching this month. “We took a look at the numbers
and found that we could eliminate 80% of our costs by simply eliminating
employees,” said Bob Dartigan with finance; “When you reduce your
workforce, you reduce cash outflows. Robotic workers can work endless hours
with only electrical and maintenance costs.” New humanoid systems are
being stood up throughout the company, helping with tasks from assembling
commercial aircraft to crunching numbers and generating powerpoint slides.
There are even specialized robots programmed to take mandatory training
courses. “At first we drove for geographic diversity. But why stop there?
Lets pursue workforce diversity as well,” commented Dartigan.
GoForZero Employees has also
inspired a sister task force, GoForZero Unions, aiming to eradicate
labor unions from the company.
Myriad of Badge Extenders Triggers Ergonomics Problems
Employees across the company are complaining of an increasing number of sore
necks, back injuries, and fatigue caused by an over-abundance of badge
extenders. Various organizations have issued extenders, including ethics,
labor compliance, safety, quality management, intellectual property, security,
IT, property management -- each containing quick reference information.The
company is considering spawning a new Badge Management organization that would
appoint Badge Extender Focals (BEFs) for handling these complaints. BEFs would
report to Senior Badge Extender Focals (SBEFs) and establish a scheduled
rotation of badge extenders to avoid “extender overloading”.
Required, annual “Proper Usage of Badge Extenders” refresher
courses would be created to raise awareness of the ergonomics issues. Processes
for creating new extenders and retiring old ones would be implemented, with
strict guidelines on dimensions and weight of new extenders.
Boeing Graphics Course Instructs Use of at Least Five Fonts per PosterBoeing Graphics has released a new 10-Minute Trainer along with course TR#71312 titled “Guidelines for Interior Signage” that guides users in creating posters and signs. The course encourages use of the Comic Sans font for readability, and using multiple variations of bold, italic, and underlined text in the same sentence. “Font sizes may vary widely based on the importance of the information conveyed,” said Tami Davidson of Boeing Graphics, “and a greater number of fonts makes for livelier posters so users don’t get bored.” Vote for Your Favorite Fonts Submit New Fonts Online
Randy’s Lab Workroom Becomes Self-Aware“I walked into the workroom and the lights just came on, and a computerized voice said ‘Welcome, Dave’,” reports BR&T employee Randy Grodes, “it was really freaky.” Grodes maintains a collection of servers and networking equipment used by the research division that has recently sat idle as computing work is being farmed out elsewhere. It is suspected that the vast amounts of computing power available coupled with a stray artificial intelligence research prototype caused this “big bang” in computing. Researchers are currently engaging in conversations with the workroom to determine its level of intelligence and whether or not it poses any cyber threats. Employees Required to Complete Electrostatic Discharge Training
You need to know: TAP! Touch Ground and Prevent
All employees have been assigned mandatory Electrostatic Discharge Training,
due by August 1, 2014 in the MyLearning section of their TotalAccess portal.
“Preventing electrostatic discharge is a vital to maintaining employee
safety and preserving equipment,” said Cindy Haring, who helped create
the training. As airplanes become increasingly e-enabled and composites-based,
and office environments immersed with more sensitive electronic devices, there
is a greater opportunity for electrostatic discharge in the workplace.
Employees are
reminded in the training to always touch ground points when switching
activities.
|
Director of Excellence AnnouncedRoger L. Curran has been appointed as the new EO&T Director of Excellence. In his new role, Roger will chart the course of organ- izational excellence by leveraging new levels of robust synergy. “Roger is the perfect candidate for driving disruptive innovation, sustainability, and streamlining functional training for the organization,” said outgoing director Charles Bowery, who retires this April. In 2013, EO&T recorded a record 37% increase in excellence, the largest increase since the Excellence Organization was formed in 2006. Roger was selected among over a dozen candidates for his plans to socialize breakthrough empowerment strategies, facilitate best-in-class mindshare, and promote scalable milestone visibility benchmarks. View the Excellence By the Numbers Charts Boeing-branded Snuggie IntroducedNow available in the Boeing Store -- Boeing-branded snuggies. Available in three different colors. Show off your company pride while keeping warm in these soft blankets. Factory-crafted from the same materials as in-flight airplane blankets. Order Your Snuggie Online Now
Charge Number Issued for Sitting at Gate
Seattle-based Boeing employees should use a new ETS field 2 code
"GATE" to record time spent sitting at the guard gate. With a new
emphasis on pedestrian safety and driving slowly and carefully, it is common
for drivers to be stuck, especially around shift changes, for as long as thirty
minutes in a line up at the guard gate. The new labor charging guidance also
applies to a new “PARK” field 2 code, for time spent circling
around the parking lot looking for a space. With over 81,000 employees in
Washington State, campus roadways and parking areas can be quite extensive.
Brown Bags now “Nylon Bags”
Boeing Lean+ organization has issued guidance to meeting organizers, that
informal "brown bag" meetings should now be termed “nylon
bag” meetings. An extensive survey performed by Lean+ revealed that,
among employees who pack their own lunch, brown bag usage has fallen
drastically to about 7%, with nylon bags representing 62% of packers. Other
lunch-packing categories include re-used plastic grocery bags, glass food
storage containers, and take-out food packaging. The study highlights nylon bag
durability as one major driver for this shift. The new terminology is being
implemented to prevent discrimination against younger employees who likely
won’t relate to the experience of brown paper bags. Lean+ techniques and
quality management call for accurate terminology to describe workforce
meetings, even when meetings don’t relate to a direct charge activity.
|