LGMT 420 research paper Turbulence in the Skies

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Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University *

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420

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Industrial Engineering

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Dec 6, 2023

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docx

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1 Turbulence in the Skies: A Case Study of the Airbus A380 Production Challenges Embry Riddle Aeronautical University LGMT420 Management of Production & Operations Professor Michael Davis October 1, 2023 Abstract

2 Innovation led to the creation of the first aircraft in 1903 by the Wright brothers and has led the aviation industry to dumbfounding inventions such as the Airbus A380. An extraordinary placeholder in modern aviation engineering, the A380 faced many difficulties with production and operations challenges that impacted its manufacturing and supply process. This unfortunately led to the demise of this super jumbo spectacle, where production came to a halt in 2021. Understanding the 10 strategic operations management decisions, and how they apply to the production and operations management issues faced by the A380 could help readers understand what led to the unfortunate fall of this industry. Turbulence in the Skies: A Case Study of the Airbus A380 Production Challenges

3 Airbus is a European aircraft manufacturing company that was founded in 1970. They are one of the leaders in the aircraft manufacturing industry with over 20 different models of Airbus planes. Airbus is not unfamiliar with setting and maintaining the benchmark in aviation, having been the first to release a wide-body jetliner with only two engines, the A300. This inception aircraft design was first entered into service in 1974 (Britannica, n.d.). Fast forward to 2005 and many plane models later, the A380 was released with impressions set from the start with its double-decker design. With its launch costing $12 billion, the Airbus A380’s innovative design choice permits the seating of over 550 passengers per flight, which is more than any other aircraft in the world (Airbus, n.d.). Airliners such as Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa, and Qantas are the primary users of the A380 fleet. The uniqueness of the A380 created great interest in the product, but ultimately, issues with demand and production led to the fall of this incredible addition to the aviation industry. Strategic Operations Management Decisions Operations management (OM) is an accumulation of activities that create value in an organization through planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling processes (Heizer et al., 2022, p.7). It is one of the major functions of an organization that helps to create efficiency and profitability through a proper understanding of the ten strategic OM decisions. These decisions include the design of goods and services, managing quality, process and capacity strategies, location strategies, layout strategies, human resources, supply chain management, inventory management, scheduling, and maintenance (Heizer et al., 2022, p.8). Applying all ten strategic OM decisions to the fall of the Airbus A380 program will help conceptualize how and why the aviation industry will no longer witness the production of this extraordinary superjumbo jet.

4 Design of Goods and Services Much consideration is taken into the planning process for the design of goods and services. The design of a product is one of the most important components of the production process. Product design determines the lower limits of overall costs and expenses of a new product (Heizer et al., 2022, p.8). Since the baseline for the costs of materials for a new product is dependent on the design choices, this lower limit could either be inexpensive or very expensive, depending on how unique an organization wants its product to be. This also leads to the idea that design choice also determines the upper limits of quality (Heizer et al. 2022, p.8). All of the design considerations create the competitive advantage to make a profitable product. Airbus had a clear idea of what they wanted for their design choice for the newest member of their fleet of aircraft. Keeping in mind that safety is the most important aspect of the design of aircraft, it is almost expected that the design of an innovative product consists of materials and resources that will come at a premium cost. Airbus describes this aircraft as the most spacious aircraft with a relaxing environment because of its two full-length decks with widebody dimensions (n.d.). Materials such as advanced aluminum alloys and composite materials were resourced to make up the fuselage and wings of the A380 (Airbus, n.d.). Aluminum alloys are aluminum metals mixed with other types of metals to create a strong and durable combination. This caused a slight issue with the design and production process because since the A380 has such an enormous build of an aircraft, measuring 73 meters long, 24 meters high, and with a maximum takeoff weight of 560 tons, suppliers would have to manufacture a great capacity of this metal (Lufthansa, n.d.). This led to some delays because sourcing materials and combining them into ready-to-use components is a design step that requires extensive time and money.

5 Managing Quality Managing quality is something that was briefly mentioned previously, but in this sense, it refers to the overall experience of the customer when engaging with the product (Heizer et al., 2022, p.8). Quality is a large component in creating a loyal customer base. One of the main goals of Airbus was to ensure that their superjet airliner was more exclusive than any other aircraft on the market. Due to its larger size, customers would be introduced to a more unique experience where they would be more comfortable than ever, with plenty of room to stretch and move about the cabin (Airbus, n.d.). In addition to this, the addition of state-of-the-art interactive display systems for each and every seat available would allow passengers to ride comfortably with their entertainment readily available. For pilots and cabin crew members, advanced flight management systems and improved navigation created greater reliability and ease during flight (Airbus, n.d.). One thing to note is that the 4 million individual components that help create this ultimate finished product are produced by over 1,500 companies in about 30 different countries (Prisco, 2021). This leads to discrepancies that can exist in the quality of a finished A380. Too many suppliers can lead to issues with quality in the sense that it is difficult to regulate what actually occurs at the management level of each individual organization (Brevig, 2021). This can then lead to more unscheduled maintenance, which will drive up the costs of purchasing and maintaining an Airbus A380 for an airline. Not that it would change the current state of the A380 today, but if Airbus could manage to localize their suppliers to create more quality control, they could mitigate issues related to quality output. Process and Capacity Strategies

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