Airbus Adjusts A350 Program Management

Airbus has decided to refine how it manages the A350XWB twin-widebody’s development to streamline decision making and provide greater transparency to managers as manufacturing and assembly of the airliner gear up. The changes, put in place last week by Airbus Chief Operating Officer Fabrice Bregier, represent “a big organizational change” aimed at ensuring that various elements within Airbus and the supply base work together more closely, says a senior industry official. The step is being described as an effort at “continuous improvement” for the project’s organizational structure as the A350 moves from its design phase to the manufacturing stage. The goal also is to allow for more rapid decision making in engineering, procurement and manufacturing decisions, says an Airbus official. Although Airbus has avoided pointing fingers at Boeing, company officials have been closely watching the missteps its rival has made in developing the 787—the A350 competition—in an effort to sidestep those problems. One of Boeing’s problems with the 787 has been tracking activities at key suppliers. Hans-Peter Ring, chief financial officer for Airbus-parent EADS, also recently said that the complexity of the transition to manufacturing is one of the reasons the A350 in-service date was recently delayed from mid-2013 to the second half of the year. With the change, Airbus says it is creating a supplier development organization within its global procurement department. Furthermore, Airbus is creating the position of head of A350 operation, which will oversee all the elements of the airliner the company is building itself. The goal is to make sure they arrive at the A350 final assembly line on time and within the required cost and quality specifications. The engineering team also is being refined, with fuselage and cabin plateaux. These two facilities will effectively see design teams work closely with core engineering personnel and the chief engineering team in an attempt to avoid long-delays over design decisions and to be more responsive when design problems arise. Airbus plans to begin final assembly of the first A350 next year, with the first aircraft to fly in 2012.