Topic(s)
- Operations improvement
Explore how Boeing St. Louis applies lean principles and digital tools to tackle complexity and accelerate performance across defense programs and gain four proven practices you can implement immediately.
Please note: Personal identification and factory footwear are required to attend this tour. Additionally, a background check, middle names and dates of birth are required in advance. Some briefings may have additional access rules.
Overview
Join Boeing St. Louis for an inside look at how lean thinking and digital practices improve delivery, quality and readiness across high mix defense programs. The tour will include briefings and guided visits to major production spaces supporting the F 15EX, MQ 25, F/A 18 and T 7A programs. Attendees will observe leader standard work and daily management routines, value stream thinking applied to complex assemblies, robust 5S and visual management to reduce variability, and practical uses of digital work instructions and the digital thread for in process verification.
The Boeing team will present their core problem statement (high complexity, schedule pressure and variability), the countermeasures selected (A3 problem solving, targeted Kaizen events, standardized work, error proofing and selective automation), and how success is verified through leading and lagging KPIs. Examples will focus on observable, non proprietary improvements — they will not present classified, proprietary supplier contracts or detailed supply chain commercial data.
Participants will take away four repeatable practices:
1. Structured A3 problem solving integrated with daily huddles
2. Leader standard work to enable rapid containment and escalation
3. Cell/layout design for mixed product flow
4. Integrating digital work instructions with visual verification to improve first pass quality.
Expect practical leadership examples and governance approaches for sustaining improvements. A brief Q&A and discussion on practical deployment tactics will conclude the tour.
Company
Boeing Defense, Space & Security (St. Louis) designs, develops and manufactures mission critical military aircraft and support systems. Boeing's St. Louis operations support platform work including F 15EX, MQ 25, F/A 18 and the T 7A program, integrating advanced manufacturing, systems engineering and continuous improvement practices. The company combines aerospace expertise with lean and digital methods to deliver capability for customers while maintaining rigorous safety and security standards. https://www.boeing.com/
