Boeing aims to fully resume Seattle-area production before year-end as safety review continues

Boeing aims this month to fully resume final assembly of commercial aircraft in the Pacific Northwest, having so far held off from rebooting the lines after machinists ended a 53-day-strike in early November. In a recent internal email, Boeing says it is working through its “safety management system” (SMS) to ensure its operation, tools and people are prepared for a safe production restart. The company’s 737 production lines in Renton and its 767 and 777 lines in Everett have already been offline for nearly three months. Meanwhile, the FAA says it is closely monitoring Boeing, with FAA administrator Michael Whitaker having visited the company’s 737 Max assembly site in Renton last week. “Commercial Airplanes is expected to resume final assembly of new airplanes this month in the Pacific Northwest. A dedicated team has been using the company’s safety management system (SMS) to ensure that tools, processes and teammates are ready to safely restart after the work stoppage,” says the Boeing internal email. “Additionally, each airplane programme has invested time to complete unfinished jobs, clear excess inventory where possible, and address issues that could interrupt factory flow,” it adds. The company has been delivering some aircraft amid the stoppage. Boeing faces immense financial pressure to resume production as quickly as possible, but must also ensure its operation does not allow further quality lapses.<br/>