Article alleges poor work at Boeing SC causing 787 production problems in WA

CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) - An article recently published in the Seattle Times is blaming Boeing production in South Carolina for problems experienced on the Boeing assembly line in the Puget Sound.

According to an article released Monday night, sections of Boeing 787 Dreamliners coming from the North Charleston facility have been arriving in Washington state incomplete, and with what the article calls "poorly done work."

The Seattle Times piece says the quality of work coming out of Boeing South Carolina (BSC) is only getting worse. The article goes on to say the "poor work" out of North Charleston might be putting the company behind on its production goal of ten Dreamliners per month.

The author of the piece does not name his sources at Boeing in Washington state and South Carolina. He says their names cannot be revealed because they spoke without company permission.

BSC released a statement Tuesday saying the company is making its rate commitments and "has a solid plan to continue to implement improvements as we go forward."

The Times article points to so-called "inexperienced workers" in North Charleston for the problems with production, along with a lack of proper training materials.

To counter these issues, BSC spokesperson Candy Eslinger says the South Carolina facility has been able to quickly hire contract labor to address any surge in requirements.

"We also have the flexibility and ability to move teammates internally around the site to support production in all operations if the need arises," says Eslinger. "And we have the ability to leverage the support available from other non-represented Boeing manufacturing sites."

According to unnamed Boeing employees in Washington state, planes that are arriving from North Charleston are largely incomplete, and employees at the Everett facility are spending a lot of their time finishing the work and fixing problems.

When asked about the allegations made in the Seattle Times article, Eslinger said, "we do have some challenges," but would not elaborate.

A BSC employee quoted in the article says there is hope for improvement in North Charleston, as more experience will lead to better, faster work.

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