WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Federal Aviation Administration said on Thursday it will boost its oversight of Boeing ( BA ) as the planemaker prepares to resume production of its 737 MAX jets following a 53-day strike that ended earlier this week.

FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker spoke with Boeing ( BA ) CEO Kelly Ortberg this week and stressed the importance of Boeing ( BA ) using its system for managing safety risks as it resumes production, the agency said.

The FAA noted that it maintained its enhanced on-site presence at Boeing ( BA ) factories throughout the strike "and will further strengthen and target our oversight as the company begins its return-to-work plan." Boeing ( BA ) has not said yet when it plans to resume production, but workers do not have to return until Nov. 12.

About 33,000 machinists who work on the best-selling 737 MAX, as well as the 767 and 777 wide-body jets, agreed to end a strike that began on Sept. 13.

Boeing ( BA ) did not immediately comment on the matter.

Reuters has previously reported that Boeing ( BA ) is expected to resume production of the 737 MAX at a very gradual rate.

Whitaker capped production at 38 737 MAX planes per month in January after a door panel missing four key bolts flew off an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 in midair that month, exposing serious safety issues at Boeing ( BA ).

The FAA said last month that it was opening a new safety review into Boeing ( BA ). In October, the Transportation Department's Office of Inspector General criticized the FAA's oversight of Boeing ( BA ).

An FAA audit of Boeing ( BA ) completed in February found 97 incidents of noncompliance, spanning "issues in Boeing's ( BA ) manufacturing process control, parts handling and storage, and product control."

Whitaker said in September that safety culture improvements at Boeing ( BA ) may take three to five years to accomplish and vowed to revamp the FAA's own safety management program. He said in June the agency had been "too hands-off" in its oversight of Boeing ( BA ).

In September, a Senate panel investigating Boeing's ( BA ) culture faulted oversight by the FAA.