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Boeing ( BA ) aims to stabilize 737 MAX production at 38 planes

monthly

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Safety concerns reported by employees rose 220% from 2023

to

2024

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Machine learning used to analyze supply chain for quality

issues

By Dan Catchpole

SEATTLE, May 21 (Reuters) - Boeing ( BA ) expects to stabilize

737 MAX production at 38 airplanes a month over the next couple

of months, its Commercial Airplanes Vice President of Quality

Doug Ackerman told reporters on Tuesday.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration capped output at 38

airplanes a month after a mid-air panel blowout in a nearly new

737 in January 2024.

Prior to that, monthly production of its best-selling airplane

had bounced between the teens and the thirties but Boeing ( BA )

struggled through a series of crises and controversies that have

battered its finances, strained employee morale and shredded

public trust.

After losing nearly $12 billion last year, the U.S. planemaker

needs to increase 737 production to bring in more cash.

The company is on track to produce about 38 of the popular

single-aisle airplanes this month, two sources familiar with the

matter told Reuters. A Boeing ( BA ) spokesperson declined to comment

on the production rate for May.

Boeing ( BA ) chief executive Kelly Ortberg previously said that

the company needs to prove it can maintain production at that

level for several months before it asks the FAA to lift the cap.

Once production is running smoothly, the company would also

resume work on adding a fourth production line, Ackerman said.

Boeing ( BA ) is making steady progress on all six production

quality and safety metrics created by the company and

regulators, according to its annual Chief Aerospace Safety

Officer Report, which was released on Wednesday.

Safety concerns submitted by employees to the company's

Speak Up reporting system rose by 220% from 2023 to 2024,

according to the report.

Ongoing changes continue to make the program more effective,

Chief Aerospace Safety Officer Don Ruhmann said during the media

briefing on Tuesday.

For example, safety concerns are now evaluated by managers

from other sections who are more likely to be impartial, rather

than those who oversaw the work in question.

Boeing ( BA ) is also using machine learning to catch quality

problems in its supply chain before they become widespread.

While it is still "fine tuning" the approach, it is seeing

statistical correlations between the data and the likelihood of

supply chain issues, Ackerman said.