High profile representatives from thirteen airlines, twenty two major aerospace companies, and five leading universities attended the Inaugural LFI (Lean Flight Initiative) Plenary Conference in Dublin on May 3 – 4 2006, to share best practices, and discuss how Lean methods can be applied and implemented across the aviation industry. The Conference was addressed by Mr Martin Cullen, the Irish Parliamentary Minister for Transport, and the keynote address was delivered by Mr Christer Hellstrand, Director of Manufacturing and Quality for Boeing Commercial Aviation Services.

Professors Deborah Nightingale of MIT and Andrew Graves of the University of Bath lead the first sessions with an overview of Lean principles, its history, methods and techniques. This was followed by plenary sessions presented by top executives from Boeing, established leaders in the use of lean principles; and Rockwell Collins who have received widespread acclaim for their ground-breaking “Lean Electronics” program. Singapore Airlines presented their current strategy for combining Lean principles with technology to drive significant improvements in their business processes, and Alaska Airlines shared their experience with their ongoing Zoom/Lean program.

Steve Hardgrave, Chief Operating Officer of Aircraft Management Technologies (AMT) and chairman of the event, presented a case study which focused on the unique process analysis workshops, developed by AMT, for 18 airlines to date.  This included their process models, value stream maps for over 500 airline business processes, a summary of this work, and the follow-on improvement to airline processes through the application of Lean principles.

The LFI was established earlier in 2005, to develop and promote Lean principles, practices, and tools among aircraft operators, and aerospace companies worldwide. It builds on and complements the existing work of the Lean Aerospace Initiative (LAI), based at MIT, and its counterpart in Britain, the UK Lean Aerospace Initiative (UK LAI). The work of the LAI and UK LAI has been focussed on implementing lean methods within the context of aerospace manufacturing. The intention of the LFI is to expand the scope of the LAI in two dimensions: in functional scope to aircraft operators and companies involved in facilitating airline operations; and geographically to an international rather than exclusively American membership. The LAI is also largely focused on the defence side of the aerospace industry, while the LFI will deal more with commercial aviation.

Lean methodology focuses on the elimination of waste, and the efficient creation of enterprise value. Where Lean principles have been introduced to date, enterprises have experienced dramatically improved competitiveness, productivity, and cost efficiency. Lean principles were originally pioneered in the automotive industry, particularly in the Toyota Production System; but have since been successfully applied in many other environments, including such diverse areas as aircraft engine overhaul, retail provisioning, and medical services. 

“The principles we talk about in implementing lean practices, namely the reduction of waste in all its forms, have been proven to be relevant in many different industries. We view the LFI as an excellent opportunity for airlines to access worldwide best practices in implementing lean principles with respect to frontline airline operations,” said Steve Hardgrave, Chief Operating Officer of AMT, and chairman of the event.

Sponsored by Boeing, Rockwell Collins, Enterprise Ireland, and AMT, participants at the two-day event included: 

From airlines: Aer Arann, Alaska Airlines, Cityjet, Continental Airlines, Finnair, Futura International Airways, Jet Blue Airways, Lufthansa, SAS Braathens, Singapore Airlines, TACA International Airlines, United Airlines, and Virgin Atlantic

From industry: AMT, Arconics, Armac Systems, Avionica, Boeing, Enterprise Ireland, FAEI, GE Commercial Aviation Service, IALPA, IBM, Jeppesen, Lufthansa Systems Group, Lufthansa Technik Turbine Shannon, Navaero, Parallel Graphics, Parc Aviation, PWA International, Rockwell Collins, Sabre Airline Solutions, Shannon Aerospace, WestGlobal, and WCI Group.

From academic partners: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Trinity College Dublin, University of Bath, University of Limerick and University of Warwick.

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Contact:
Diogo Serradas
Lean Flight Initiative
Tel: +353 1 806 1000
Email: diogo.serradas@leanflightinitiative.com