(Bloomberg) -- US regulators issued a scathing assessment of Boeing Co.’s safety culture, putting further pressure on the company as it contends with the fallout from a near-catastrophic accident at the start of the year.
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Boeing Missing Key Elements of Safety Culture: FAA Report
Employees lack awareness of the basics in reporting safety concerns.
The FAA blamed Boeing for a deficient safety culture in a 50-page report issued on Monday following a public outcry over several safety lapses before the January 5 incident in which a door plug “blew out” from an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 in mid-flight.
In a review of the employment culture at the company, an expert panel found what it called gaps in Boeing’s safety journey and that a majority of employees did not show “skillful awareness” of the concepts of just culture and reporting culture.
The panel further reported that it could not find a “consistent and clear” safety reporting channel or process within the business unit.
- It further noted that employees do not understand how to use the different reporting systems and which reporting system to use and when.
- The panel expressed concern that the confusion might discourage employees from reporting what they see as safety problems.
The report concluded that, although Boeing previously provided a roadmap to implement an Organization Designation Authorization (ODA) and safety management systems (SMS), the airframer still hadn’t completed the changes described in the roadmap.
The report recommended that Boeing develop an action plan that includes a “milestone-based” approach to address each recommendation and share the results with the FAA.
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- Constant changes to complex procedures and trainings led to confusion, while other shortcomings hindered the average employee’s understanding of their role in how Boeing manages safety, according to the report, which was mandated by US lawmakers.
- The report comes a day before Boeing Chief Executive Officer Dave Calhoun is set to meet with the head of the FAA, according to people familiar with the matter, heightening scrutiny following a Jan. 5 incident in which a panel covering an unused door flew off during an Alaska Airlines flight.
- The executive has made multiple public apologies since then in an effort to quell criticism from regulators, lawmakers and customers.
The 50-page report highlights the work still to be done at Boeing despite efforts to overhaul its culture and bolster safety practices after two fatal 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019 killed 346 people. The company has created a new chief aerospace safety officer position and adopted a more systematic approach to addressing potential risks known as a safety management system, among other actions.
Yet the findings underscore how Boeing is still struggling with a more fundamental concern: ensuring that bad news from its factory floors reaches executives on the other side of the country.
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