Boeing's faster speeds to boost annual B777 freighter production

US aircraft manufacturer Boeing is preparing to deliver a new B777 Freighter to Korean Air, after ramping up production rates to 8.3 per month, up from seven in 2011, which means Boeing is targeting production of 100 aircraft annually.

Planning for the faster production rate was a year in the making, reported Atlanta-area Air Cargo World, adding that the higher productivity programme started last October when the first aircraft parts arrived at Boeing's Everett, Washington, factory.

"As we built the first airplane at the new rate, we saw some of the best production metrics ever," said Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager, 777 programme. "Our factory is running smoothly and we've reduced the time it takes to build a 777 by one day from 49 to 48 days."

The milestone was also achieved through the introduction of new manufacturing techniques such as flex-track drilling in the body and wing panels, automated floor drilling and wings painting equipment.

"Employee involvement teams have been critical to the rate increase," Mr Fancher said. "Ideas from those teams are saving time while improving quality and safety."

Over the last 31 months, the B777 programme has increased its rate two times. First from five to an all-time high production rate of seven in 2011.

The report added that 1,066 B777Fs have been delivered to date and a total of 1,431 have been ordered from 66 customers worldwide.