MAC Case Study

This document provides a case study on MAC (Murasaki Aircraft Corporation) and analyzes the major factors behind the failure of Airbus A380 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner projects. It discusses the consequences of these failures, lessons learned, and provides recommendations for future projects. The document also includes an overview of the projects, key stakeholders, and the lessons acquired from the case studies.

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MAC Case Study
Lessons Learned & Applications
4/16/2019

MAC Case Study
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction......................................................................................................................................................................... 2
Project Overview.......................................................................................................................................................... 2
Key Stakeholders.......................................................................................................................................................... 2
Airbus A380 Case Study................................................................................................................................................. 2
Overviee of the Project................................................................................................................................................ 2
Major Factors behind Failure & Analysis of Key Issues..................................................................................3
Consequences & Dealing with Failures................................................................................................................. 4
Lesson Learned.............................................................................................................................................................. 4
Boeing 787 Dreamliner Case Study............................................................................................................................. 5
Overview of the Project.............................................................................................................................................. 5
Major Factors behind Failure & Analysis of Key Issues..................................................................................5
Consequences & Dealing with Failures................................................................................................................. 6
Lesson Learned.............................................................................................................................................................. 6
Recommendations & COnclusion................................................................................................................................ 7
References............................................................................................................................................................................ 8
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MAC Case Study
INTRODUCTION
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Murasaki Aircraft Corporation (MAC) is a Japanese firm that is the primary supplier of wings
and regional jets for Boeing’s 787. With the advancement in technology, it has become
necessary for the organizations in the aviation industry to maintain the pace with the
developments. MAC is, therefore, carrying out the development activities and initiatives to
launch lightweight aircrafts. The company has analyzed the case studies of Airbus and
Boeing to determine the pros and cons along with the guidelines that shall be followed. The
common error areas and mistakes to avoid are also highlighted in the process. The key
stakeholders and the lessons acquired are covered in the report.
KEY STAKEHOLDERS
MAC is the primary stakeholder that will be directly impacted by the success of failure of the
project. The construction of the components will be done by MAC. Murasaki Heavy
Industries (MHI) has 64% of the entire shares followed by 10% each for Mitsubishi
Corporation and Toyota Motor Corporation. The influence and contribution levels vary on
the basis of the shares captured by these units. These are also actively associated in the
processes as construction and production. Mitsui & Co. and Sumitomo Corporation are the
stakeholders that provide technical assistance and also carry out regional support and
operations.
AIRBUS A380 CASE STUDY
OVERVIEE OF THE PROJECT
However, Airbus was a new venture and it did not have the experience and resources to
manage these orders at that time. There were production and delivery issues that came up as
an occurrence.
The company claimed that the aircrafts that it will manufacture will be able to accommodate
at least 35% additional passengers. It also claimed that an overall reduction of 12% will be
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observed in the fuel consumption. It also designed a triple decker aircraft that was not
launched by any other unit before. The company also incorporated latest technological
features and components, such as turbofan engine and lightweight construction to achieve the
entire costs as $347m (£215m). The company also claimed that 1400 passengers will be
accommodated in the aircrafts being designed (Bbc, 2012).
MAJOR FACTORS BEHIND FAILURE & ANALYSIS OF KEY ISSUES
 Incompetence: The Company was a new venture and the resources engaged did not
have prior experience in dealing with such huge orders and processes. The
incompetence of the resources and the management was observed during the delivery
processes that led to significant delays. The management did not take the ownership
of the issues and the suitable measures were not adopted for resolution.
 Non-Realistic Expectations: The estimations regarding the completion of the project
were not realistic and achievable. The company stated that it will deliver and launch
the products in a total timeframe of around six years. The duration of five years is
normal for the regular aircrafts in business. The design proposed and claimed by
Airbus was new and it was not possible to achieve the unrealistic targets that were set
(Freimuth, 2016).
 Communication & Management Conflicts: The project taken up by Airbus was a
huge project and the responsibility to carry out the project tasks and activities was
given to the resources. There were 16 functional teams involved in the project. It was
necessary that the communication between these teams was effective. In order to
adopt effective communication, the senior management carried out the strategy of re-
structuring that was not appreciated by many resources. Also, there were issues of
ownership that were observed. The emergence of conflicts between the resources and
the managers were observed. For instance, the senior management made a decision to
use 3D models; however, the engineers wanted 2D models to be used. Similar
conflicts were also seen with the usage of the software products and components.
 Miscalculations: The project witnessed several errors and negligence at the time of
calculations. For instance, there were 200 German mechanics that had the
responsibility to install aluminum and copper wires. The miscalculations in the length
had negative implications for the project as the overrun of project schedule by 6
months was observed.
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MAC Case Study
 Design complexities: The project included simultaneous running of over 1,150
operations. There were also numerous other design complexities that were involved in
the project. The variation in the software versions and design complexities led to
disadvantages for the project progress.
CONSEQUENCES & DEALING WITH FAILURES
The problems and delays in the project were observed in the early project lifecycle. The
incompetence of the resources and the management further worsened the issues as there was
nobody that took the ownership and responsibility to accept the issues and carry out the
initiatives to resolve the same. In this way, the overall delay that was witnessed was two
years. The stakeholders and customers lost their interest and connect with the project as an
outcome. There were negative impacts on the budget as well since the overrun of the budget
was observed. This also impacted the reputation of the organization in the market and the
total number of orders received was lesser than the expected. Cost-cutting was adopted as the
strategy to resolve the same.
LESSON LEARNED
• There are numerous risks that may emerge in the projects in their timeline. These
risks may be spread over various categories, such as technical financial, information
security, operational, health& safety, market, legal, ethical, quality, and various
others. It is a myth that the technical projects can witness only one form of these risks
as technical risks. However, the risks, such as operational errors or budget overrun
and others can also come up in the projects. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the
senior managers and project leaders to make sure that the risk management plans are
prepared in advance the teams have the guidelines to follow in the case of the
occurrence of a risk (Dorfler & Baumann, 2014).
• Communication plays an effective role in the project and it is the responsibility of the
senior leaders and managers to make sure that active communication is followed and
maintained in the projects at all times. The communication management plan shall be
developed in the project initiation and planning phases.
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MAC Case Study
• The resources selected for the project shall be competent and shall have the skills to
carry out the project tasks and activities. It is necessary that the assessment of the
needs and impacts is done before finalization of the resources (Shore, 2009).
• Stakeholder management and mapping shall be carried out and the stakeholder
interest, influence, and contribution levels must be defined. It shall be ensured that the
expectations of all of these stakeholders are targetted (Rochfort, 2006).
BOEING 787 DREAMLINER CASE STUDY
OVERVIEW OF THE PROJECT
Boeing launched Dreamliner 1 in 2003 and the organization claimed that there is
incorporation of latest technology done so that the overall fuel consumption is less and the
ease of maintenance is involved. The company received the order of 500 such aircrafts soon
after the announcement.
The company could deliver the products to the client and it will be assumed that the company
completed the project successfully. However, there is a contradiction in the same after
analyzing the project from the managerial concepts and theories. There was overrun of
project costs and schedule that was observed. A total delay of 3 years was involved along
with the overrun of several billion dollars.
MAJOR FACTORS BEHIND FAILURE & ANALYSIS OF KEY ISSUES
 Supply chain Problems: There were limited fasteners needed in the aircraft and the
suppliers were, therefore, reluctant to get associated with the organization. The
suppliers wished to have huge orders and the company could not provide them with
the same. It led to conflicts among the supplier groups and the organization and also
caused significant delays for the project (Tang & Zimmerman, 2009).
 Outsourcing Complexities: A huge outsourcing chain was involved in the project.
The supplier groups, such as Alenia Aeronautica, Spirit AeroSystems, and others were
involved. The company outsourced some of the primary functionalities and tasks to
these groups. These groups had their own suppliers and associated units that were
outsourced with the tasks and so on. The company could complete the 16% of the
overall deliveries as a result (Baker, 2013). There were also numerous design
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MAC Case Study
constraints and complexities that came up leading to further delays in the project
(Elahi, Sheikhzadeh & Lamba, 2012).
 High Development Costs: The project involved a number of new functionalities and
tasks. As a result, the total development costs went up and it became difficult to
control the same. The adoption of cost-cutting and different strategies could not lead
to cost reduction.
 Lack of competency: Boeing carried out the role of the system integrator and it was
not its core competence. This led to the emergence of various risks in the project in
terms of budget, schedule, and resources. The resolution of these problems could not
be done as well and there were further complexities that emerged (Mseitif, 2014).
CONSEQUENCES & DEALING WITH FAILURES
There were numerous delays in the project tasks and activities in the areas as construction
and production. These delays and other risks led to negative impact on the project
stakeholders, schedule, and budget. The stakeholders lost their interest in the project and their
engagement levels also came down. The risk management procedure included to treat these
risks was also not adequate which led to the increase in the overall operational speed.
LESSON LEARNED
• The resources shall have the work culture and facilities to carry out the project tasks
and activities. Also, the guidance and support from the management is necessary to
give shape to the project activities. The resources selected for the project shall be
competent and shall have the skills to carry out the project tasks and activities. It is
necessary that the assessment of the needs and impacts is done before finalization of
the resources for the project (Denning, 2013).
• Outsourcing of the activities shall be avoided unless absolutely necessary. This is
because the tracking of the progress becomes difficult and the overall quality is also
deteriorated as compared to the quality achieved with in-house handling and
development process (Amalraj, 2007).
• It is necessary that the management carries out required control and governance in the
project. The management shall always be aware of the project processes, tasks, and
associated issues. The resource concerns and issues shall also be clear at all times.
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MAC Case Study
• The incorporation of the latest technology shall be done so that the resource
management and handling is easy.
RECOMMENDATIONS & CONCLUSION
• MAC shall make sure that the management and leadership associated with the project
is competent and has the skills to carry out the project tasks and activities in an
effective manner. The enhanced use of automation and automated tools shall be done
to manage all of the project areas (Shariff, 2013).
• The use of stakeholder mapping shall be done so that the management of the
stakeholders is carried out at all times.
• Training and professional development shall be carried out for the resources so that
their skills and abilities are enhanced at all times (Newton, 2015).
• The agile methods shall be used for the development and management processes. The
use of these methods will provide the ability to effectively integrate all of the
processes. Also, the scalability of the operations will increase with the use of the
methodology (Csbdu, 2004).
• Supplier relations must be maintained effectively and the use of automated supplier
relationship management tools shall be done.
• Data collection in the project shall be done in an effective manner and the use of all
the data sources shall be done. The determination of these sources will provide the
project with the best practices to follow and the associated pros and cons (Bilkent,
2010).
• There will be certain risks that will emerge in the project during its timeline. The
management shall be ready to deal with such risks and shall have risk management
plan in place (Crane, 2013).
• There will be certain changes that will emerge in the project during its timeline. The
management shall be ready to deal with such changes and shall have change
management plan in place.
• The integration of all the knowledge areas and project regions shall be done to have
successful results.
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MAC Case Study
REFERENCES
Amalraj, J. (2007). Project Management: Challenges & Lessons Learned. Retrieved 16 April 2019,
from http://www.beg.utexas.edu/energyecon/ua_2007/AB_Project_Mgt_challenges.pdf
Baker, M. (2013). Boeing 787-8 Design, Certification, And Manufacturing Systems Review. Faa.gov.
Retrieved 16 April 2019, from
https://www.faa.gov/about/plans_reports/media/787_Report_Final.pdf
Bbc. (2012). Factfile: Airbus A380. BBC News. Retrieved 16 April 2019, from
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-11693164
Bilkent. (2010). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge. Cs.bilkent.edu.tr. Retrieved
16 April 2019, from http://www.cs.bilkent.edu.tr/~cagatay/cs413/PMBOK.pdf
Crane, L. (2013). Introduction to Risk Management. Extensionrme.org. Retrieved 16 April 2019, from
http://extensionrme.org/pubs/IntroductionToRiskManagement.pdf
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Boeing’s Outsourcing Program for Dreamliner (B787). Scholarworks.umb.edu. Retrieved
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Mseitif, J. (2014). Boeing’s Behavior in a Liberalized Marketplace: The 787 Dreamliner Project
and Impact on Puget Sound Workers. Digital.lib.washington.edu. Retrieved 16 April 2019, from
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md5=16f498b0203d44eb0bb95f5b83d90b6f&pid=1-s2.0-S1877042813020363-main.pdf
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The Boeing 787 Case. Retrieved 16 April 2019, from
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