Boeing’s Dreamliner attracts scrutiny after damaging workplace report

Boeing is seeing a crisis involving one product prompt scrutiny—and bad press—about another.

The aircraft manufacturer has been scrambling to reassure consumers and airlines that it takes safety seriously and hasn’t shortchanged design quality to rush airplanes to market. The flaws built into its 737 Max jet, which have been blamed for two crashes in six months, are widely seen as avoidable.

With many asking how Boeing could allow serious design flaws to persist on such an important product line for the company, the focus has shifted to its manufacturing processes—including those for its Dreamliner airplanes.

The New York Times reported:

A New York Times review of hundreds of pages of internal emails, corporate documents and federal records, as well as interviews with more than a dozen current and former employees, reveals a culture that often valued production speed over quality. Facing long manufacturing delays, Boeing pushed its work force to quickly turn out Dreamliners, at times ignoring issues raised by employees.