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Ten years ago, Boeing faced a difficult choice. The Airbus A320neo was racking up orders faster than any plane in history because of its fuel efficiency improvements, and Boeing needed to compete. Should they design a new plane from scratch or just update the tried-and-true 737 with new engines? The 737 MAX entered service seven years later as the result of that and hundreds of other choices along the way. Let’s look at some of those choices in context to understand how the 737 MAX went so very wrong. We’ll learn a thing or two along the way about making better decisions ourselves and as teams.
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The video titled "Taking the 737 to the Max" delivered by Nickolas Means at RubyConf 2021 delves into the contentious history and design decisions surrounding Boeing's 737 MAX aircraft, particularly in light of the two tragic crashes that occurred. The primary focus of the presentation is to explore the critical choices made within Boeing during the development of the 737 MAX and how those decisions contributed to its failures, along with broader lessons on decision-making in engineering and management contexts. The talk weaves in detailed accounts of the Lion Air Flight 610 crash and the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 incident to illustrate the consequences of those choices. Key points discussed include: - **Background on Boeing and the 737**: The 737 is the best-selling commercial aircraft, and its design limitations necessitated adaptations for new, more efficient engines. - **Industry Competition**: The 737 MAX's inception responded to Airbus's A320neo, which was gaining market share due to its fuel efficiencies, leading Boeing to hurriedly update the 737. - **MCAS (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System)**: A critical software addition meant to mimic handling characteristics of previous 737 models, was a central factor in the crashes. - **Technical Failures and User Training**: Analysis of telemetry data from the crashes revealed severe discrepancies in angle-of-attack readings, leading to misconceptions by the pilots, tied to inadequate training programs that resulted from rapid growth within air travel sectors. - **Organizational Culture Impact**: The shift in Boeing’s culture post-merger with McDonnell Douglas, emphasizing profit over engineering safety, led to decisions that inadequately prioritized safety in design and certification processes. - **Post-Crash Reforms**: The video concludes with a discussion on how these tragedies have resulted in changes to federal regulation and internal procedures at Boeing, ultimately leading to improvements in pilot training and system safety. The overall message emphasizes the importance of understanding systemic impacts from individual actions and making well-informed decisions as engineers and leaders, showcasing how small decisions can lead to significant, tragic outcomes. The lesson is not just how to avoid a failure like the 737 MAX's but understanding the effects of various pressures in organizational contexts.
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