Boeing safety chief says factory floor contact key as output rises

Boeing's chief aerospace safety officer said Tuesday the planemaker must maintain close contact with factory workers to ensure safety information continues to flow as the company increases production of its commercial aircraft.

Don Ruhmann told the International Aviation Safety Summit in Montreal that staying connected to the factory floor remains critical as Boeing scales up operations.

"As we're growing and scaling, staying close to the work, I think that's really important," Ruhmann said at the conference.

The safety chief warned against relying only on dashboards and reports for safety data, saying this approach "is where you might get disconnected, because being at work and present on the floor is usually where the hard information surfaces first, and where people get to talk about it for the first time."

The conference focused on whether aviation can scale safely as planemakers increase production. Airline trade group IATA expects global air travel to more than double by 2050, though high jet-fuel prices currently present challenges.

Boeing has implemented measures to improve its safety culture following scrutiny in 2024 when a door plug blew off a nearly new 737 MAX. The model had also been involved in two earlier crashes.

The company is working with the Federal Aviation Administration to increase 737 MAX production rates while facing challenges in its factories and supply chains.

On Monday, Boeing's commercial division announced a 5% workforce reduction to align with a slower production increase.

Ruhmann said employees must trust the system to report concerns. "If they feel like their concern was heard, they were respected and also protected, and I emphasize protected, they will do that over and over and over again, so the information keeps flowing."