Specific Risks associated with the Manufacture of Airplanes

Introduction: The aviation industry is growing fast, Boeing and Airbus are the biggest manufacturers in this area. The production and manufacture in the Aviation sector contain specific risks and hazards especially according to the size of the different parts of the airplane. This paper reviews and summarizes some special risks about this production chain, based on the manufacture line of an airbus aircraft. Methodology: The methodology used for this paper is a literature research. Different journal databases and library catalogues have been searched. Qualitative and quantitative studies have been included. Results and Discussion: Production of aircrafts dangles multiple dangers. The specific risks are mostly according to the size of the parts of the airplane, also the scale and level of the different operations are very complex. One big risk factor in the production of an Airbus airplane, is transportation. Airbus produces its parts all over Europe. The transportation to different locations is complicated and executed by different vehicles, ranged from special trucks to Beluga airplanes. To be highlighted here are the wings, which are produced in the United Kingdom and have to been maneuvered through small towns and streets, which are not designed to carry these big transports. This action contains multiple dangers, for the traffic, for the infrastructure and for the people involved in this process. Another specific risk, associated with the manufacture of an airplane is the size of the whole production area. In the size of small towns with big buildings to store and contain all parts of the airplanes, risks and dangers can fast be overlooked. Due to the size of the parts, many operations must be performed at great height. Operators face the risks of falling down the structure or dropping tools onto other people. The fact, that even a small risk that has not been adequately addressed poses a danger to hundreds of people who could later crash in this aircraft, highlights the aircraft industry of others. Conclusions Problems in this area are known, lots of different approaches were made in the past to identify all the risks and dangers, from the detailed approach of checking and analysing every single part, to the approach of including the bigger picture, containing risk scores based on ubiquity and geopolitical risks as well as ERP approaches in the whole manufacturing process.