Requires immense areas to do it, especially if they are airliners. In Boeing's assembly plant, Everett, Washington: Just look at the number of steps needed to get up to the cabin floor from the ground, and an idea of the amazing size of work area needed is gotten. This scene makes my plant experiences seem puny! Frank
The project plan to make sure each step is done in the correct sequence and coordinating the various steps to make sure that labor and materials are ready to go every step of the way must be absolutely enormous. "When eating an elephant take one bite at a time." - Creighton Abrams
@Beatrice Taylor We at Dana Corp. manufactured oil seals, about 6,000 different part numbers, but all basically similar except for size and materials used. When a whole "lot" of out-of-spec parts of the same number, say an engine crankshaft seal, got shipped to Ford, or GM, and those parts were installed and shipped with their new cars, the inconvenience was manifold! Inconvenience, not danger. However, when you manufacture airplanes, not cars, which can stall along the roadside creating inconvenience, airplanes which stall fall from the sky creating mayhem, death, injury, destruction of property, and a Garden of Eden for the lawyers. Boeing knows that all too well. Frank
To me, the size of the plant that has the privilege of putting all the parts togeather isn’t as amazing as all the plants that provide the prefab and modular parts for installation crews. Like the gaskets and seals @Frank Sanoica mentioned, everything is made somewhere else and shipped to the assembly plant. Thousands of people in large and small plants across the world producing parts for the plane is mind boggling!
I was amazed that they bring LARGE parts in from subcontractors elsewhere. On numerous occasions, I have seen Antonovs land at Payne Field, bringing large parts, I think perhaps 747 wings in form other places--the U.S. no longer produces planes large enough to do that.
@Don Alaska As I understand it, so far the only place these babies are made is Germany. Imagine transporting big wind generator blades: Oops! That cost a bundle!