CHALLENGES Boeing is one of the biggest airframe manufacturers in the US and has become a major defense contractor and the biggest aerospace manufacturer in the world. In the past several decades, increasing competition in the airline industry has created downward pressure on prices and increased quality expectations for com- mercial airplane products. As a result, airlines have sought to reduce procurement and operating costs and Boeing has launched a number of lean manufacturing initiatives. The Forming Corridor, a critical part of airframe manufactur- ing, is considered a capacity limiting constraint. The Form- ing Corridor contains five large machines that perform shot peening operations on various parts. Shot peening entails impacting a surface with shot (round metallic, glass,

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