Culture of Caring. Blog 9

 

My Boeing Days: Culture of Caring 

Blog 9 of 10

 

 

Space Shuttle Atlantis being carried atop the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.

Photo: NASA / Carla Thomas

 

Boeing Commercial Airplanes Division: Employee-First Philosophy

Dr. Dennis Cannon was my boss in the mid-80s in the Boeing Commercial division. I was working on the Failure Modes and Effects Analysis for the autopilot systems on the 747-300 and on the 767. He was a man with a unique style of management. To me, the term 'Employee First' originated from Dennis.

Going Above and Beyond for Employee Development

Dennis was one of the early proponents of employees first. One time there was one young engineer. He was interested in taking a course conducted at the University of Washington. This course was an introductory course on aerodynamics. As per the training department policy, the Boeing employees were required to first take the courses offered internally before paying to an outside party. The University was charging a hefty amount of $2000 for a 3-day course. Back in the mid-80s, it was a large amount. No wonder the application was rejected by the training department.

The concerned employee went to Dennis and showed him the rejection. He further told him that he was looking forward to attending the course at the University. Dennis immediately picked up the phone. What we could hear was only from one side. Dennis told the person over the phone about the rejection and expressed his displeasure. The person on the other side said something. Dennis calmly said, "Don't tell me it can't be done. Just tell me how to do it."

Supporting Personal Growth and Education

He was truly a people person. His policy was to support all employees achieve their dreams. I wanted to do a part-time PhD at the University of Washington. He was there to support me. He wrote a very nice recommendation letter to the University. Further, he approved my internal application to get a complete tuition reimbursement from Boeing. It took me 6 years to complete the PhD, but I did not have to pay anything from my pocket. Thanks to Dennis.

Boeing Electronics Division: A New Generation of Leadership

I had all good bosses over the 15 years of my career at Boeing. However, the one boss that stands out is Rob Snyder in Boeing Electronics. I joined his group around 1995. When you are young, your bosses tend to be older than you. Then comes a transition period when someone younger than you may become your boss. Rob was the first boss who was younger than me.

Nurturing Individual Career Aspirations

Rob was the kind of boss who truly cared for everyone in the group. He would talk with everyone and ask what they wanted to do in the next three years. Having found out their aspirations, Rob would work with them and help them achieve their career goals.

During our one-on-one meeting, Rob had asked me about my aspirations. I told him that I would like to be a technical fellow. Rob worked with me to help me achieve the goal. While I was preparing all the documents for applying to the Tech Fellow program committee, Rob also set my expectations right. He told me that the majority of the applications were rejected the first time. Besides, I was only 36. These positions are typically for senior persons. In the end, Rob presented my case to various committees. I was selected. Undoubtedly, it all happened due to Rob's efforts. As of today, I don't know what happened behind the doors when the committee met.

Advocating for Every Team Member

It was not just one or two individuals that Rob worked hard for, but he tried to bring up every individual in the group. Another fellow in our group wanted to be a manager. Rob made sure that he became one.

Navigating Company Policies for Employee Benefit

One team member was enrolling in an external MBA program. Boeing had a policy of tuition reimbursement. It was handled by the training department. The training department was not ready to accept his form for tuition reimbursement since he was late by a week. When the engineer approached Rob, without hesitation, Rob picked up the phone. He called the concerned department. After explaining the case to the person on the phone, the standard response came from the other side that the final date for application was over. Rob said, "Yes, I understand the rules. But we have to make it happen. Figure out a way to accommodate this form. It's important." They had no choice but to accept the form.

A Culture of Caring Across Boeing

Organizational restructuring, managers joining other groups within the company, new airplane programs, etc. led to my reporting to different managers. I went from working at the Boeing Commercial Group to the Boeing Defense Group. In 15 years, I had 14 bosses. I liked all of them. At Boeing, it seemed that caring for employees was part of the DNA wherever one went. 

Simulators and the FAA Flight. Blog 8

 

My Boeing Days: Simulators and the FAA Flight

Blog 8 of 10

 

 

Photo : Crew Vehicle Systems Research Facility's Boeing 747-400 Simulator at NASA Ames Research Center.

This is a collection of anecdotes that took place during my work at the flight simulator lab at Boeing in Renton, Washington, except the last one which is related to my first FAA certification flight test.

Late Night Simulator Sessions

Getting time on the flight simulator was not easy. Working hours for the simulator lab were from 8 AM to midnight. Each session was 4 hours long. There were only four sessions possible in a day. Once a week, we had to work from 8 PM to midnight. Working on simulators until midnight was always a challenge.

The Dangerous Illusion of the IC Button

One night, my colleague Rob and I were working on a simulator. That day, by 11 PM, we had completed all the required testing. Rob, an aeronautical engineer, was still not tired. He was teaching me how to fly the 767 between two control towers without crashing the airplane. The two simulated towers were barely enough to pass the 767. Just an inch here or there could result in a crash. I tried, and tried, and tried, but the airplane continued to crash. Every time the simulated airplane crashed, the way to get back was to push a little switch with 'IC' written on it. It meant initial conditions. After pushing the IC button, all the analog dials reset to the ground conditions with a distinct clicking noise. I used to fly the airplane again after the clicking sound had stopped. I kept doing it again and again since I could not fly the airplane through the narrow clearance between the two towers. I almost got into a trance. It was midnight, and we decided to call it quits. 

When Simulation Bleeds into Reality

I walked to the parking lot, got in my car, and started driving. As I got on the road, I realized that I was driving as if I were taxiing an airplane. I was right on the centerline of the road! I quickly got back into my lane. Soon, I was on a freeway. There was still some traffic on the freeway. After driving for a while, I found out the reason for the slow-moving traffic. There was some construction going on, and they had only one lane open. Soon, the traffic picked up speed. As I drove, I realized that the barriers were on a curved lane. A slight movement out of the lane could hit the barrier. I was still in the mindset of flight simulators. I thought to myself that it didn’t matter even if I hit the curb on the freeway since I could still push the IC button. Suddenly, this thought shook me, and I realized that there was no IC button in real life!

The Joy of Working at Boeing

A common topic among Boeing engineers was how much they loved the job and were amazed to get paid for doing something as fun as what they did. We were never forced to work 14 hours a day. Often, we worked 8 hours without wasting time in meaningless meetings. Of course, there were many days and nights when we worked beyond 16 to 18 hours.

Racing Against the Clock

I remember one such long day. I was at work at 7 AM as usual. I was working with Del, a software engineer, to get ready for an internal Boeing flight test. We were running some tests on a flight simulator. As our luck would have it, the simulator was not giving the expected output. All day long, Del and I were trying to fix the bug in the software, but he couldn’t find it. At 6 PM, I called home and told my family that I would be home in about an hour. It was 8 PM, but still, we couldn’t find the bug. We were hoping that in 2 hours we would find it, but we still did not have any luck. The flight test was at 5 AM, and we were struggling in the lab. Finally, at 1 AM, the testing was successful. I reached home after 2 AM, slept for 2 hours, and drove back to Boeing field for the flight test. As planned, we took off at 5 AM. Deadlines have a strange thing about them. Everything works at the very last moment!

The Unexpected Cold Shoulder

 My first certification flight, with the FAA directors on board, was quite an experience. For both Boeing and FAA employees, it was customary to wear badges. While walking in the aisle, I encountered a senior FAA official who appeared Indian. As we passed, I read his name on the badge. Sure enough, he was from India. I smiled at him as a basic courtesy. To my surprise, he didn’t smile back. He looked at me and just left. I could not understand why he did that. In those days, there were not too many Indians in the Seattle area. So, I was sure that someone from the community would know this person. The next day, I asked my friend whether he had heard about this fellow. As it turned out, the FAA person had a very good reputation as a kind-hearted gentleman. Later, I found out how the FAA staff interacts with Boeing employees during the certification process. Both parties are supposed to be aloof from each other so that no one influences the outcome of the certification process.  Smiles can be costly at times!

Photo Credit: Crew Vehicle Systems Research Facility's Boeing 747-400 Simulator at NASA Ames Research Center. Trials of Fatigue Countermeasures. In cockpit, pilots (L) Brian Spence and (R) Mike Holmboe. NASA Ames Research Center - Human Systems Integration Division, Public domain, fatigue study.jpg Copy, [[File: Human fatigue study.jpg| Human_fatigue_study]], Copy, May 23, 2002