It’s the Software, StupidIn March 2007, Airbus had 167 orders for its A380 aircraft. The 239-foot (73-m) long plane is a double-decker with 555 seats when used for passengers. The total length of the wires in each passenger aircraft, 384 miles (618 km), means that the total wiring for the 167 ordered planes could circle the earth more than twice around the equator. Airbus is a British-French-German-Spanish venture. Both French and German engineers use computer-aided design (CAD) software called Catia, from Dassault Systems. However, while the French used Catia 5, the Germans used Catia 4. Catia 5 allows easy three-dimensional drawings. Catia 4 supports two-dimensional drawing (which can be converted into 3D only with special effort). The two teams were working on different parts of the aircraft. When technicians tried to install the wires, the wires were too short and could not be connected. Catia 4 and Catia 5 are incompatible. Training engineers on Catia 5 takes several months. A problem that could have been solved easily with forethought caused delays, order cancellations, and billions of dollars in losses.Source: Duvall, M., Bartholomew, D., “PLM: Boeing’s Dream, Airbus’ Nightmare,” (www.baselinemag.com)February 5, 2007; Schwartz, N.D., “Big Plane, Big Problems,” Fortune, March 5, 2007.POINT OF INTEREST
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