Dreamlifter Sees [Small] Action

Regular readers know that I have a penchant for poking fun, albeit sad fun, at the concoctions some companies create in order to outsource.  Such as Boeing's Dreamlifter and the Airbus Beluga, both of which are monstrosities designed solely to ferry subassemblies around the globe.  Subassemblies that used to be built right next to the final assembly operation. 

Our blog buddy Mark Graban at the Lean Blog has a post today telling us more about Boeing's nonsense.  Not only did the company modify several 747's to transport parts, they had to create supporting machinery to load and unload the Dreamlifters... what they affectionately call the DBL, or "Darn Big Loader." 

But it gets even better.  The particular load that the Seattle Times was reporting on was rather small.

The DBL's laser-guidance system lined up precisely with the holding fixtures that secure the 787 sections inside the Dreamlifter. It took 55 minutes, from the tail cracking open until the tail parts were completely out.  With floodlights illuminating the scene, the hold of the Dreamlifter seemed almost empty at first -- so small was the load compared to its capacity.

Mark's reaction is the same as mine, although he puts it more eloquently:

Holy Overprocessing, Batman!

Jump over to the Lean Blog to read the entire story.