> But I would add, the most likely scenario for Boeing success (if it
> is a success) are the linkages between shop floor and the
> engineering dept
a long time ago i heard a lecture by a Boeing engineer, who claimed they were the first large corporation to fully integrate CAD/CAE into their entire operation. and i mean ENTIRE. if i recall correctly this allowed for an unusally high level of interplay between designers, high-level engineers, and floor fabrication people. i remember the example he gave where "collisions" between wiring harnesses and aircraft structural elements were detected directly in the CAD drawings as various departments reviewed interactions of their subsystems (drawings) with others.
> (BTW, the best physical scientists I've seen were in astrophysics
> instrumentation where there was little distinction between theory,
> engineering, and technical fabrication.)
physicists often make great engineers ...
les schaffer