When he founded the company that bears his name, Bill Boeing was convinced that his products would constantly benefit from further improvements – a philosophy that still prevails today and is reflected in the Group's culture of continuous improvement. Whether it's innovation or change, Boeing follows a methodical, rigorous and comprehensive approach, supported by a team of the brightest minds in the industry.
Commercial aircraft manufacturers like Boeing make changes to their products to keep up with changing market conditions and the pace of technological progress. Companies such as ours also introduce design changes based on information provided by the aircraft fleet in service. The objective is simple: to innovate to maximize industrial performance and the passenger experience, while constantly elevating the safety of passengers and crew members to the rank of top priority. The modifications made by Boeing meet the following needs:
improve the safety and well-being of passengers and crew members; make design improvements that generate efficiencies and savings; increase aircraft efficiency and performance levels; comply with new regulatory requirements; respond to new customer expectations; replace obsolete parts and materials.
When the need to modify a product is identified, Boeing draws on the knowledge of tens of thousands of engineers located around the world, who combine a wealth of experience and solid expertise in commercial aviation, defence, space and security. And if in-depth skills are needed in a specific area, Boeing is able to call on experts who have the highest level of qualification and knowledge.
The Group can count on nearly 1,900 technical experts who are members of the Boeing Technical Fellowship program, whose expertise covers more than 40 disciplines and technologies, and who are among the brightest minds in the industry. These experts are regularly called upon to meet the toughest technical, scientific and engineering challenges. Boeing also has nearly 3,000 active inventors. In total, our employees hold close to 100,000 university degrees — licenses or more — as well as more than 1.75 million certifications, of which more than 400,000 relate specifically to production. At the start of 2019, Boeing held over 22,000 active patents worldwide.