Engineers at Boeing have developed a new artificial intelligence–based tool that delivers measurable improvements to quality control on production lines through a seemingly simple change. Instead of time-consuming and error-prone manual entry of long serial and part numbers, inspectors now take a photo with a handheld device, while the system automatically recognizes, verifies and records the data in the Aircraft Readiness Log.
The tool relies on optical character recognition technology integrated with an internal parts data dictionary, enabling instant validation and automatic population of serial numbers without additional steps. This approach reduces the risk of typing errors, improves data accuracy at the point of entry and allows inspectors to focus more on the actual quality checks rather than administrative tasks.
The solution was developed by engineering teams from the Boeing Korea Engineering & Technology Center in collaboration with Boeing Artificial Intelligence, working closely with colleagues in the United States. A key objective was to ensure that the new tool fits seamlessly into existing workflows without creating additional burdens on the factory floor. According to Boeing, quality inspectors played a central role in identifying challenges and shaping the final design, as their day-to-day experience guided the development process.
During development, engineers spent weeks on the production lines, working daily with inspectors, running workshops and iterating on the tool to ensure that changes were incremental and easy to adopt. Within just eight months, the teams delivered a prototype ready for on-site testing, which Boeing highlights as an example of rapid innovation moving from development to real-world application.
The results are already tangible. During the initial model training phase, more than two thousand part images were collected, with tens of thousands of text fields manually labeled. The tool now supports inspection of more than 1,400 different parts and has significantly reduced the need for manual serial number entry on the 737 program, where over 70 percent of entries were previously typed in by hand. As a result, inspection time has been reduced by more than 17 hours per aircraft, while data quality has improved at the same time.
Following its initial deployment on production lines in Renton and Everett in early 2024, Boeing plans to expand the use of the tool to its facilities in South Carolina. At the same time, teams are evaluating additional applications of OCR technology, from streamlining documentation to further strengthening quality controls and improving production system integration. In an industry where safety and quality remain paramount, the project demonstrates how relatively small technological changes can deliver significant operational benefits in aircraft manufacturing.
