Interesting- not too long ago there was an article ( in a boeing publication as I recall ) about some major cost savings being implemented on the 737 program re wiring. Thge story went like this . At various suppliers tom prewired body and cockpit assemblies, the wire bundles were temporarily held together by plastic zip ties- ties by the hundreds as it turns out. So as they go to final assembly and routing, the ties had to be cut/removed and in some areas replaced after re routing. In the process, wires were sometimes nicked by the snippers used- and thus repairs/rewiring was a small but continuing issue. Someone suggested cost savings- it took about 2 years to implement- to use some form of removeable tape for the wirebundles instead of zip ties. Virtually eliminating the cuts and damage, etc and saving a lot of time.
Wonder if the 787 implemented the same method. ?? IMHO - I doubt it. It takes a long time to coordinate with ALL the suppliers, provide the tape, etc
I'll try to find the article and post it here later
Boeing’s Renton plant bustling despite job cuts elsewhere | Business & Technology | The Seattle Times
... The rate increases are achieved not only through reconfiguring the assembly lines but also through changes, suggested by employees, that can be small but have a dramatic impact.
On a tour of the assembly lines, Nishma Shrestha, lead engineer on 737 wire-installation design, said Boeing cut 15 hours of labor out of final assembly for each 737 with one change: having suppliers bundle wiring together with tape instead of plastic zip ties.
The plastic ties had required assembly mechanics to laboriously snip off the little nubs on more than 5,400 ties around the many wire bundles that go into each plane. The task was time-consuming and frequently led to mishaps with cut wires.
This apparently simple change, prompted by a study in 2010, required complex coordination and was finally implemented on all 737s in January....