To be fair, it doesn't say plastic anywhere in the article. Could be something metal but just not as permanent as a rivet

ATC Watcher

I think you are finding things that aren't in the article.

Firstly, there is no reference to "plastic" fasteners. In fact the term "fasteners" could mean pretty well anything used to attach something to something else.

Secondly, there is no suggestion that the change in process was in any way the decision of the individual carrying out the job. If it was, Boeing have even more problems than we thought.

oops , re "my definition of "fasteners" it is a translation issue. In our avionic workshop we translate "Kablebinder "as "cable fastener "while in fact the correct translation should be "tie-wrap" . this is what I had in mind, hence my reference to plastic. I did not realize you could have metal fasteners. I learnt something.
On the without supervision , well that is what the article says :, That is the supervision I meant.

Usually means a swap to nuts, screws ( bolts) and washers as an alternate to rivets. You would not retain a power supply unit to a avionic rack with tie wraps, think someone is losing a lot in translation

Possible electrical problems on the 737 Max
 

Some of them, not all it seems.

https://www.krqe.com/news/latest-new...er-operations/

The Chicago-based airplane manufacturer told 16 customers to look at a possible electrical issue in a group of before “further operations.”

“The recommendation is being made to allow for verification that a sufficient ground path exists for a component of the electrical power system,” Boeing said in a statement Friday morning.

Edit: didn't see the previous thread, apologies.

Remember, years ago, receiving some USA electronics boxes placarded
'caution heavy ground currents'. Our European supply wiring expected
ground current to be fault current, and trip the supply. Seems Neutral and
Earth were a bit mixed up. Lots of troubleshooting until the lease could be ended.

New 737 Max issue affects nearly two dozen airlines, 106 jets: FAA
 

More problems for Boeing (article on Flight Global)

New 737 Max issue affects nearly two dozen airlines, 106 jets: FAA

Article intro:-

The US Federal Aviation Administration has disclosed new details about an electric problem that forced the grounding of more than 100 recently-produced Boeing 737 Max.

Though the issue primarily affects jets delivered by Boeing after the FAA lifted the grounding in November 2020, several Max delivered before the grounding are also affected, according to the agency.

The issue involves “potential degradation of bonds associated with electrical grounding of equipment that could affect the operation of certain systems”, says the FAA in a 22 April “Continued Airworthiness Notification to the International Community”.

Potentially affected Max systems include standby power control units, “P6” circuit breaker panels and main instrument panels, it adds.

Click the link for remainder of article.

FAA Reportedly Taking a Closer - and Broader - Look
 

News item in Wall Street Journal (website at present) reporting that FAA is conducted an audit of the source of the electrical system problems, specifically an audit wider in scope and more in-depth than presumably would be the agency's routine. Excerpts from article:

"As part of its audit, the Federal Aviation Administration is investigating why Boeing missed that a minor production change involving drilled holes wound up the root of potential electrical problems" [referencing unnamed sources].

"The audit is expected to delve into issues beyond those addressed by a typical agency review of such problems. Regulators plan to examine how other minor production changes were handled, these people said. The agency’s senior safety managers want to understand whether oversight changes might prevent future mistakes" [also ref. unnamed sources].

The article goes on to quote an FAA directive issued this week, which reportedly said: "the electrical issue could result in the 'loss of critical functions and/or multiple simultaneous flight deck effects, which may prevent continued safe flight and landing.'" (internal quote in article).

Evidently hoping to provide context, the FAA also said - according to the article - the following: “The multilayered safety oversight system caught this issue, and the FAA, operators and Boeing took action to mitigate the issue prior to an incident or accident.”