on from such cost increases through the inclusion of an escalation (inflation) clause in the sales contract.
With respect to the second major cost element which determines labor costs in airframe production production manhours, the aircraft manufacturer is expected to be able to project such requirements with a high degree of accuracy, and cannot protect against projection errors through contract clauses. The learning curve is a major statistical tool used for this purpose.
The problem illustrated in this research is that confronting the aircraft manufacturing manager requiring the projection of airframe production manhours for future production time periods. Thus, the hypothesis test illustrated in this research provides a basis for the projection of airframe production manhours for a future time period.
As stated above, airframe production manhours represent one of the two major cost elements involved in the determination of airframe production labor costs. In turn, production labor costs represent a major cost component in airframe production, and
total airframe production costs represent a major cost segment in the determination of the total cost of an aircraft. In this illustration, however, a procedure is described by which airframe production manhours may be projected.
Experience in a production process typically lowers production manhour requirements. Thus, the essential production manhour projection problem involves the determination of the probable mean production manhour requirement per airframe unit over the production lifetime of a specific airframe product. As stated above, the statistical procedure most often used for such determination is the learning curve.
The learning curve, also called the experience curve,1 is a "graphic representation of improved performance."2 The learning curve traces, over time, "the degree of skill developed from experience."3 There is evidence to support the con...