GE Aerospace says moving blade repair in Brazil from batches to single-piece flow cut turnaround 58%

Aug. 5, 2025 — GE Aerospace said its Celma overhaul shop in Brazil cut turnaround time on low-pressure-turbine blade repair 58 percent by switching from batches to single-piece flow. The shop had been holding more than 24,000 parts in work-in-process against a standard 19,000. Here's what happened, what it cost, and what went wrong.

Cost and outcome (as of Mar. 12, 2026)

Outcome: Celma reported "a 58% TAT reduction in low-pressure turbine (LPT) blade repair," plus a 32% cut in the CFM56 fan cell, "from 68 days in 2023 to 46 days." (GE Aerospace, Aug. 5, 2025)
Cost: GE gave no cost. The waste was inventory: "more than 24,000 parts — as opposed to a standard WIP of 19,000 — resulting in high lead time." (GE Aerospace, Aug. 5, 2025)
Customers: About 30 airlines depend on Celma, which handles roughly 25% of GE's internal shop visits. (GE Aerospace 2025 annual report letter, geaerospace.com)

Batches out, one blade at a time

"We use FLIGHT DECK to diagnose how our operational and transactional processes are working and to reveal how they can be improved," said Maximiliano Aguiar, senior FLIGHT DECK manager at Celma, of GE's lean operating model. "It's a system in constant motion." (GE Aerospace, Aug. 5, 2025)

"Single-piece flow means that, rather than having a batch process, you send one LPT blade at a time through the entire process: inspection, welding prep, welding, machining, benching, then back to assembly," Aguiar said. (GE Aerospace, Aug. 5, 2025)

"It's a classic lean concept in that it helps us deliver what we need in terms of quantity and quality, without waste or overproduction," he said. The change was made in a new "model cell," which "applies lean tools, concepts, and culture intensively and acts as a 'role model' for other cells." (GE Aerospace, Aug. 5, 2025)

Making abnormal visible

GE said Celma set standards for each line. "We have three slots before inducting an engine in the shop floor, so if we see four slots, we know it's abnormal," Aguiar said. "And with that visibility, we can find and fix issues much more quickly. We know that we have the necessary parts, tooling, and material on the assembly line, with neither shortages nor excess." (GE Aerospace, Aug. 5, 2025)

In the CFM56 fan cell, value stream mapping found delays in final assembly. "It was an 18-month journey from the first VSM to the last six months of achieving sustained results," Aguiar said. (GE Aerospace, Aug. 5, 2025)

Celma began adopting lean principles in 2000 and had applied them plant-wide by 2015. It runs shop-floor kaizen events at least weekly and holds more intensive events in partnership with Shingijutsu, GE said. (GE Aerospace, Aug. 5, 2025)

Still behind

In the 2025 shareholder letter, GE said Celma services four engine lines, CFM56, LEAP, GEnx and CF6, with LEAP about 21% of 2025 volume, and that "the team has faced persistent turnaround time delays, extending the time it takes to get our customers' fleets back in the air." (GE Aerospace 2025 annual report letter, geaerospace.com)

GE also said it had deployed an AI-based material assistant to Celma and its Malaysia shop in 2025 that predicts a LEAP engine's workscope nine months ahead. The letter on GE's website says it was "already seeing five-to-seven-day reductions in turnaround time"; the version filed with the SEC on Mar. 12, 2026 says "more than five-day reductions." (GE Aerospace 2025 annual report letter, geaerospace.com)

"It's really a cultural transformation," said plant manager Julio Talon. "Our employees understand that they have opportunities to improve every day." (GE Aerospace, Aug. 5, 2025)

What went wrong

Batching hid the wait. The shop carried thousands more parts in process than its own standard, which GE says caused "high lead time." (GE Aerospace, Aug. 5, 2025)
Delays persist. GE's own letter says Celma "has faced persistent turnaround time delays." (GE Aerospace 2025 annual report letter, geaerospace.com)
No day counts for blades. The 58% comes without before-and-after days. (GE Aerospace, Aug. 5, 2025)
What we don't know yet: current blade WIP against the 19,000 standard, and repair turnaround in days.

Our follow-up question for GE Aerospace

What is Celma's LPT blade repair turnaround in days now, and where does WIP stand against the 19,000 standard?

Sources

GE Aerospace, “Turnaround Story: At This Overhaul and Repair Shop in Brazil, FLIGHT DECK Is Driving a Cultural Transformation,” Aug. 5, 2025. geaerospace.com
GE Aerospace, 2025 Annual Report, shareholder letter (filed with SEC Mar. 12, 2026). geaerospace.com

Disclosure: [not in copy] Editor placeholder