The Seattle Times report says, "The hush-hush project reveals Boeing intends to dramatically change the way the plane’s metal hull is built, reducing manual labor on that task while ramping up the overall production rate."
The newspaper quotes a senior Boeing engineer as saying, “We’re going to build the fuselage differently than we do now. We’re going to introduce a whole lot of automation.”
The Anacortes project may open up a need for training in new automation processes.
In a request to determine if a permit from the Northwest Clean Air Agency is needed, Boeing says, “The purpose of the project is to investigate the use of new automation technologies for assembling fuselages. The project is being conducted by our Engineering and Research & Technology groups and the parts that will be made in Anacortes will not be used for production purposes.”
The letter to the agency says, "The project will involve the assembly of a non-production aft airplane fuselage and a shorter test fuselage section and is planned to occur from September 2013 through December 2014."