Aviation Maintenance & Engineering: Automating Data Management

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1 Aviation Maintenance & Engineering: Automating Data Management Using technology to support decision making and improve operational efficiency USA UK Switzerland UAE India Singapore Australia

2 Contents The Age of Automation 3 The Challenge Facing the Aviation Maintenance & Engineering Sector 3 How can Automation Help MRO and M&E Teams? 5 What are the Ingredients of an Automated MRO and M&E System? 7 The Benefits of MRO and M&E System Automation 8 Conclusion 9 About the Author 10 About Rusada 11 About Envision ngen 11 2

3 The Age of Automation Automation is edging into every part of our lives. When we wake in the morning, our smart TV can broadcast the latest news relevant to our location and based on our specific interests. Checking our cell phone or tablet device, we are given our schedule for the day, the weather at our destination and anticipated journey times. When we leave our home, our climate control and lighting are turned off and security systems are engaged. All of this information is presented with minimal input by us. As a society, the trust that we place in automated systems is very evident and it s clear to see why; automation makes us more organised, removes the burden of dealing with mundane or routine tasks and ultimately improves our lives. Within an aviation maintenance environment, what do we mean by automation? Automation - Definition: noun the technique, method, or system of operating or controlling a process by highly automatic means, as by electronic devices, reducing human intervention to a minimum. At this point we need to make a distinction between using machines to automate certain physical actions, like inspections and repairs which is still very much in its embryonic phase - and the process of automating tasks within an operational process. This whitepaper explores how data that already exists within the maintenance & engineering processes can be utilized to automate specific tasks to streamline processes, improve situational awareness and increase operational efficiency, without the need for human intervention. The Challenge Facing the Aviation Maintenance & Engineering Sector Automation is becoming a hot discussion topic at industry conferences, around the boardroom table and in the workshops for the same reasons why it s becoming part of our personal lives. Automation offers better organisation, management of routine tasks and it delivers efficiencies across the operation. Although these are very valid motives for an airline operator or an MRO to further explore the role automation can have within their organisation, there are other, more challenging drivers within the aviation maintenance and engineering environment. The aviation industry is evolving and is indeed, growing rapidly. A report by aviation research consultancy, Oliver Wymen, forecasts that the global fleet will grow by between 3% and 5% annually. This means that within just 10 years, the number of aircraft will have increased by 50% and will more than double by Of course, a high number of these aircraft will be equipped with the next generation of monitoring 3

4 systems and sensor technology that, while generating a wealth of valuable information, also increase in complexity and require more analysis than ever before. This growth in the global fleet is fuelled by IATA s prediction that passenger numbers are expected to double by 2035 as well as Boeing s indicator that the cargo tonnage will increase by the same margin in the same time-frame. So, it s all positive news for the aviation industry, right? Of course it is, however, along with those positive passenger and cargo growth forecasts come the increasing expectations of airline operators who will demand higher aircraft utilization and greater availability. And while the mountain of new data being generated every flight can support the move to a predictive maintenance methodology, it will also mean that engineering and maintenance teams will require the right tools to be able to interrogate and understand the increased data that is generated. And this is where it begins to get tricky retirement age within 10 years. Again, referring to Boeing s industry research, they estimate that the industry will need to recruit 30,000 new technicians every year to keep up with the growing fleet. From a technology perspective, aviation maintenance and engineering teams require technology solutions that will help them extract the information they need to support decisionmaking. They require access to this information on-demand, at the point of need to improve predictability and increase efficiency. Yet, an MRO survey carried out by Aircraft IT in July 2017 highlighted that nearly ¾ of operators and MRO s are using an engineering and maintenance IT solution that is more than 5 years old. So in many cases, these legacy systems predate cloud computing, web interfaces and handheld mobile devices. Indeed, it s likely that these legacy systems or in-house solutions may not be fit-for-purpose to manage this forecast growth and the cost of maintaining these systems may be cost prohibitive. It s widely documented that there is an impending skills gap within the aerospace engineering sector with a disproportionate number (approx. 50%) of the highly skilled, mature workforce approaching 4

5 How can Automation Help MRO and M&E Teams? Ground) parts supplier who confirm they have a unit available. The materials team raise an AOG Exchange order and this to the supplier who arranges for It is this challenging environment, that makes despatch of the part via a courier. automation such a hot topic within the aviation maintenance and engineering community. Sometime later the part arrives at the line station and is booked in but as the Order paperwork is But how exactly will automation help these not linked to the requisition it s not immediately organisations better manage future growth? Let s apparent what the part is required for resulting in look at this common example. a further delay, while some investigation is done to An aircraft develops a fault on an operational eventually get the part to the engineer. sector, nothing serious but it will need to be Once he receives that part, the engineer prints off investigated and rectified before next flight. the relevant part replacement procedure from the On arrival, the crew write the defect up in the maintenance manual and identifies that he needs technical log and the aircraft is met by an engineer type specific tooling to complete the job, he raises a who reviews the log and the post flight report, the manual tool requisition and takes it to the tool store, defect and associated fault code. luckily the tool is available so he books it out and It s not something he is familiar with and as he heads out to the aircraft. doesn t have any maintenance documentation Several hours after it arrived at the gate, the aircraft available at the gate he takes the drive back to the is made serviceable, the paperwork is completed line office on the other side of the airfield. and the defect cleared in the tech log and the A check of the MEL (Minimum Equipment List) aircraft departs. confirms that the aircraft cannot be despatched with That s not quite the end of the story, the engineer the defect deferred and therefore either the flight is heads back into office and returns the unserviceable cancelled or it is delayed until the problem is fixed. part to the stores where it sits awaiting processing The troubleshooting guide recommends of the removal by technical records and for someone replacement of a component, the engineer then to match it to the serviceable unit so that it can checks the IPC (Illustrated Parts Catalogue) but be returned to the vendor to close the exchange, the applicable part number is dependent on adding further delays and costs to the airline. the modification status of the aircraft which Now let s look at how using an automated system he is unsure of. A telephone call to the relevant can eliminate much of the delay; An aircraft Technical Specialist results in a further delay whilst develops a fault on an operational sector and the this is confirmed. central maintenance computer transmits in flight The engineer doesn t have access to the company details of the defect and associated fault code to a logistics system so he completes a paper ground station. requisition and hands this over to his logistics team This message is automatically interfaced to the who perform a manual stock check to discover the airline s MRO system where it is processed and an part isn t available at the line station. automated notification is sent to the maintenance A further call is made to the materials team control department that a new inflight fault has who in turn put in a call to their AOG (Aircraft on occurred and they are prompted to review it. 5

6 An analysis shows no previous history on this system on this aircraft and that the fault is not likely to be spurious, the maintenance control engineer creates a work order and accesses the troubleshooting guide and the allowable configuration in the MRO system which also details the modification status of the aircraft and the part number required. The maintenance control engineer creates a part requisition against the work order for the spare part and the tools required. The MRO system automatically checks the availability and creates a back order for the replacement part due to being nil stock. The AOG status of the back order prompts a notification to be sent to the materials team who have already seen it at the top of their work queue, they determine the best course of action and create an Exchange order on their preferred supplier. This is sent automatically to their system via an electronic data exchange interface where it is received and processed in seconds. The part is despatched and is on its way to the line station and the expected delivery time is sent back via the same interface and the workflow in the airline MRO system ensures that all the relevant parties are kept informed of the status of the order. This whole process has taken a matter of minutes since initial receipt of the fault message. The maintenance control engineer plans the work order for completion at the arrival station for the flight, the line maintenance planner receives notification of this work order and allocates it to the maintenance team who are already on the line and receive notification on their mobile tablet. Meanwhile the part has arrived at stores and is booked in, the receiving storeman sees that the order is linked to a work order and that it is immediately required for despatch to the line along with the required tooling, these are driven out to the gate where the engineers are waiting. They have access to all necessary maintenance documentation on their handheld devices and therefore have no need to return to the line office. The aircraft arrives, the part is replaced and the aircraft departs on its next planned sector with no delay. The engineer completes the work order and signs it off digitally on his tablet and processes the component change within the MRO system ensuring that the aircraft records are immediately brought up to date. The unserviceable part is returned to stores where it is required to close an exchange order and is despatched back to the vendor well within the contractual return period. 6

7 What are the Ingredients of an Automated MRO and M&E System? So what do MROs and airline M&E departments need to do to deliver the benefits that automation can provide? Data Needs to be Centralised One component of an automated maintenance system is that data is centralised across the different processes, stakeholders and departments. Having a common source of data means that every stakeholder within the maintenance and engineering function has access to the same information. It also means that inconsistencies, inaccuracies and uncertainties are eliminated because the data is more tightly controlled. For this to happen successfully, legacy data across the organisation needs to be standardised and digitized to enable information to be electronically accessible at the point of need and for automated processes to trigger actions within pre-determined workflows. One barrier to this process of standardising of data is the fact that there are several disparate systems within the aviation technology space whose data needs to be shared across each platform. The Air Transport Association (ATA) have established the e-business Program working group whose aim is the create standards for information exchange to support engineering maintenance, maintenance material management and flight operations. Information Needs to be Accessible For the actions within an automated maintenance information system to be triggered, engineers need to be able to interact with the system wherever they are. The proliferation of hand-held and mobile devices that are portable enough to be used in the environment where engineers operate and powerful enough to hold the wealth of information, manuals and drawings that engineers need to access at any given situation has enabled this accessibility. However, if the data that needs to be accessed isn t available on mobile devices, then they are useless. Also, much engineering work may be carried out at remote stands or in areas with poor network connectivity. With these considerations in mind, this means that the automated maintenance information system must be both device agnostic and usable under both online and offline network connectivity conditions. The System Needs to be Secure In recent years, there have been several cyberattacks on aviation organisations which reinforces the importance of securing the maintenance information system which is critical to the continued success of the operation and ongoing integrity of the data. Like any IT network, an automated maintenance information system needs to be structured in such a way that information can be accessible to those who need to extract or input data, but also locked down from malicious attack. System redundancy needs to be factored in so that in the event of power outages or more extreme events like fire or flooding, the system can still function. Many next generation systems take advantage of cloud based hosting technologies which means that data is hosted remotely offsite and is regularly backed-up and secure. An Automated System Needs to be Flexible No organisation is the same and there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all maintenance information system. This means for an automated maintenance system to work well, it needs to be adaptable to the established processes that your organisation has in place. To take advantage of the benefits of an automated information system, one must be selected which offers a interface that allows for workflows and algorithms to be customised that can automate many of the tasks within your organisation. 7

8 The Benefits of MRO and M&E System Automation Improved Planning Greater Technician Efficiency Better Predictability Actionable Insights Improved Planning As we have established, one key ingredient for an automated MRO and M&E system is a centralised, integrated data warehouse. By having a single source of accurate data means also that the whole organisation is using information which reflects the current situation. As a result, strategic planning can be carried out based on having the complete view of the business circumstances safe in the knowledge that it s precise and reflects reality. Crucially, an automated, data driven system will update as live data is input meaning that the situation is updated in real-time. At a tactical planning level, automating processes means that the tools needed for individual jobs can be made available at the scheduled time, the required parts are ordered and on location and engineers with the required technical expertise can be routed to carry out the task. Greater Technician Efficiency Some industry estimates suggest that aircraft technicians spend more than half their time performing non-core tasks such as; processing paper work, fetching parts and tools or sourcing documentation and manuals. Within an automated environment, and because of improved planning, many of these steps could be eliminated because engineers have the tools, parts and documentation they need when they arrive on the job to perform the maintenance. In addition, many of the manual tasks which require human intervention are processed more quickly and accurately, negating the risk of inaccurate data entering the system. This increased efficiency and improved productivity will have a positive impact on the forthcoming skills gap issue that has been predicted by the Boeing report discussed earlier. Better Predictability Within a data-driven automated environment, there is a greater emphasis on ensuring that data input into the system is accurate and automated validation of this will help to maintain accuracy It s reasonable to assume that an automated maintenance information system generates much more data than a legacy system on the basis that the majority of inputs are likely to be electronic or binary, compared to an analogue paper-based system. As a result of this information being frequently and accurately updated, planning teams within the maintenance and engineering function can better forecast when maintenance needs to take place and optimise specific maintenance jobs to take place when it s most efficient to do so. Actionable insights The additional data that the next generation of aircraft will generate every flight will act as a catalyst for further operational efficiencies to be identified. Centralised data, integrated systems and automated actions all lead to better classification and categorisation of this data. Meanwhile, data extraction and analysis technology, artificial intelligence and dashboarding suites allow for this information to be automatically reported and findings presented that will identify areas that can be further optimised. 8

9 Conclusion The changing face of the aviation industry; demand, technology and skills, mean that the maintenance and engineering function within airlines and operators must evolve to cope. One way technology can help is using data which is constantly refreshed in real-time and using it to trigger automated actions within the maintenance information system. The outcome of better, more efficient planning and forecasting of maintenance jobs and greater visibility of data means that there should be less unplanned maintenance events, better operational efficiency and improved aircraft availability. 9

10 About Rusada Rusada is a global aviation software solutions company established in 1987 and headquartered in Switzerland. With operations in the Middle East, Asia, Europe and the Americas, Rusada serves 100+ major customers worldwide with software that manages more than 1,500 aircraft in 30 countries. The company s Envision software provides key management information and operational process control for operators, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), maintenance and repair organizations (MROs) and service organizations. About the Author Ian Kent is a business consultant for Rusada with over thirty years experience gained primarily within aircraft maintenance and continued airworthiness management organisations plus significant expertise in computerized MRO systems. He has been involved in system developments and implementations with several Airlines and MROs. Ian is a qualified Aeronautical engineer and skilled in project management and business process analysis and improvement. Prior to Rusada, Ian worked for AirTanker as Maintenance Planning manager on the Voyager fleet. Ian Kent Presales Consultant Rusada ian.kent@ 10

11 About Envision ngen ENVISION ngen is the latest release of our aviation technology that has been implemented in some 100 installations worldwide. The latest release of ENVISION ngen provides the day-to-day user with a simple, easy to use interface for accessing and managing information while still maintaining all the complex demands associated with operating an aviation business. It s workflow driven and device agnostic, meaning ENVISION ngen will run on a desktop, a laptop, an ipad or a smart mobile phone and is accessible from anywhere. About Rusada Rusada is a global aviation software solutions company established in 1987 and headquartered in Switzerland. With operations in the Middle East, Asia, Europe and the Americas, Rusada serves 100+ major customers worldwide with software that manages more than 1,500 aircraft in 30 countries. The company s Envision software provides key management information and operational process control for operators, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), maintenance and repair organizations (MROs) and service organizations. Accessing information on-demand, regardless of internet connectivity is crucial for our customers. ENVISION ngen supports an offline environment enabling users to move a set of functions from the main system to a local device, which means they carry on with their work locally and then sync with the core system when connectivity is restored. Rusada SA Avenue de Crédeilles 1, CH 1800 Vevey, Switzerland information@ Phone: +44(0) Rusada 1

12 For more information, relating to Rusada or ENVISION, or to contact the press office please use the details below: Rusada SA Avenue de Crédeilles 1, CH 1800 Vevey, Switzerland Phone: +44(0) Rusada USA UK Switzerland UAE India Singapore Australia Russell Adams Limited trading as Rusada All rights reserved.