Maintenance, Repair And Overhaul Research Articles

The ‘hangar of the future’ for sustainable aviation

AbstractSustainability is becoming a major strategic driver within the aviation industry, which has moved from providing primarily economic benefits to delivering the ‘triple bottom line’, including social and environmental impact as well as financial performance. Sustainable aviation is also being tracked by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Global Collation for Sustainable Aviation. Operations and Infrastructure is an important near-term opportunity to deliver sustainability benefits. Digital Technologies, Integrated Vehicle Health Management (IVHM) and Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) play a prominent role in implementing these benefits, with a particular focus on operational efficiencies. As part of this, the sustainable smart hangar of the future is a concept that is becoming more and more important in forming the future of the aviation industry. The Hangar of the Future is an excellent opportunity for innovation, combining the progress in manufacturing, materials, robotics and artificial intelligence technologies. Succeeding in developing a hangar with these characteristics will provide us with potential benefits ranging from reduced downtime and costs to improved safety and environmental impact. This work explores some of the key features related to the sustainable smart hangar of the future by discussing research that takes place in DARTeC’s (Digital Aviation Research and Technology Centre) hangar led by the IVHM Centre in Cranfield. Additionally, the paper touches on some longer-term aspirations.

Understanding after-market service channel selection for complex product-services supply chains: A game-theoretical approach

Today, cooperation between an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) of Complex Products and Systems (CoPS) and her multiple Key Component Suppliers (KCSs) is characterized by a strategic partnership where long-term benefits are sought for both parties. Since CoPS after-market service can be provided by the KCS, the OEM, or an MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul) party, different after-market service channels can be established. In this paper, we model each of these channels using game theory, compare their main features, and discuss the selection of the optimal after-market service channel. We show that the duration of the after-market service is not influenced by the service channel if the service cost remains constant. If the after-market service costs are equal for all parties, each party would prefer the other to perform the service. In the case of different costs, both the cost of the service and potential market size have the same effect on the OEM’s preference for the after-market service channel as on the CoPS ordered quantities. Furthermore, OEM and KCS after-market service channel preferences depend on market size, and “win-win” situations are discussed for the different channels, along with their impact on the long-term stability of the strategic partnership between KCS and OEM. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is carried out to examine the impact of several key parameters. The results presented in the paper serve to deepen the understanding of complex product-service systems and offer a number of managerial insights to select an appropriate after-market service channel for KCSs.

Satisfying the needs for highly qualified engineering staff in a disruptively changing aircraft industry with special care for MRO sector

PurposeThe number of passengers in the aviation sector following COVID-19 has recovered in 2023 and is 5% higher than it was in 2019. The average annual growth of air travel is predicted to be 3.2% between 2019 and 2039. This means the need for aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services will also increase. Moreover, the stakeholders require lower costs, higher effectiveness/market share and sustainability. These expectations can be realized only with the identification, development and implementation of new innovations while improving and optimizing the already used processes and procedures. Since only highly qualified graduates can reach these requirements, the need for profession-specific MSc and PhD level engineers has elevated significantly. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the development and implementation of a new MRO higher educational framework program in strong cooperation with enterprises and universities.Design/methodology/approachThe emphasis is placed on the program’s scouting, investigation, development, realization and evaluation by defining key performance indexes and aiming for the optimal solution for all participants.FindingsThe result of this study is the establishment of a new educational framework, the reinvention of the MSc curriculum and the integration of PhD-level researchers in the industry in a way that fulfills the needs and requirements of the MRO sector. In return, it will give various benefits to all parties involved.Originality/valueThe novelty of this work comes from creating a new educational MSc and PhD level framework that can push the MRO industry forward and fill the gap of missing engineers in this field. Plus, the newly developed program is highly flexible and can be used by other players in the economy after making some adaptions and modifications.

Exploring factors influencing aviation MRO services with blockchain technology in Taiwan

PurposeBlockchain is the fastest-growing technology currently being used in the aviation industry, especially in aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services. This study aims to create an analytic framework to assess the main factors and subfactors that have significantly influence the blockchain used in aviation MRO services. A mixed-methods approach is used to gain a comprehensive understanding of how blockchain is being adopted in aircraft maintenance facilities, Semi-structured interviews and questionnaires are used to gather data. The questionnaire is focused on the present state of the MRO industry.Design/methodology/approachBased on the literature review, a framework including four factors and 12 subfactors is developed, and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is then established. This study explores how these factors influence the implementation of blockchain in aviation MRO services. The five aviation MRO services providers in Taiwan, namely, “Evergreen Aviation Technologies Corporation,” “Taiwan Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering Co., Ltd.,” “Air Asia Company Ltd.,” “Aerospace Industrial Development Corp.” and “GE Evergreen Engine Services Corporation” are considered; furthermore, 55 experts working in these organizations were invited to evaluate the relative importance criteria in the AHP framework.FindingsThe results indicate that “inventory management” is the most important criterion, followed by “provisioning, procurement and sales” and “maintenance planning.” In addition, the three most important subfactors are “parts interchangeability,” “customer stock” and “SPEC2K interface for ATA SPEC 2000.”Originality/valueAsia is ranked as the second most important aviation MRO service market in the world. Taiwan has the shortest flight hours in the western Pacific region, the seven major foreign cities in this area. Aviation MRO service providers located in Taiwan are the best choices for aircraft MRO in the Asia-Pacific region, indicating that Taiwan serves as a promising market development evaluation model for blockchain aviation MRO services. The results offer a comprehensive overview of the relative importance of different criteria for MRO services that use blockchains. In addition, the findings present the market potential for key players in the aviation industry, including aircraft engineers, airline companies, aircraft component manufacturers and aviation MRO service providers.

Penerapan Strategic Approach Pada Kegiatan Company Visit PT. Garuda Maintenance Facility Aero Asia Tbk

PT Garuda Maintenance Facility Aero Asia Tbk (GMF) is a company engaged in aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO). GMF has a business unit consisting of comprehensive aircraft maintenance, such as commercial aircraft maintenance, military aircraft maintenance and industrial services. At this company, the author took part in practical work activities in the Corporate Communications & CSR unit which is under the auspices of the Corporate Secretary & Legal service which carries out the public relations function at GMF. In this report, the author will explain the application of 4 strategic approaches to company visits held for GMF stakeholders using interview, observation and literature study methods. The stakeholder aspects that will be explained from the perspective of Grunig's 4 Linkage Model are functional linkage, enabling linkage, normative linkage, and diffused linkage. PT GMF approaches stakeholders using 4 strategic approaches, namely assertive, defensive, collaborative and responsive.

Designing a collaborative maintenance planning mechanism between airline and maintenance company using a bilevel model – Considering flexible maintenance schedule and service charges

Periodic aircraft Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) activities are compulsory. To capture the features of MRO operations between airline and maintenance company under MRO outsourcing mode, we consider a collaborative aircraft maintenance planning problem, in which the airline outsources its self-operated maintenance checks to an independent maintenance company. Under such context, MRO planning conflicts between two collaborates exists especially during maintenance peak period, as airline aims to maximize flight operations revenues by receiving timely MRO service. On the other hand, maintenance company strives to accomplish heterogenous demands without causing tardiness and involving excessive MRO resources cost. Therefore, finding an effective mechanism to eliminate the conflicts between maintenance demands (from airline company) and maintenance service supply capability (from maintenance company) is indispensable for collaboration. A bi-level optimization model is formulated to describe the conflicting objectives and maintenance planning features of two independent stakeholders. To facilitates a synchronization of demand and supply and reconcile MRO conflicts, flexible maintenance schedules and service charges decisions from two independent collaborators is involved in the model, enabling a maintenance planning negotiation for finding mutual beneficial maintenance plan. An iterative algorithm deploying bounding updating strategy is developed, which generates a series of convergent-oriented bounding constraints along the iterative negotiation and guides the adjustment of maintenance demand and supply towards equilibrium. Based on the computational results in solving various maintenance planning scenarios, the impacts of different features (e.g. resource availability, resource demands level, and penalty cost of service tardiness) on airline and service company’s planning performance are analysed, revealing that maintenance service company’s own interest can be assured and maintained though it is a follower in the collaboration framework Afterwards, the managerial insights for facilitating the maintenance collaboration are further discussed.

A Novel Rolling Horizon Based Solution Framework for Scheduling Airplane Maintenance

Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) activities on aircraft and systems in aviation is a service sector that relies heavily on skilled workforce. The output of MRO activities is basically bringing the system reliability values, which decrease because of the use of aircraft and systems in certain flight times and landing and take-off numbers, to the default levels determined during the design phase. MRO companies are accountable to the civil aviation authorities who directly authorize them to ensure the required levels of reliability of their products. Airline companies request MRO services at the most convenient time and cost. However, the maintenance of an aircraft is a process that can take up to five weeks, includes plenty of jobs some of which may have stochastic durations, and many over-costed qualified technicians spend thousands of man-hours. In addition, each MRO company is involved in the maintenance of several airplanes arriving at different time intervals. In the study such a problem faced by an MRO company is addressed. The company’s aim is to schedule several incoming airplane maintenance projects. A framework that employs an integer programming (IP) model working on a rolling horizon (RH) setting is used.

Henkel strengthens its Adhesive Technologies business by buying US firm

Henkel AG & Co KgaA has further strengthened its Adhesive Technologies business by acquiring a supplier of protective coating and sealing technology based in the USA. The move follows its recent acquisition of another US firm that specialises in maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) composite technology.

Poster] Identifying Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul Events based on ADS-B Data

Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) plays a big role in aviation schedules and operational costs. In this work service difficulty reports are combined with aircraft ADS-B data to identify MRO activity based on an aircraft's layover information. The ``Inspection/Maintenance'' stage of operation and date of service difficulty reports allow to label layovers from ADS-B with the presence of MRO activity. Using a support vector machine this work classifies layovers based on their duration and time of day, achieving an 86% overall accuracy and 78% balanced accuracy. These results reflect the difficulty of working with this sparse and incomplete dataset, however, they allow us to study MRO schedules. The combination of these data sources offers new opportunities to find relations between aircraft trajectory information and MRO, which will be further investigated in future work.

Visualising dynamics in innovation ecosystems: A new method and demonstration in the commercial aircraft MRO ecosystem

A review and evaluation of 34 visual methods for ecosystem research revealed that there was no method to visually capture the dynamics of innovation ecosystems. To fill this gap, we develop and demonstrate a new visual method, the ecosystem dynamics mapping (EDM) language, for capturing and analysing (i) structural elements, (ii) structural changes and (iii) dynamic forces in evolving innovation ecosystems over time.To develop the EDM language we applied the design science research methodology (DSRM), conducting a demonstration case in the commercial aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) sector. The sector's innovation ecosystem is currently experiencing profound dynamics, with a focus in this paper specifically on dynamics that result from servitizing manufacturers. For the demonstration case, we conducted 18 in-depth semi-structured interviews with 10 decision-makers at a large incumbent service provider, producing a total of 13 ecosystem dynamics maps.This study attempts to make three contributions. First, it identifies, summarises and evaluates the existing ecosystem visualisation methods. Second, we introduce the new EDM language for visualising the dynamics of innovation ecosystems. Third, we present an EDM demonstration case validating its applicability. The EDM language can be used by researchers, practitioners and policy-makers to better understand how innovation ecosystems are changing, thereby supporting strategic decision-making or policy interventions.

RE-DESIGN TANGGA PESAWAT UNTUK LOADING DAN UNLOADING KURSI PADA PESAWAT AIRBUS 320 NEO DI PT BAT

PT. Batam Aero Technic which is a subsidiary of Lion Air airline that focuses on Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) or maintenance of aircraft. One of the maintenance in the BAT hangar is the maintenance of the aircraft cabin section which is commonly called the Cabin Base Maintenance (CBM) Division. The CBM Division is responsible for the interior of the aircraft, starting from small to large scale repairs. In the initial observation, there was the biggest complaint of work posture of 66.67%, pain in the upper neck when lifting airplane seats manually and using stairs that did not fit properly. So it is important to design a tool to reduce musculoskeletal complaints. The aim of the research is to design ergonomic stairs using the EFD method to determine design specifications and meet user needs and anthropometric measurements with NBM. Then, a survey by distributing questionnaires to obtain the design parameters of the transportation equipment developed with the results of the unloading size with Dimension Platform 4,14 m x 404 m, Height Min 1 m | Max 4,5 m, Structure Materials Body and Frame : Structure Steel with Coating, Electrical Control Panel Specification Remote Control / Wireless, Control panel box, Motor 1.5 HP 380 volt 3 phase, Flow Rate 3.2 LPM/210 bar. Others Specification Included, Hydraulic Jack Mounting, Tire Wheel c/w steering towing, Aluminum platform layer Railing, Rubber Bumper, Manual Box, Safety Locking Devices, 2 sets of Rack Gear with Electric Solenoid Release. The design developed is valid according to user needs and according to the 5% significance level and is better than the prefix design due to a more ergonomic ladder position and faster loading/unloading seats.

The Influence of Repair Quality on Aircraft Spare Part Demand Variability

Accurate estimation of spare part demand is challenging in the case of intermittent or lumpy demand, characterised by infrequent demand occurrence and variability in demand size. While prior research has considered the effect of exogenous variables on spare part demand, there is a lack of research considering the effects of repair quality and aggregated spare part demand behaviour across fleets of assets under the influence of multiple simultaneously acting drivers of failure. This research provides new insights towards the problem of estimating variable spare part demand through modelling and simulation of the effects of multiple, simultaneously considered spare part demand drivers. In particular, a contribution to the state of the art is introduced by the use of a Branching Poisson Process (BPP) to model repair quality effects for spare part demand generation in conjunction with several demand drivers. The approach is applied in a numerical study which involves component failure characteristics based on real-life data from an aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) provider. It is shown that repair quality improvements drive down the variance in the demand and the total number of failures over time, and outperform the effect of environmental drivers of failure in terms of demand generation.

Opportunities for Civil Aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul in India

The Indian airline industry is expected to see double digit growth over the next decade as the economy grows between 8-10% GDP, as structural weaknesses are removed, infrastructure strengthened and much needed capital (domestic and foreign) becomes available. It is now perceived that there is already lack of adequate infrastructure for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO). Much of the engine, airframe and component MRO are presently being carried out abroad. As of now, there are no major independent MROs that can cater for this large fragmented market. It was felt by the Aeronautical Society of India to set up a Committee to study opportunities for MRO in India. The Committee report [1] details the different types of airframe MRO that are required including aircraft C and higher checks, engines and other equipment. The report encompasses a detailed study of manpower requirements, structure of the MRO organisation, training opportunities apart from providing a basic cost and revenue structure for any MRO. This article provides a brief overview of the report.

Acoustic non-destructive testing of UAS´s propellers during predeparture and post-flight checks

Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) activities have increased steeply in the last years, market research forecasts a continuous increase in the near future. The rapid growth of this industry, however, has outpaced the development of rules and systems to govern their use, as well as those to ensure a safe operation before, during and after flight. Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) aspects will gain relevance as more and more UAS take to the sky. Rotary-wing UAS have 2 or more propellers, which are easily damaged during normal operation of the vehicle. The reduced thrust and increased vibration imply losing performance and setting the UAS structure under stress. With the propellers being the main source of sound of the propulsion system, we propose the use of acoustics to identify damaged propellers. Microphones placed off-board do neither disrupt UAS operation nor reduce the payload capacity. Furthermore, this method does not depend on a particular manufacturer or software. In this paper, we present a concept for the non-destructive testing of multi-copter propellers. The fault diagnosis aims at recognizing the difference in sound between damaged and undamaged propellers. This evaluation takes place before the UAS takes off the ground and after it lands, thus allowing to interrupt a possible dangerous mission or identifying damage occurred during operation. The vehicle is on the ground in an “idle state” where the propellers already spin, but not fast enough to lift it. This state is used for a first analysis of the sound of a single propeller and several propellers, as well as for the generation of data. Next, two approaches for the detection of damage are developed and their performance is evaluated: an analytical approach and a machine learning algorithm based on an autoencoder neural network....

A scheduling model of civil aircraft maintenance stand based on spatiotemporal constraints

PurposeMaintenance stands are the most valuable maintenance resources and provide the necessary maintenance space and maintenance facilities for aircraft maintenance. To expand the maintenance market, maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) urgently need to achieve a reasonable schedule between aircraft maintenance requirements and maintenance stand capability to improve aircraft maintenance continuity and reduce the risk of scratching due to aircraft movement. This study aims to design a maintenance stand scheduling (MSS) model based on spatiotemporal constraints to solve the problem of maintenance stand schedules.Design/methodology/approachTo address the problem of maintenance stand schedules, this study introduces mixed-integer programming algorithm to design the MSS model on the basis of classical hybrid flow shop structure. When designing the optimization objective function of MSS modeling, the spatiotemporal constraints are mainly considered. Specifically, first, the spatial constraints between maintenance stands are fully considered so that more aircraft can be parked in the workshop. Second, the optimization objective is designed to minimize the number of aircraft movements by defining multiple maintenance capabilities of the stand. Finally, a solution based on spatiotemporal constraints is proposed in the solving process.FindingsA set of MRO production data from Guangzhou is used as a test data set to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed MSS model.Originality/valueThe types of maintenance stands are defined and divided into four categories: fixed stand, temporary stand, half-body stand and engine ground test stand, which facilitates optimal modeling; a new scheduling model is designed considering both temporal constraints and spatial constraints, which can improve both the utilization of maintenance stand and safety (reduce the risk of scratching between aircraft).

PERANCANGAN SISTEM INFORMASI PENGARSIPAN BUKTI TRANSAKSI PEMBAYARAN BERBASIS WEB DI PT NUSANTARA TURBIN DAN PROPULSI

PT Nusantara Turbine and Propulsion is a company engaged in the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) of gas turbines on an airplane engine. The research conducted to design Payment Transaction Proof Filing Information System at PT Nusantara Turbine and Propulsion with the aim of producing a web-based application that plays a role in digitally collecting documents that were previously done manually. The research method for developing these applications uses SDLC (Problem identification, Data analysis, Design, Testing, Implementation, and Maintenance) & UML. This web application uses MYSQL & APACHE as a local server and is created using PHPRAD. UML plays a role in representing the workflow of a system. The result of this research is a web-based proof of payment transaction archiving application that aims to make it easier for workers when archiving, such as searching and storing documents so that it can be done digitally.

Handling, inspection and repair of aircraft composites: a pilot study on the awareness of maintenance personnel

AbstractComposite materials are enjoying an increasing use in aircraft structures. As more fleets transition from metal to more composite aircraft, the practice of maintenance is also adjusting. Handling, inspection and repair of aircraft composites following non-visible or barely visible damage are among the areas of concern, due to associated cost and safety implications. A pilot study was performed to explore the level of awareness and understanding of aviation maintenance practitioners around these issues. In addition, this research project sought to identify factors related to the technical/engineering judgement capacity of the personnel working with composites and to gauge the need for specialised education and training. A questionnaire survey was administered to a group of 40 professionals working for an aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) organisation. Descriptive statistics in conjunction with analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to analyse the results. The sources of impact and common areas affected on the aircraft have been identified, with situational awareness suggested as the most important mitigator against impact damage. Over 70% of the participants would refer to their engineering manager for instructions on how to handle composite damage. The need for higher standardisation for composites’ maintenance, repair and handling issues emerged as a common theme across different sections of the survey. Almost all respondents agree on the need for specialised knowledge and training for the handling, repair and inspection of composites.

Analysing the impact of collaborations between airlines and maintenance service company under MRO outsourcing mode: Perspective from airline's operations

The practice of Aircraft Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) outsourcing has changed airline companies' decision-making processes in both operational and tactical levels. Specifically, the aircraft heavy maintenance service provided by an independent maintenance service company alleviates airlines' fixed-asset investments and daily operations regarding maintenance. On the other hand, the fluctuations in MROs service capability, availability and service level also affect airlines' fleet management and daily operations if their maintenance demands cannot be met in a timely manner. In this regard, the impact of the collaborations between airlines and maintenance service company is investigated from the perspective of airline's operations, by studying the maintenance planning problem at operational level. Afterwards, to examine and investigate the impact of collaborations between the two parties have on airline's operational performance, aircraft maintenance routing problems under ‘airlines-service company’ non-collaborative and collaborative contexts are investigated and formulated. The computational results demonstrate the effectiveness of the MRO collaboration under outsourcing mode, in view of airline company's overall operational revenue and flexibility while carrying out maintenance routing for individual aircraft in its fleet.

Aircraft maintenance and repair using “Mobile complex of unified aircraft repair facilities”

This paper presents a projected model of aircraft Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) using “Mobile Complex of Unified Aircraft Repair Facilities” (MCARF). MRO using MCARF is part of the “Before Failure Detection” and “As Conditioned” MRO strategies. The MRO project with MCSM allows building a concept of control of the aircraft life cycle stage - operation in conditions of rapid response to current aircraft repair needs, in the presence of limitations in the required maintenance and repair facilities and the possibility of their rapid delivery.

Implementation of Fuel Cells in Aviation from a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul Perspective

Hydrogen is one of the most promising power sources for meeting the aviation sector’s long-term decarbonization goals. Although on-board hydrogen systems, namely, fuel cells, are extensively researched, the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) perspective remains mostly unaddressed. This paper analyzes fuel cells from an MRO standpoint, based on a literature review and comparison with the automotive sector. It also examines how well the business models and key resources of MRO providers are currently suited to provide future MRO services. It is shown that fuel cells require extensive MRO activities and that these are needed to meet the aviation sector’s requirements for price, safety and, especially, durability. To some extent, experience from the automotive sector can be built upon, particularly with respect to facility requirements and qualification of personnel. Yet, MRO providers’ existing resources only partially allow them to provide these services. MRO providers’ underlying business models must adapt to the implementation of fuel cells in the aviation sector. MRO providers and services should, therefore, be considered and act as enablers for the introduction of fuel cells in the aviation industry.