Technologies for MRO Recovery

November 25, 2022

Aircraft maintenance services are in demand again as travel restrictions ease and airlines look to ensure the safety and airworthiness of aircraft mothballed during the pandemic. Digital technologies will play a key role in managing this spike and ongoing demand for sustainable maintenance, repair, and overhaul.

A pre-pandemic study forecasted the global MRO industry to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 4.3% over 2018-2025, to become worth $110 billion by 2025.?According to a more recent study, MRO demand will recover to pre-pandemic levels by 2024. However, the demand will grow at a 2.8% CAGR over 2025-2030 to reach $118 billion by 2030, 13% below the pre COVID forecast of $135 billion.

Going ahead, the fleet mix will also change due to the inclusion of fuel-efficient, narrow-body aircraft and the retirement of older aircraft. Along with this change in MRO procedures and tools, the demand bounce-back, carbon emission reduction, and hiring and retention of employees will stress the MRO industry.

While technology helps achieve the balance, enterprise applications need to be upgraded to keep up with industry demands. For example, automation of workflows and migration to a cloud-based setup can enhance reliability and resilience. Also, better integration between applications can accelerate information flow, reduce human errors, and support rational decision-making. MRO players are increasingly utilizing advanced technologies to effectively address cost, time, and quality aspects (Figure 1).?

Figure 1. Technologies to manage cost, time, and quality needs of the MRO industry

Smart factory

Infosys undertook digital transformation of an aircraft manufacturer's global manufacturing facilities, connecting machines in factories, offering end-to-end visibility across production, and providing constituents with a macro view of the shop floor. The team implemented the smart factory solution at three of the company’s MRO facilities in Singapore, connecting more than 100 machines. The solution improved operational equipment effectiveness by 20%. The new ecosystem increased productivity by 15%, while reducing labor time and machine waste by 10% each. The solution enabled the company to adhere to aggressive delivery timelines, boosting on-time deliveries by 5%.

On-demand additive manufacturing

Parts replacement is one of the biggest cost items in aircraft maintenance. Components amount to 24% of the direct maintenance cost of airlines. Parts are replaced either due to their low life remaining or because they cannot be repaired in exact form, fit, and function to guarantee pre-repair level of functionality and safety. Additive layer manufacturing (ALM) has proven to be useful in restoring parts to their original form, fit, and function. ALM enables on-demand parts manufacturing, avoiding the need to keep inventory in stock. However, it supports only a narrow range of high-cost materials, acting as a dampener for ALM adoption.

Managing nonconformities

MRO technicians often need to collaborate with wider engineering teams to resolve issues they themselves could not address. The way to speed up traditionally slow processes is to ensure early collaboration sharing complete and accurate information from the start. The overall turnaround time to address defects is defined by the identification and measurement of the defect, its classification, and containment.

Boeing for example wanted to use augmented reality to compare a plane’s present condition with its past by using historic data. But the challenge was in the creation of training data sets. A digital twin was eventually used to create computer-generated, curated images.

Cloud for remote access

During the initial pandemic-led lockdowns, remote access of on-premises documents and applications became a major challenge. European airline Volotea faced similar challenges in its MRO operations. Its MRO software faced challenges due to end user access, security, and flexibility during seasonal workloads and changes to aircraft fleet. The airline migrated its MRO application to a cloud-based setup with open-source software. This setup offered elasticity, security with single sign-on for authentication, and cost reduction.

Safe handling of bulky systems

Inspection of bulky aircraft parts is time-consuming and prone to human errors. At times, handling parts and moving them across the shop floor pose safety concerns for workers. Usage of autonomous vehicles combined with robots, computer vision, and image analytics can assist humans, minimize errors, and reduce time to inspect large aircraft parts. Lufthansa Technik has deployed a swarm of drones for major system inspection, reducing the time taken by 75%. It also uses mobile robots for fuselage inspection. General Electric makes extensive use of snake-arm robots for engine inspection and maintenance.

Immersive training

Finding and training the right talent to operate complicated aircraft systems is a challenge in the MRO industry. Advanced technologies can help in remote training. For instance, Rolls-Royce was finding it difficult to ship physical engines to its airline clients for training purposes. To resolve this, it launched a virtual reality-based learning course to provide an overview of the design, construction, operation, and repair of aircraft engines.

The MRO industry needs an effective automation strategy to digitize various operations, enhance sustainability, and train employees to develop the necessary skills. Automation of physical and digital workflows integrated with human capital can simplify complex processes. Technologies that help train humans and assist them in decision-making will be important to choose and invest in.

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