Page 23 - AAA SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2018 Online Magazine

key driver in the development of the
porta

Big data is having an
increasing impact on MRO
activity. What are some
of the steps taken by the
facing is shortage of main- careers and to help change their company to effectively
tenance technicians. What perceptions about hands-on use big data?
is the company doing to skilled labor. The company, our Primarily, the data available to us
tackle the shortage? former CEO David Storch and Ira as an independent MRO/non-airline
AAR has a number of initiatives to Eichner contributed US$1 million is data that we generate internally.
address the challenge of a very tight to sponsor the interactive Design There are a few consortiums in our
AMT supply. As the current work- Hangar where students conduct industry starting to form that hold
force retires and with not enough experiments in the “How Things the promise of shared data, how-
experienced talent to fill the gap, Fly” exhibit at the Smithsonian Air ever the OEMS are moving rapidly
things will only get worse. In APAC, & Space Museum. We also sponsor to control and charge for the use.
another challenge is the mismatch the Royal Aeronautical Society’s As one of the largest MROs in the
between regulatory requirements Cool Aeronautics programs in the world, we can generate much of
accepted in the region versus UK. the data we need. However, with
nearly every place else in the world. the emergence of predictive main-
As part of our efforts to address the How successful has the tenance and the hype around that,
issue, we partner with community company been in incor- we are always looking for additional
colleges and aviation training cen- porating technological ways to capture more data.
ters near our MRO facilities to help changes such as digi-
develop a curriculum for students talization and artificial With our aftermarket experience
on modern airframe and power intelligence? and knowledge, we can predict the
plant technology, which leads to the AAR established an online store for part usage, order parts at or out-
required certification and an oppor- factory-new component sales more side of lead time, train mechanics
tunity for immediate employment than 10 years ago. In October 2017, better and identify opportunities for
at an AAR facility. We are working we broadened our online pres- improvement. In turn, this leads to
with elected officials, the FAA and ence by launching PAARTS store, reduced inventory, lower price of
DOD to make it easier for aviation a revamped online marketplace acquisition and efficiency improve-
mechanics leaving the military to be giving existing and new aftermar- ments.
certified to work on civilian aircraft. ket customers—typically airlines,
We allow students and new grads to aircraft operators, MROs and bro- How important is it for
earn while they learn but margins in kers—real-time access to a full an independent MRO
the competitive heavy maintenance inventory of over one million new company to diversity its
industry are too thin to finance this and used parts. These include over- services in the current
alone. AAR is also starting a new hauled, serviceable and repairable market?
on-the-job training by current AMTs airframe and engine components Because AAR is independent and
to reduce the time it takes to upskill for almost every commercial air- not part of an airline or OEM, it is
freshly minted A&P mechanics from craft type. able to make customer-focused
up to a year down to 6 months. sourcing decisions and act quickly.
The company supports initiatives We have also partnered with tech- Differentiating AAR is the ability to
to expose young people to avia- nology companies with the intent provide nose-to-tail MRO services.
tion careers and encourage them to deliver the robustness of a busi- Our breadth of services provides
to take STEM courses, which will be ness-to-business portal, AARIVE, comprehensive cost-per-flight-
needed to work on next-gen aircraft with a “look and feel” driven more hour and cost-per-landing support
using advanced technologies. by the more familiar B2C sites. via our component repair shop in
AAR also hosts events and pro- Eliminating the tedious chain of New York; wheels and brake shop
grams at middle and high schools requests and providing customers in Miami; and component manage-
in cities where we expose stu- with the opportunity to pace their ment and access to pool parts.
dents and their teachers to aviation selection as they determine was a

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