Page 30 - AAA JULY - SEPTEMBER 2019 Online Magazine

observers feel. “Global MRO spend is anticipated to increase by 46 form that is not tied to a support contract with
per cent by 2026, driven by a combination of growing passenger Lufthansa Technik. It is an OEM-spanning tool
numbers and aircraft fleets. Because of this, airlines are looking at whose highly sensitive data is safeguarded
the next step in asset management, from condition-based main- by Germany’s rigorous data protection laws.
tenance to predictive maintenance, able to detect early signs of The customer selects the required fleet and
potential failure and rectify matters before it impacts service deliv- the desired use cases and is given access
ery,” says Espen Olse, former Director A&D Business Development to the online platform. The use of Condition
& Sales at IFS. Analytics in actual flight operations has already
produced beneficial results. In the area of air-
Picking out the relevant data patterns being fed back out of the craft maintenance, it is vital to be able to predict
myriad of information produced through Internet of Things-enabled airplane component or equipment failures and
parts, will allow the true benefit of scheduled maintenance to be maintenance needs in order to reduce costly
extended into every aspect of the MRO support chain. downtime, avoid unplanned out of service
“The ultimate goal would be to perform maintenance at a times, and to optimise service crew schedules.
scheduled point in time when the maintenance activity is most With over 1,000 airplanes to be maintained,
cost-effective and before the equipment loses performance within Lufthansa had hundreds of thousands of log
a set threshold. The result would be a reduction in unplanned down- entries, sensor data, error messages, and
time costs due to equipment failure—where costs can be in the maintenance reports that needed to be evalu-
hundreds of thousands per day depending on industry,” he adds. ated in order to accurately predict and prevent
failures. According to Lufthansa Technik, it is
New Methods for PM now possible to predict the life cycle of igniter
“Predictive Maintenance” and “Prognostic Health Monitoring” meth- plugs accurately. This ensures maximum per-
ods are the next natural evolution for aircraft monitoring. They formance and efficiency.
expand the scope to the prediction of condition events in advance
of an occurrence. With the current price of jet-fuel indicating that Jan Stoevesand, Senior Director Analytics and
current generation aircraft should remain flying, fleet operators Data Solutions at Lufthansa Technik, under-
and airline MROs are now looking seriously at predictive mainte- lines, “We provide customers with precise
nance as the best way of improving operational efficiency. A recent knowledge of their fleet condition and enable
study by Oliver Wyman in the MRO space found that more than them to counter failures before they occur.
half of the companies surveyed are planning more investment in Thus, we not only increase aircraft availability
predictive maintenance over the next five years. Lufthansa Technik and maximise operating hours, we also sub-
(LHT) has launched an independent platform, Condition Analytics to stantially contribute to flight safety.” Condition
precisely predict when components should be replaced. The new Analytics by Lufthansa Technik uses a multi-fac-
and highly intelligent platform allows airlines to predict precisely eted approach to improve aircraft operations.
when components should be replaced and recommends measures Engineers and data scientists analyse flight
to be taken to avoid failures before they actually happen. Among and MRO data and use them as a basis for
other advantages, the company claims, operators benefit from continuously developing analytics use cases.
reduced fuel consumption, optimised use of expendable parts and Once the analytical model has been developed,
enhanced safety. the system checks the customer data for rele-
“Airlines around the globe are seeking ways to maximise the vant incidents and supplies the corresponding
reliability, availability and safety of their fleets while reducing costs. results to the customer automatically. Lufthansa
With Condition Analytics, one platform combines MRO experi- Technik acknowledges that the major engines
ence with condition monitoring and prognoses for the first time. are all working on digital-analytics platforms to
It creates true predictive maintenance for Airbus, Boeing or other enhance predictive maintenance, but it differ-
aircraft,” says Dr. Holger Appel Head of Innovation & Digitalization entiates Condition Analytics as a tool pairing
at Lufthansa Technik. Condition Analytics is an independent plat- analytics and engineering know-how. “We are

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