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confident that we will play a major role in the industry and it won’t and its Big Data skills, AFI KLM E&M has also
be all OEM dominated,” says Stoevesand. developed a predictive analysis program used
to replace a fuel system component before it
Tip to Tail Approach fails. “The predictive maintenance program has
Lufthansa Technik is not alone in tapping the opportunities for been trialed since last July on the fuel circuits
predictive maintenance. With PROGNOS, AFI KLM E&M aims to of the Group’s 10 A380s and has now con-
provide technology solutions in a shift towards predictive mainte- firmed its reliability. The predictive detection
nance models, for the benefit of airlines’ operational performance. rate stands at 70 per cent,” says a delighted
As part of its MRO Lab innovation programme, AFI KLM E&M is Kornberg. “In the space of three months, four
implementing PROGNOS, a range of solutions based on exploiting pumps and switches have been replaced using
the data from aircraft systems with a view to improving mainte- this new system in predictive mode and also in
nance models and processes. AFI KLM E&M capitalises on the vast corrective mode, which makes us more effec-
amount of data generated by Air France and KLM fleets to develop tive when carrying out repairs.” AFI KLM E&M is
its PROGNOS solutions, and verify their operational relevance and currently looking into the possibility of extend-
performance before sharing such innovations with its customers. ing the use of this type of program to other
PROGNOS Engine Health Monitoring (EHM) is being designed to A380 systems and even to other fleets, such
carry out statistical analyses of engine data to enable dynamic as 787s and A350s.
monitoring and predict failures using an early warning system, for
the fleets of Air France and KLM as well as client airlines, says AAR, another leading aviation aftermarket ser-
James Kornberg, Director Engineering & Maintenance Innovation vice provider for the world’s airlines is deploying
at AFI KLM E&M. its proprietary predictive-maintenance soft-
ware to ensure the right parts are in the right
“PROGNOS EHM is part of a series of projects and initiatives place at the right time. Using cutting-edge ana-
focused on Big Data that have already led to operational solutions lytics, AAR anticipates repair needs to minimise
such as PROGNOS A380, the early warning and failure monitoring unscheduled events and aircraft-on-ground-
software used for the A380’s systems, which extends the solution time, crucial to carriers’ success. Recently, AAR
to bigger data volumes,” he says. Solutions based on the same has been selected by an American regional
approach are currently under development to support a range of carrier CommutAir to provide ongoing sup-
other critical aircraft systems and components, including on the port services for its newly inducted ERJ 145
787, he adds. A key advantage of AFI KLM E&M’s approach to Big aircraft. AAR will provide full cost per flight
Data and predictive maintenance is that it stems from the real hour (CpFH) services for rotable components
operational needs and challenges of Air France KLM group airlines. including inventory management, logistics,
“Having full access to aircraft-generated data, and robust technical overhaul and repair. In addition, AAR will also
expertise of aircraft systems and sub-systems due to its MRO/ provide wheel, tire and brake maintenance and
airline profile, endows AFI KLM E&M with genuine legitimacy to inventory services for the new fleet under a full
develop this type of solutions. Working closely with data scientists cost per landing structure (CpL). CommutAir,
and data engineers, we can test and validate the predictive main- which operates on behalf of United Airlines as
tenance solutions we are developing,” says Kornberg. Leveraging United Express, recently announced plans to
its in-depth knowledge of A380 systems, its ability to innovate triple the size of its fleet with the induction of
40 Embraer 145 jet aircraft over the next two
years. “CommutAir recognized AAR has the
bandwidth, expertise and experience to sup-
port its fleet maintenance and growth strategy,”
says Ken Hein, Vice President of Operations at
AAR Corp. “This is the latest example of AAR’s
unique ability to provide tip-to-tail support of
new and legacy fleets. We are excited to grow
our longstanding partnership.”

Field-Proven Benefits
Successfully introducing predictive mainte-
nance requires finding innovative solutions
to all the challenges. Data analysts at BAE
Systems are enhancing a predictive mainte-
nance computer programme to enable U.S. Air
Force experts to anticipate when obsolescence
will affect aircraft components, and then plan
for alternative sourcing or system redesign.
Officials of the Air Force Sustainment Centre

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