Page 30 - AAA SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2022 Online Magazine

post-pandemic recovery and the continued solution. Remote assistance lets team members work together
threat of potential disruption. In particular, over long distances, sharing information in a common view and
there are three key maintenance-focused diagnosing and fixing issues together. Remote assistance tools
technologies that can create this advantage are also able to create an auditable archive of recordings that
throughout an aircraft’s lifecycle. can later be searched through and reviewed, another valuable
point for inspection, quality assurance, training, and compliance
1. Predictive maintenance redefines activities. We see remote assistance becoming more and more
efficiency with AI and an IoT of an option—as early as March 2020, the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) announced a policy to allow video links
One of the maturing industry technology and other remote technology to help conduct inspections and
applications is the use of the Internet of validate regulatory compliance during this period of uncertainty.
Things (IoT) and Machine Learning (ML)
for predictive maintenance. Maintenance 3. The overhaul of defect management will begin
software applications now allow for the through intelligent decision support
aggregation of real-time sensor data, busi-
ness & operations data, logs, and more into The latest U.S. Bureau of Transportation statistics show that
a data lake infrastructure—with the ability from January-May 2022, 23.57 per cent of all US domestic flights
to transform all this information into proac- were delayed, vs. 14.2 per cent in the same period in 2021. The
tive maintenance tasks. These data insights, most common cause of delays in 2022 are air carrier delays,
along with machine learning models, can defined as the cause of the cancellation or delay being due to
then be used to produce advanced statis- circumstances within the airline’s control (e.g., maintenance or
tics and KPIs to provide a holistic view of the crew problems, aircraft cleaning, baggage loading, fuelling, etc.).
asset or component in question, combining On the maintenance side, investment in technologies that foster
historical and forecasted values. Thanks to efficient decision making from technicians and real-time deferral
these digital developments, the often risk- compliance management can reduce or eliminate maintenance
averse aviation industry can pivot to using delays that are in the air carrier’s control. Master Minimum
predictive maintenance models not only to Equipment Lists are often housed in paper or individual PDF
increase performance and reduce costs but documents and must be looked up manually. The information
also to better manage risk and enhance must be combed through to check if every individual fault can be
safety. For example, as of 2020, Rolls-Royce deferred. Collaborative defect management offers fast, effective,
is using AI forecasting, which is supported by and supported decision-making for technicians, which leads to
improved efficiency and visibility, as well as real-time deferral
IFS, to help airline customers automatically compliance management.
update predicted maintenance deadlines
for every life-limited component inside their It is up to the maintenance and engineering (M&E) systems
engines—a key part of the Rolls-Royce Blue to enable intelligent decision support for defect management,
Data Thread strategy, a digital information by providing a single accessible framework for technicians to
thread connecting every Rolls-Royce powered take faults raised and utilise a flexible and collaborative work-
aircraft, every airline operation, every main- flow to evaluate if the fault may be deferred. But the deferral
tenance shop, and every factory. doesn’t end when it is approved. To ensure compliance going
forward, intelligent tools should also automatically generate
2. Digital help stems from remote and schedule follow-on tasks and recurring inspections until the
assistance defect is ultimately fixed. The result of proactive and improved
defect management is fewer grounded aircraft and reduced
Passengers will now be greeted by more flight delays—and fewer delays mean more profits for airlines.
mobile, touchless, and socially distanced This predicted boost to an airline’s revenue stream can be seen
technology to help navigate them through in recent Frost & Sullivan research, showing that digital trans-
the airports. Similarly, airlines have deployed formation of this nature could generate an incremental value
technology to protect their employees and of as much as $10 for every passenger.
deliver new operational efficiencies. The
proliferation of smart devices, and mainte- Avoiding clipped wings through pragmatic IT investment
nance software applications now available on Digital investment has already become a key driver of invest-
mobile has fast-forwarded merged reality— ment in aviation. In a recent IFS poll, 56 per cent of participants
where the real and virtual world are mixed and had invested in digital transformation. At the core of this is the
objects from both can interact. With remote need for IT investment to allow competitive advantage to be
working and social distancing becoming com- established, while also allowing for maximum aircraft uptime.
monplace, remote assistance technology is The three areas I have highlighted here can be implemented
ready and available and has been taken up quickly into existing operations and will play an imperative role
by more and more airlines and MROs who in the journey of airliners into a brighter and more profitable
are quick to see the benefits and adopt the aviation future.

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