MRO has a notorious reputation for falling behind every other sector of aviation in the adoption of digital solutions, Keith Mwanalushi from AviTrader MRO spoke to Sajedah about what AJW Technique is doing to help change this. 

Digitalisation and Automation

AJW Technique have been testing several technologies via proofs of concept. “For example, we tested asset location tracking using RFID and Bluetooth,” tells Sajedah. “The proof of concept deployed an off-the-shelf solution developed by a software development company, originally designed for engines, which we customised for repairable components and tooling.” Sajedah expects that in the long run, this application will create increased internal workflow efficiency by ensuring adherence to turnaround time, fast flow through each repair gate, with pre-emptive bill of material and capacity planning. “It will maintain accuracy of turnaround time clocking on repairs from receiving right through to quality approval. The application of RFID on the tooling side further enhances repair efficiency by saving our technicians time searching for tools during a repair, especially where major tooling is shared amongst repair cells. It also provides the added benefit of proactively managing calibration, cost and down-time of tooling, which can cause turnaround time delays if not strictly managed.”

AJW are also presently designing a tablet application, integrated with an ERP system, to streamline the entire workflow of the business. Sajedah states that from receiving to shipping, technicians, material controllers, and others will have one-touch access to all the information they require during a repair form bill of material to task list to repair manuals and technical data, “This will hugely improve direct touch-time spent by technicians on doing what they do best.”

Intelligence-driven maintenance planning

The use of Big data has enabled AJW Technique to produce a series of solutions including in-house inventory modelling to identify optimum levels of stock to de-risk the operation, pricing algorithms to evaluate and manipulate repair pricing in line with internal and external benchmark factors and more, says Sajedah.

“We are also in the process of working with prospective industry partners to develop a predictive maintenance solution, for improved troubleshooting, component reliability, material provisioning, maintenance capacity and manpower planning thus further integrating the supply chain and delivering customer value.” Sajedah adds that whilst the industry has a lot to work through to ensure maturity and applicability in predictive maintenance, it will be a game-changer if airframers, component OEMs and MROs alike work together in a trifecta for success.

Read the full AviTrader MRO article here >

Find out more about our Digital Innovations and the Capabilities of AJW Technique here