AJW logoAJW logo

24/7 AOG Critical Response

HotlinePhoneUK +44 1403 798888US +1 877 780 2008

Our award winning global AOG service is manned 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Please call +44 1403 798888 or email aog@ajw-group.com.

CLOSE
AJW logoAJW account

AJW CUSTOMER ACCOUNT

LOGIN OR CREATE AN ACCOUNT

Existing AJW customers can benefit from a secure online account, giving instant access to the real-time information you need, when you need it most.

CLOSE

Rotable support and technology to streamline management | Aircraft Commerce

23 Nov 2020

Allowing airlines to avoid capital investment in component inventories and complex management processes with a rotable support package brings many advantages. A recent article by Aircraft Commerce, featuring Tom De Geytere our chief sales officer, takes a closer look at the use of Big Data analytics and Predictives.

Total support packages and programmes for inventories of rotable and repairable components allow airlines to avoid high capital investments and enable known and predictable maintenance costs. These total support packages are used by many airlines, but primarily to support small- and medium-sized fleets.

 

The article from Aircraft Commerce investigates the economics of operating a complete in-house rotable management and support programme which requires large capital investment in three main areas;

Pioneering support packages

 

AJW was one of the first specialist parts providers to pioneer, develop and offer all-inclusive rotable support packages to airlines. AJW's support programmes are mainly for the Airbus and Boeing narrowbody families. This includes support for easyJet's fleet of 300 A320 family types. "We also have a significant presence in the widebody market, especially the A330, 767 and 777. AJW's overall rotable stocks mean it can support about 1,000 aircraft.

 

AJW often supports small start-up carriers with a single fleet type, as well as larger carriers with multiple fleet types. AJW based its support packages around air transport association (ATA) chapters, that relate to different aircraft systems" comments Tom De Geytere.

 

Rotable support and technology to streamline management | Aircraft Commerce

Inventory assessment

 

The assessment of the total number of rotables required to support a particular fleet of a certain size in an airline's operation is a main factor influencing the rate paid by the airline for the service.  

 

"AJW usually asks for a fit list from the airline, as well as any removal data if they have it," says Tom De Geytere, chief sales officer at AJW. "We often ask for three years' worth of data but recognise that this is not always available. We therefore use our own data for initial stock evaluation. We are now developing an in-house inventory optimisation solution that provides granular detail."

 

Big Data & Predictives

 

The random nature of component malfunctions, and the difficulties and expense that they cause, can be minimised or even avoided through BD analytics and predictive maintenance, or 'Predictives'.

 

Several systems have been developed for BD and Predictives, and these are now being used in operation. AJW, for example, has a modern cloud-native architecture designed to process high volumes of complex data. "We leverage Snowflake as our primary database partner, perform our data extractions, transformations, and loads (referred to as ETL) with Matillion and Python, and visualisation tools. The platform allows our data and analytics engineers to deliver robust products to the business, our customers, and our vendor base as a combination of pre-packaged products, as well as self-service datasets.

 

"BD has therefore allowed us to offer an in-house inventory modelling software that delivers the optimum level of stock to de-risk the operation, while reducing inventory levels," adds De Geytere. "Our biggest airline customers are using BD in the predictive maintenance environment to reduce operational risk."

 

Data interchange

 

The use of BD and Predictives was clearly intended to make inventory management a more exact process, and remove much of the activity around reacting to component failures. The BD and Predictives process starts with downloading and processing the large volumes of component and system health data from each aircraft.

 

The first step for a third-party rotable support provider is therefore to acquire this data from the customer airline. This requires an interface between the IT systems of the related parties.

 

AJW has an extensive IT system, which has digital engineering capability with mature interfaces with its own enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, Quantum, and the IT systems of its customers. AJW's integration capability is mostly developed with Swiss AMOS and SAP. It is also expanding the number of systems it interfaces with to capture all primary airline systems.

 

Read the full Aircraft Commerce article.

 

In other news...

 

PreviousNext

5 Mar 2024

Mature Engines – Replace or Repair? | AviTr...

More

14 Feb 2024

AJW Group unveils new regional support hub in...

More

14 Feb 2024

AJW Group expands into A350 support market

More

7 Feb 2024

Spares & Repairs | MRO Management

More

6 Feb 2024

AJW Group Strengthens North American Presence...

More

29 Jan 2024

Lilium and AJW Group Form Strategic Collabora...

More

LinkedInInstagram
Send
Cancel

Thank you for getting in touch