Big Data
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As newer-generation aircraft become more like “flying computers,” the amount of data being collected within aviation has grown massively. Big Data has shown great potential for improving maintenance operations, providing opportunities for predicting unplanned maintenance and component failure, forecasting trends to optimize operations and scheduling, and ensuring that parts, planes and people are in the right place at the right time. Potential benefits of using Big Data include fewer maintenance delays, faster turnaround times, increased aircraft availability and sizable cost savings—so it is no wonder that many MROs, aircraft and engine OEMs, and aviation-focused digital startups have released their own Big Data platforms.
The challenges the MRO industry will need to tackle as it leans more on prognostics, analytics and predictive maintenance will be successfully joining data from various silos, cleaning massive swaths of data, identifying which pieces are actionable, and settling disputes about its security and ownership.