Accountability, cellular flow, standard work -- three pillars of Lean manufacturing. These precepts, with roots at places such as Toyota, aren't lost on the MRO industry. Not anymore. Once considered a trendy aberration in some aviation maintenance circles, what was once mere mantra is now mainstream. Airlines, the military and MRO organizations are leveraging Lean to save customers time and money -- and render a better product. They're doing these things after vanquishing the skepticism that always attends new ways of doing things, making converts in the process.
Boeing and ST Aerospace signed a deal to offer the 767-300 BCF, with launch customer All Nippon Airways scheduled to receive the first 767-300 converted freighter in 2008. ST Aero's subsidiary ST Aviation Services Co. (SASCO) will perform the work and has committed to complete a 767-300 passenger to freighter conversion in 120 days, said Tay Kok Khiang, the company's president, but he thinks it might take three or four aircraft completions to get the turntime to that rate.
Atlantic Southeast Airlines selected ExelTech Aerospace to perform airframe and avionics modifications, and structural upgrades, on 44 Bombardier CRJ-200 aircraft. ExelTech will upgrade the aircraft at its Montreal Regional Jet Maintenance Facility at Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport. It expects the work to take about 14 months to complete. Atlantic Southeast Airlines, a Delta Connection carrier and wholly owned subsidiary of SkyWest, has been an ExelTech customer for four years, starting with heavy maintenance for ATR 72 turboprops.
Shinsuke Maki is senior vice president of engineering and maintenance for All Nippon Airways. He spoke with O&M about the airline's fleet, its involvement in the 787 program and ANA's maintenance goals. Edited for length and clarity.
AgustaWestland selected BCF Designs Ltd. to provide databus test sets for the AgustaWestland EH101 helicopter. The ground support equipment tests harness networks for wiring faults and meet Mil-Std-1553 and Arinc 429 databus configurations.
McDonnell Douglas, a Boeing subsidiary, won a $16.3 million modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract from the Naval Air Systems Command for the procurement of CY 07 in-service support services for the F/A-18 A-D aircraft for the U.S. Navy and the governments of Switzerland, Finland, Canada, Australia, Kuwait, Malaysia, and Spain.
U.S. Air Force approved Northrop Grumman's plan to begin developing a new extremely high-frequency satellite communication system for the B-2 stealth bomber. System should allow the aircraft to send and receive battlefield information up to 100 times faster than today. The first increment of that program will replace the B-2's current flight management computers with a single, integrated processing unit developed by Lockheed Martin Systems Integration, Owego, N.Y.
Delta Tech Ops is six months into a revamped, organization-wide human factors training initiative. So far, say the division's leaders, the program is nailing its objectives. Delta's maintenance human factors training effort started in 2002. The original program, while effective, soon re-vealed a few shortcomings. For one, ex-plained Tech Ops Training Manager Steve Trawick, the curriculum was too heavy on human factors philosophy. "We realized," he explained, "that we needed to get it a little bit more hands-on."
Performance-Based Logistics (PBL) contracts are increasingly important in the support of U.S. military aircraft, as are similar Availability-Based Contracts (ABC) in the U.K. But there stilll are many questions to be resolved in pursuit of this support strategy. Major aircraft primes are committed to PBL. Boeing is proud of its PBL performance on both the C-17 Globemaster and F-18 Hornet. BAE Systems is embarking on a 10-year ABC agreement on the Tornado, worth nearly one billion pounds, which BAE expects to be the model for supporting other aircraft.
In the pages of O&M, we write fairly often about new aircraft and engines and about the potential impact of new technology on the MRO world of the future. But when I travel to MRO facilities around the globe, the equipment I generally see in the hangar or on the shop floor has been in operation or on-wing for a while. It's pretty rare that I get to spend any time on something that is brand new.
Boeing started training U.S. Air Force maintenance personnel and flight crews in preparation for fielding the C-130 Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) aircraft in 2010. Maintenance training includes classroom training; instruction in Boeing's System Integration Lab, which is an engineering test device that looks like a flight simulator; and hands-on aircraft experience. Boeing instructors are former U.S. Air Force and Navy trainers, who are emphasizing the new digital avionics systems and related procedures.
Nayak Aircraft Services opened a second hangar (Hangar 6) at Dortmund Airport, which allows it to work on two BAe146 or Avro RJs. In October 2006, Nayak started working in Hangar 3.3, which accommodates one ATR 42/72 for base maintenance, A checks and phase tasks, and two Hawker 850XP size aircraft (routine inspections and modifications).
O&M will present its annual Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Aviation Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul on April 17 as part of AVIATION WEEK'S MRO 2007 Conference & Exhibition in Atlanta. The Air Transport Association, which holds its EM&M Forum in conjunction with MRO, also will present its Nuts 'n Bolts awards at the same event.
Israel Aerospace Industries' Military Aircraft Group named Jehezkel "Hezzi" Grizim as corporate vice president and general manager. He joined IAI's Elta Systems Group in 1981 and has held a number of managerial positions in the Radar Systems and Airborne Early Warning Systems divisions. He was appointed director of the AEW Systems Directorate in 1996 and general manager of the AEW division in 2002.
Designed Metal Connections' tube fitting system for 5080-psi hydraulic systems on the Boeing 787 meets AS5958 and AS5959 specifications. The tube repair tool and fittings kit features tools for sizes -04 (1/4" OD) to -16 (1" OD) including the manual pump, tube cutters, gages, marking templates and deburring tools. The swage tools can operate in push and pull mode, so technicians only need one tool per tube size. DMC says its tools are 30 percent smaller and lighter because of the tools' forged body construction.
North American Airlines awarded GE Aviation a five-year OnPoint Solutions agreement for the maintenance and overhaul of the CF6-80C2 engines that power the operator's five Boeing 767-300ERs. The contract is worth $20 million.
KLM U.K. Engineering and the Air Transport Training College of Singapore signed a memorandum of cooperation and agreement to provide EASA approved training at ATTC's facilities in Singapore. The program will start on April 1 at Changi, Singapore, and is the first EASA approved training of its kind in the region.
Patria in February selected Canada's CMC Electronics to undertake an integrated glass cockpit avionics upgrade of 15 Finnish air force (Suomen Ilmavoimat) BAE Systems Hawk Mk 51/A jet-trainers. Ilmavoimat has been operating some 57 Hawks for basic and advanced training at Kauhava Air Base since 1980, for pilots destined for its F-18C/D-equipped front-line squadrons.
Working under a U.S. Air Force research contract, TRI/Austin received a patent for a new system, using ultraviolet light and a special resin, for repairing glass or quartz composites on aircraft. The system is much quicker and requires less heat than conventional composite curing procedures. Although this is essentially a depot-level repair, the new technique can be deployed in the field when necessary to return aircraft to service promptly.
Landmark Aviation received the first Flight Options Embraer Legacy 600 at its service center in Augusta, Ga. The aircraft came in for warranty and repair work under the Embraer Executive Care warranty program. Landmark is a new Embraer authorized service center and has a contract with Flight Options to perform inspections and scheduled maintenance on engine, airframe, avionics and other systems, as well as APU unscheduled maintenance and AOG support on the operator's Embraer Legacy aircraft.
HAECO signed a joint venture agreement with Air Arabia to establish HAECO Sharjah Aircraft Maintenance Co. Ltd., based in Sharjah. The 49:51 (HAECO/ Air Arabia) joint venture will take care of the low-cost carrier's engineering and maintenance requirements and will specialize in A320 MRO. Air Arabia plans to operate a fleet of 34 aircraft by 2016.
The U.S. Naval Air Systems Command awarded Lockheed Martin a $186.5 million foreign military sale contract in February to continue providing mission system upgrades and sustainment work for seven Lockheed P-3C Orion maritime surveillance aircraft for Pakistan. Lockheed Martin will continue to support the Pakistan Navy's P-3C Upgrade Program, which began in March 2006. Lockheed Martin delivered the first upgraded P-3C to the Pakistan Navy in January, followed by a second in March.
L-3 Communications received a contract from the U.S. Navy to serve as prime contractor on the C-9 Contractor Logistics Support program. The base contract is worth $43.7 million, but if the Navy exercises four annual contract options, the value climbs to about $230 million. L-3's Link Simulation & Training division is responsible for the C-9 Contractor Logistics Support program, which includes aircraft depot, engine depot and site support at six U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force facilities.
COVER STORY: MRO Market Is Up and Down Engine MRO costs are pushing upward MRO spending, but unit costs continue to decline. 49 Forecast Background Departments From the Editor 6 Biznet 11 Interview 16 Shinsuke Maki, All Nippon Airways Safety & Regulatory News Washington in Action 21 Human Factors 26 International Safety & Regulatory Briefs 28 Technical Innovation 31 Calendar 103
CFM International plans to open an engine maintenance training school in India. CFM has not yet determined a location or the new school, its fourth in the world, but it said it plans to be able to train up to 500 engineers there annually.
