MRO & Digitalisation | AviTrader

31st Aug 2022

Aircraft maintenance documentation has been slow to digitise but MROs that are increasingly going digital are finding that innovation is creating efficiencies, however, a full transition is still a way off.

This article was originally published in the August 2022 edition of AviTrader MRO Magazine

 

by Keith Mwanalushi

 

Several MROs have reported that moving to digital processes is making life easier for reviewing records. It certainly makes sense to go digital in today’s environment but clearly the MRO sector has been slow to digitise, especially if we look at the sheer size and complexity of OEM manuals, and that is just the start.

 

Airlines are increasingly turning towards digital platforms to improve functions such as fleet management and maintenance planning, including moving to paperless processes. “This has been a goal for many in the market for some time, but it seems to be a slower process in the aviation industry than other markets”, comments David Purfurst – Global Pre-Sales Director at software developer Rusada. “We have the technologies in place to improve efficiencies where they are needed, but for airlines, adopting these and integrating them into their operations takes time and patience, especially for the larger and more complex carriers,” he adds. 

 

Over the last two years, Rusada has developed and released three new mobile applications to improve many of the process-intensive activities that happen away from a desk. Purfurst explains that these include ENVISION Tasks for executing maintenance, ENVISION Stock for managing inventory, and ENVISION Flights for pilots and flight crew. “These all provide key information and technical documentation in a streamlined mobile format for working on-the-go. 

 

“We have found mobile solutions are a good way to bridge the gap of adopting new technologies into the operation, and usually once the benefits are seen, more intensive changes follow,” Purfurst states.

 

Predictive maintenance

 

Among potential digitalisation solutions in the industry there is still a buzz around initiative-taking and predictive maintenance. New generation aircraft now have the systems in place to make predictive maintenance a reality. As such, Rusada for instance are developing the ENVISION software with this in mind, allowing users to integrate data from the OEM platforms and incorporate it into their maintenance planning and forecasting. “Predictive maintenance is very much on the mind of everyone and will be key to improve efficiencies long term” concludes Purfurst.


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