5 ways an Aviation Maintenance Director can run the show smoothly

Major responsibility of a Maintenance Director/Head, is to manage fleet

maintenance, for keeping them Airworthy. They need to oversee everything from

managing business partnerships to making sure all maintenance activities are

complied within timeline. They also need to ensure, highest standards in carrying

out maintenance activities, to maintain safety & quality. So how can a maintenance

Director save on costs in this expensive & fast-paced aviation industry.

Thankfully, innovations are taking place rapidly in aviation industry and now one

can leverage best in people & technology to achieve goal of safety & quality,

making aviation businesses more profitable.

Below are the 5 ways discussed to effectively manage aircraft maintenance.

1. Preventive Maintenance

Preventive maintenance plays a vital role in reducing AOG for an Aircraft. I would

like to typically highlight two points that usually help in preventive maintenance.

a) The use of condition monitoring mechanism

b) Integrated sensors

Most next generation Aircrafts are well equipped with on-board sensors that

predict when the aircraft part may fail.

Using condition monitoring Maintenance Director can quickly gain information on

factors such as temperature & vibrations, by analysing these parameters

technicians can identify changes that could lead to part/component failure. So,

condition monitoring contributes in optimising life of a component. Aircraft

Engines are extremely expensive to maintain, so use of diagnostic and prognostic

technology helps in reducing significant costs.

Carrying out regular tasks such as oil change, lubrication, cleaning & minor

adjustments would really help in increasing the health & lifespan of an Aircraft.

2. Keeping records up to date

An aircraft logbook is used to regulate the quality, airworthiness and value of an

aircraft, which is why an airline must ensure that all documentation, along with

maintenance records, are kept up to date. And if a logbook is not kept up to date,

the value of an aircraft could decrease significantly.

There’s no denying that managing a fleet is a rigorous task and to say at least staying always on top of records is a challenge.

A well-documented and well-kept records can fetch you up to 30% higher costs

compared to Aircraft whose records are not well maintained.

3. Be compliant, always

Knowing your civil aviation regulations, A/C flight specifications and manuals is

essential. Also, having an exhaustive knowledge of safety alerts or notifications

such as airworthiness directives (AD) and service bulletins, can lead to safer

processes.

4. Planning the maintenance strategically

Strategic maintenance planning is the most important aspect for any aviation

operator, as we are aware about the costs involved with Aircraft being grounded

for more time. There are 3 major factors which should be considered while

planning this downtime

Availability of Hanger/Parking based on the complexity of work to be

carried out

Availability of Skilled labour.

Availability of special tools, spares.

We need to make sure we plan maintenance tasks in such a way that, it should

coincide with other major or minor tasks.

5. Implementing an advanced IT solution

Finally, a Maintenance Director would greatly benefit from implementing an

advanced IT solution into their current operations, so they can obtain a clear

summary of all processes, from office to hangar.

A solution such as FlyPal’s Aircraft Maintenance & Inventory Manager gives

Airlines, MRO’s & aircraft owners the ability to plan and perform all Maintenance & repair processes.

For example, the FlyPal’s MRO module provide controls to plan work and monitor performance: thanks to its comprehensive features, including analytics tools, key

decision support system and configurable reporting. Plus, it can track everything

from operation manuals, pilot hours and fuel & oil data, including an insight into

production hours, providing key details to maintenance managers.

Reference: http://www.bytzsoft.com/blogs-inner/5-ways-an-aviation-maintenance-

directors-can-run-the-show-smoothly