Accurately measuring the total time taken to complete an event remains a highly process driven and human influenced activity. From simple turn-around checks to the more extensive D- and IL-checks, the accuracy of time-stamped data is very important in determining the commercial and operational success of a contracted event.

Materials availability and consumption needs also to be closely monitored during a layover. If the required parts are not available on time, it not only delays the release of an aircraft it can also increase the cost of the layover when materials and parts consumption is not properly controlled.

Capturing Man-hours Data

At first sight, the process of capturing man-hours data seems a simple enough matter: book on at the start of a task, perform the task, and then book off at the end of the task. However, simple as it may seem, computer systems and personnel related issues can severely limit the accuracy of man-hours capture.

Prior to automation, work orders and task cards had to be encoded manually into the system to book on or book off a specific task. In modern MRO systems, the reference numbers of work orders and task cards are barcoded. These barcodes are scanned by mechanics immediately at the start and at the completion of the work, substantially reducing encoding errors and speeding up the documentation process.

Although more automated features have been introduced, e.g. use of smartcards and card proximity readers, the inability of mechanics to properly book their actual man-hours remains a major problem. Accessibility and reliability of the clocking devices in the production area is also an important consideration in improving the accuracy of man-hour capture.

In many instances, a failure to book on at the start or book off at the end of the shift, is falsely recognized by the MRO system as overtime work (or as an extended shift) which is reflected as an unusually high number of man-hours charged for a task. This, in turn, introduces wrong data into the system and, in a tightly coupled system, the error propagates easily, compromising the integrity of the whole database.

Tracking Materials Consumption

An aircraft check involves many stages entailing the withdrawal and consumption of materials. The location and tracking of materials, their ownership status, and associated costs are significant concerns for this aspect of an MRO operation.

For an operation that deals exclusively with a single airline, the tracking issue can be relatively simple. However, as the number of airlines dealt with increases, the operation grows in complexity, such as in the case of third party MRO providers. Because of their different operating models and layover requirements, the challenge becomes even greater when simultaneously servicing aircraft from both legacy airlines and low cost carriers.

One problem can arise when a common part owned by one airline customer might inadvertently be issued out to service another airline’s aircraft of the same type. The system may be able to prompt the store keeper that a specific part is owned by a different airline customer but it may not be able to prevent it from being physically issued out. As more airline customers have more of their owned parts stored in the service provider’s warehouse, segregating those parts in logical locations based on ownership of each part complicates the monitoring and ordering tasks for stores staff and mechanics.

Materials consumption can also be regulated by setting thresholds. These thresholds vary depending on the agreement between the MRO provider and the customer. In this case, the approval of a customer is needed for consumption beyond the agreed limit; a mechanism that is supposed to promote the efficient use of materials and limit disputes.

In some cases, provisioning for materials needed during a layover is the responsibility of the customer and not the third party MRO provider, e.g. customer supplied materials (CSM) or buyer-furnished equipment (BFE). These materials must also be tracked during the layover.