The aerospace industry heavily relies on Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) to ensure aircraft safety, reliability, and availability. The demand for MRO services has been on the rise due to an increase in air travel and ageing aircraft. India’s aviation industry is set to become the third-largest buyer of commercial planes after the US and China, with a fleet size of over 713 aircraft and plans to add more in the near future. As a result, the Indian aerospace industry is one of the fastest-growing markets worldwide. The Indian MRO industry is still in its early stages, with a current size of $ 1.7 billion as of 2021, but is expected to reach $ 4.0 billion by 2031. Rising consumer demand, favourable policies, and labour arbitrage are some of the factors that could fuel the industry’s growth. Additionally, redelivery maintenance contracts can help drive desired capacity expansion.
How data analytics and 3D tools are critical for the future of Aerospace and Defense (A&D) maintenance?
In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, data analytics and 3D tools have the potential to revolutionise A&D maintenance by improving efficiency, reducing costs, increasing safety, and improving overall equipment reliability. These tools can help predict when maintenance is required, enabling maintenance crews to proactively address issues before they lead to equipment failure. This reduces downtime, increases equipment reliability, and saves money in the long run. Furthermore, 3D visualisation tools can help maintenance crews visualise and troubleshoot complex systems in three dimensions, which can vastly reduce the cost required for repairs. Additionally, the tools can be used to train maintenance personnel and facilitate collaboration departments, such as engineering and design to identify potential safety hazards.
3D based applications facilitate multi-physics modelling and simulation of the given system or sub-system. This helps in assessing the maintainability in 3D context, assessing the remaining life of the component through simulations. This is done by assessing induced structural/thermal stress, fatigue, crack initiation, etc.
Dassault Systemes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform integrates all of these solutions into a single, unified platform. This enables maintenance crews to access all of the information and tools they need in one place, improving collaboration and reducing the time and effort required to perform maintenance tasks.
How to optimise digital MRO to manage the impact of the data deluge to remain competitive?
As extensive data sets continue to be rapidly generated from multiple sources, it’s more apparent than ever that legacy aircraft maintenance systems are ageing. The Aerospace and Defense industry as a whole must now optimise digital MRO to manage the impact of the data deluge to remain competitive. The maintenance ecosystem needs to be linked from end to end to bring disparate data and decision-makers together. As such, a fully integrated digital platform with a data-driven model is crucial to boost fleet availability, decrease MRO costs and optimise fleet safety and sustainability.
Today, Aerospace and Defense companies need to transition to a fully integrated digital platform that enhances collaboration, agility and efficiency in digital MRO. This entails one data model with one integrated platform to unify the ecosystem and collaborate as one, reduce unplanned maintenance with predictive analytics, leverage product lifecycle management to boost fleet availability and safety, and harness the benefits of virtual twin technology to cut turnaround time.
On the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, one can leverage the virtual 3D twin of the given Aircraft System and overlay the corresponding flight operational data, engineering and maintenance information. This helps the MRO crew to quickly analyse the given system/component and initiate action instantly within the 3DEXPERIENCE platform for corrective actions. This closed loop system helps in being more agile and effective.
In a world of increasingly connected, digitalised and complex aircraft and defence systems that must meet strict regulatory and sustainability imperatives, what steps are needed to be taken to enhance and digitally transform maintenance tasks from end to end to deliver optimal MRO results?
The recent policy announcements pertaining to UDAN, airport modernisation and MRO will help Indian companies from large enterprises to SMEs. There is a clear indication that the government is willing to invest into these sectors.
Companies must adopt a digital-first mind-set and embrace digital transformation across all aspects of their MRO operations. This includes leveraging advanced technologies such as Virtual Twin, artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, and the Internet of Things to improve maintenance processes, increase sustainability and improve efficiency. In the aerospace and defence industry, sustainability has become increasingly important. Companies must adopt sustainable practices throughout their MRO operations, including reducing waste, optimising energy usage, and using environmentally friendly materials. Industry players and suppliers can now bridge the gap between the virtual and real world to accelerate concept to operations by 50 per cent through industry solution experiences (ISE) based on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.
For example, National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), a constituent of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) used the 3DEXPERIENCE platform to design civil aircraft in India. The company was successful in reducing engineering costs in cabin completion by up to 40 per cent. Similarly, India-based unmanned aerial systems (UAS) developer General Aeronautics is leveraging the 3DEXPERIENCE platform for cloud-based access to digital design and simulation applications allowing for reduced design iterations, reduced waste and allowing for faster convergence.
The 3DEXPERIENCE platform now helps to improve spare part engineering, support and service engineering and MRO businesses. It gathers, aligns and enriches digital data continuity —whether internal or external, structured or unstructured, simple or complex—to deliver that information the way users want to receive it. It also allows OEMs to integrate disparate tools, organisations and processes into a single stream to optimise form, fit and function in an integrated System Digital Mock-up (DMU). This System DMU can avoid many integration issues that significantly impact costs and schedules.
How is 3DEXPERIENCE platform offering benefits for industry players to execute a smart, agile and sustainable aircraft maintenance strategy?
Dassault Systemes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform provides a collaborative digital space with a multitude of solutions to enable companies to improve the efficiency of their maintenance and increase the sustainability of their operations. Our CATIA tool, for example, can be used to create detailed 3D models of aircraft and other A&D equipment, which can be used by maintenance crews to identify parts and components that need to be repaired or replaced, and to develop maintenance procedures and schedules. Similarly, SIMULIA can be used to simulate and analyse the performance of A&D equipment under different conditions, enabling crews to identify potential issues before they occur, and develop proactive maintenance strategies leading to reduced waste.
Our platform can be used to manage the entire lifecycle of A&D equipment and products, from design to retirement. The 3DEXPERIENCE platform allows companies to optimise their supply chain and improve sustainability through features like supply chain visibility, supplier collaboration, and sustainable sourcing. Our DELMIA tool can be used to optimise maintenance operations by simulating different maintenance scenarios and identifying the most efficient and effective strategies. This includes everything from scheduling maintenance tasks to optimising the use of maintenance equipment and personnel.
Dassault Systemes’ software application NETVIBES helps in curating 360 Degree information of any given system/subsystem/component which may include the commissioning date, supplier information, corresponding flight operations data, corresponding maintenance carried out, maintenance scheduled, remaining life span information etc. All of this information is aggregated automatically from various discrete sources such as PLM, ERP, file system etc., and rendered for decision making thus enhancing MRO experience.
AR for MRO Training. Please provide comments.
Augmented Reality (AR) can be a valuable tool for MRO training. It allows users to overlay virtual information onto the real world, providing a more interactive and immersive training experience.
AR can provide remote assistance to technicians in the field, allowing them to receive guidance from experts who are not physically present. This can help to reduce travel costs and downtime. It provides an interactive training experience that allows technicians to practise procedures in a safe, virtual environment, reducing errors and improving efficiency. The use of virtual twins can smoothen the training procedure at operational units drastically.
Operator training simulators replicate the functions and activities of an industrial control room setting through virtual reality/mixed reality-based training solutions that enable field operators to interact with console operators for realistic and immersive training experiences. Studies have shown that AR and VR learning is four times faster than traditional classroom instruction and 300 per cent more inspiring for trainees and enables them to learn four times faster. This new training approach improves training times, reduces technical training lengths, and minimises operational downtime.
AR can also enhance visualisation of complex equipment and systems, making it easier for technicians to understand and diagnose issues while improving safety by providing simulation training in hazardous or dangerous environments.
Dassault Systemes’ AR solutions allow experts to provide remote assistance to technicians in the field. Experts can guide technicians through procedures and provide real-time feedback on their work. Our solutions provide an interactive training experience that allows technicians to practise procedures in a safe, virtual environment. This can help to reduce errors and improve efficiency.