Aircraft Maintenanc1
Content
Aircraft maintenance
Aircraft maintenance is the overhaul, repair, inspection or modification of an aircraft or aircraft component.[1] Maintenance includes the installation or removal of a component from an aircraft or aircraft subassembly, but does not include:[1]
•
Elementary work, such as removing and replacing tires, inspection plates, spark plugs, checking cylinder [2] compression, etc. Servicing, such as refueling, washing windows.[1] Any work done on an aircraft or aircraft component as part of the manufacturing process, prior to issue of a certificate of airworthiness or other certification document.[1]
• •
Maintenance may include such tasks as ensuring compliance with Airworthiness Directives or Service Bulletins
Types of Aircraft Maintenance
Cabin service These services ensure passenger comfort. The cabin cleaning is the main job in the cabin service. They include such tasks as cleaning the passenger cabin and replenishment of on-board consumables or washable items such as soap, pillows, tissues, blankets, etc. Catering Catering includes the unloading of unused food and drink from the aircraft, and the loading of fresh food and drink for passengers and crew. Airline meals are typically delivered in trolleys. The empty or trash-filled trolley(s) from the previous flight is replaced by a fresh one. Meals are prepared mostly on the ground in order to minimize the amount of preparation (apart from chilling or reheating) required in the air. The following companies are some, which airline parent company's own, have owned, or have outsourced and divested, but still continue to provide airline catering to the world's airlines.
• • • • • • • • •
Atlas Catering Royal Air Maroc's Catering Service Cara Operations Cathay Pacific's Cathay Pacific Catering Services Gate Gourmet LSG Sky Chefs Servair American Airlines United Airlines Chelsea Food Services
Lavatory drainage This includes services on the ramp or apron, such as:
• • •
Guiding the aircraft into and out of the parking position (by way of aircraft marshalling), Towing with pushback tractors Lavatory drainage Air conditioning (more common for smaller aircraft) Airstart units (for starting engines) Luggage handling, usually by means of beltloaders and baggage carts
• Water cartage (to refill fresh water tanks)
• • •
• Gate checked luggage, often handled on the tarmac as passengers disembark
• • •
Air cargo handling, usually by means of cargo dollies, and cargo loaders Catering trucks Refueling, which may be done with a refueling tanker truck or refuelling pumper
• Ground power (so that engines need not be running to provide aircraft power on the ground)
•
Passenger stairs (used instead of an aerobridge or airstairs, some budget airlines use both to improve turnaround speed)
• Wheelchair lifts, if required • Hydraulic mules (units that provide hydraulic power to an aircraft externally)
•
Deicing
Ramp Service This includes services on the ramp or apron, such as:
• •
Guiding the aircraft into and out of the parking position (by way of aircraft marshalling), Towing with pushback tractors
•
Lavatory drainage Air conditioning (more common for smaller aircraft) Airstart units (for starting engines) Luggage handling, usually by means of beltloaders and baggage carts
• Water cartage (to refill fresh water tanks)
• • •
• Gate checked luggage, often handled on the tarmac as passengers disembark
• • •
Air cargo handling, usually by means of cargo dollies, and cargo loaders Catering trucks Refueling, which may be done with a refueling tanker truck or refuelling pumper
• Ground power (so that engines need not be running to provide aircraft power on the ground)
•
Passenger stairs (used instead of an aerobridge or airstairs, some budget airlines use both to improve turnaround speed)
• Wheelchair lifts, if required • Hydraulic mules (units that provide hydraulic power to an aircraft externally)
•
Deicing
Passenger service This includes services inside the airport terminal such as: • Providing check-in counter services for the passengers departing on the customer airlines. • Providing Gate arrival and departure services. The agents are required to meet a flight on arrival as well as provide departure services including boarding passengers, closing the flight, etc. Field operation service This service dispatches the aircraft, maintains communication with the rest of the airline operation at the airport and with Air Traffic Control.
Preventive maintenance Preventive maintenance is maintenance performed in an attempt to avoid failures, unnecessary production loss and HSE violation. As equipment cannot be maintained at all times, some way is needed to decide when it is proper to perform maintenance. Normally, this is done by deciding some inspection/maintenance intervals, and sticking to this interval more or less affected by what you find during these activities. The result of this is that most of the maintenance performed is unnecessary;[citation needed] it even adds substantial wear to the equipment. Also, you have no guarantee that the equipment will continue to work even if you are maintaining it according to the maintenance plan. The effectiveness of a preventive maintenance schedule depends on the RCM analysis which it was based on, and the ground rules used for cost-effectivity.[1] Corrective maintenance Corrective maintenance is probably the most commonly used approach, but it is easy to see its limitations. When equipment fails, it often leads to downtime in production. In most cases this is costly business. Also, if the equipment needs to be replaced, the cost of replacing it alone can be substantial. It is also important to consider health, safety and environment (HSE) issues related to malfunctioning equipment. Corrective maintenance can be defined as the maintenance which is required when an item has failed or worn out, to bring it back to working order. Corrective maintenance is carried out on all items where the consequences of failure or wearing out are not significant and the cost of this maintenance is not greater than preventive maintenance. MRO software In many organizations because of the number of devices or products that need to be maintained or the complexity of systems, there is a need to manage the information with software packages. This is particularly the case in aerospace (e.g. airline fleets), military installations, large plants (e.g. manufacturing, power generation, petrochemical) and ships.
These software tools help engineers and technicians in increasing the availability of systems and reducing costs and repair times as well as reducing material supply time and increasing material availability by improving supply chain communication. As MRO involves working with an organization’s products, resources, suppliers and customers, MRO packages have to interface with many enterprise business software systems (PLM, EAM, ERP, SCM, CRM). One of the functions of such software is the configuration of bills of materials or BOMs, taking the component parts list from engineering (eBOM) and manufacturing (mBOM) and updating it from “as delivered” through “as maintained” to “as used”. Another function is project planning logistics, for example identifying the critical path on the list of tasks to be carried out (inspection, diagnosis, locate/order parts and service) to calculate turnaround times (TAT). Other tasks that software can perform: • Planning operations, • Managing execution of events, • Management inventories), of assets (parts, tools and equipment
• Knowledge-base data on: ○ Maintenance service history, ○ Serial numbered parts,
○
Reliability data: MTBF, MTTB (mean time breakdown), MTBR (mean time between removals), and repair documentation and
to best
○ Maintenance practices,
○ Warranty/guarantee documents. Many of these tasks are addressed in Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS). Data standards have been developed around these activities, most notably EAMXML and MIMOSA.
MRO goods MRO goods are typically defined as any goods used in the creation of a product but not in the final product itself. Examples are:the machinery used to make a product, spare parts for the machinery that creates the product and items used to maintain the facility in which the product is made. Cabin service These services ensure passenger comfort. The cabin cleaning is the main job in the cabin service. They include such tasks as cleaning the passenger cabin and replenishment of on-board consumables or washable items such as soap, pillows, tissues, blankets, etc. Catering Catering includes the unloading of unused food and drink from the aircraft, and the loading of fresh food and drink for passengers and crew. Airline meals are typically delivered in trolleys. The empty or trash-filled trolley(s) from the previous flight is replaced by a fresh one. Meals are prepared mostly on the ground in order to minimize the amount of preparation (apart from chilling or reheating) required in the air. The following companies are some, which airline parent company's own, have owned, or have outsourced and divested, but still continue to provide airline catering to the world's airlines.
• • • • • • • • •
Atlas Catering Royal Air Maroc's Catering Service Cara Operations Cathay Pacific's Cathay Pacific Catering Services Gate Gourmet LSG Sky Chefs Servair American Airlines United Airlines Chelsea Food Services
Lavatory drainage
This includes services on the ramp or apron, such as:
• • •
Guiding the aircraft into and out of the parking position (by way of aircraft marshalling), Towing with pushback tractors Lavatory drainage Air conditioning (more common for smaller aircraft) Airstart units (for starting engines) Luggage handling, usually by means of beltloaders and baggage carts
• Water cartage (to refill fresh water tanks)
• • •
• Gate checked luggage, often handled on the tarmac as passengers disembark
• • •
Air cargo handling, usually by means of cargo dollies, and cargo loaders Catering trucks Refueling, which may be done with a refueling tanker truck or refuelling pumper
• Ground power (so that engines need not be running to provide aircraft power on the ground)
•
Passenger stairs (used instead of an aerobridge or airstairs, some budget airlines use both to improve turnaround speed)
• Wheelchair lifts, if required • Hydraulic mules (units that provide hydraulic power to an aircraft externally)
•
Deicing
Ramp Service This includes services on the ramp or apron, such as:
• • •
Guiding the aircraft into and out of the parking position (by way of aircraft marshalling), Towing with pushback tractors Lavatory drainage
• Water cartage (to refill fresh water tanks)
• • •
Air conditioning (more common for smaller aircraft) Airstart units (for starting engines) Luggage handling, usually by means of beltloaders and baggage carts
• Gate checked luggage, often handled on the tarmac as passengers disembark
• • •
Air cargo handling, usually by means of cargo dollies, and cargo loaders Catering trucks Refueling, which may be done with a refueling tanker truck or refuelling pumper
• Ground power (so that engines need not be running to provide aircraft power on the ground)
•
Passenger stairs (used instead of an aerobridge or airstairs, some budget airlines use both to improve turnaround speed)
• Wheelchair lifts, if required • Hydraulic mules (units that provide hydraulic power to an aircraft externally)
•
Deicing
Passenger service This includes services inside the airport terminal such as: • Providing check-in counter services for the passengers departing on the customer airlines. • Providing Gate arrival and departure services. The agents are required to meet a flight on arrival as well as provide departure services including boarding passengers, closing the flight, etc. Field operation service This service dispatches the aircraft, maintains communication with the rest of the airline operation at the airport and with Air Traffic Control.
A Check This is performed approximately every 500 - 800 flight hours. This check is usually done overnight at an airport gate. The actual occurrence of this check varies by aircraft type, the cycle count (takeoff and landing is considered an aircraft "cycle"), or the number of hours flown since the last check. The occurrence can be delayed by the airline if certain predetermined conditions are met. B Check This is performed approximately every 3 months. This check is also usually done overnight at an airport hangar. A similar occurrence schedule applies to the B check as to the A check. B checks may be incorporated into successive A checks, ie: A-1 through A-10 complete all the B check items. C Check This is performed approximately every 12–18 months or a specific amount of actual Flight Hours (FH) as defined by the manufacturer. This maintenance check puts the aircraft out of service and requires plenty of space - usually at a hangar at a maintenance base. The schedule of occurrence has many factors and components as has been described, and thus varies by aircraft category and type. D Check This is the most comprehensive check for an airplane. It is also known as a Heavy Maintenance Visit (HMV). This check occurs approximately every 4–5 years. This is the check that, more or less, takes the entire airplane apart for inspection. This requires even more space and time than all other checks, and must be performed at a maintenance base. Often, older aircraft being phased out of a particular airline's fleet are stored or scrapped upon reaching their next check, due to the high costs involved in comparison to the aircraft's value. Many Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) shops believe it is virtually impossible to perform a D check profitably at a shop located within the United States, and thus do not offer D checks.
.
Aircraft maintenance is the overhaul, repair, inspection or modification of an aircraft or aircraft component.[1] Maintenance includes the installation or removal of a component from an aircraft or aircraft subassembly, but does not include:[1]
•
Elementary work, such as removing and replacing tires, inspection plates, spark plugs, checking cylinder [2] compression, etc. Servicing, such as refueling, washing windows.[1] Any work done on an aircraft or aircraft component as part of the manufacturing process, prior to issue of a certificate of airworthiness or other certification document.[1]
• •
Maintenance may include such tasks as ensuring compliance with Airworthiness Directives or Service Bulletins
Types of Aircraft Maintenance
Cabin service These services ensure passenger comfort. The cabin cleaning is the main job in the cabin service. They include such tasks as cleaning the passenger cabin and replenishment of on-board consumables or washable items such as soap, pillows, tissues, blankets, etc. Catering Catering includes the unloading of unused food and drink from the aircraft, and the loading of fresh food and drink for passengers and crew. Airline meals are typically delivered in trolleys. The empty or trash-filled trolley(s) from the previous flight is replaced by a fresh one. Meals are prepared mostly on the ground in order to minimize the amount of preparation (apart from chilling or reheating) required in the air. The following companies are some, which airline parent company's own, have owned, or have outsourced and divested, but still continue to provide airline catering to the world's airlines.
• • • • • • • • •
Atlas Catering Royal Air Maroc's Catering Service Cara Operations Cathay Pacific's Cathay Pacific Catering Services Gate Gourmet LSG Sky Chefs Servair American Airlines United Airlines Chelsea Food Services
Lavatory drainage This includes services on the ramp or apron, such as:
• • •
Guiding the aircraft into and out of the parking position (by way of aircraft marshalling), Towing with pushback tractors Lavatory drainage Air conditioning (more common for smaller aircraft) Airstart units (for starting engines) Luggage handling, usually by means of beltloaders and baggage carts
• Water cartage (to refill fresh water tanks)
• • •
• Gate checked luggage, often handled on the tarmac as passengers disembark
• • •
Air cargo handling, usually by means of cargo dollies, and cargo loaders Catering trucks Refueling, which may be done with a refueling tanker truck or refuelling pumper
• Ground power (so that engines need not be running to provide aircraft power on the ground)
•
Passenger stairs (used instead of an aerobridge or airstairs, some budget airlines use both to improve turnaround speed)
• Wheelchair lifts, if required • Hydraulic mules (units that provide hydraulic power to an aircraft externally)
•
Deicing
Ramp Service This includes services on the ramp or apron, such as:
• •
Guiding the aircraft into and out of the parking position (by way of aircraft marshalling), Towing with pushback tractors
•
Lavatory drainage Air conditioning (more common for smaller aircraft) Airstart units (for starting engines) Luggage handling, usually by means of beltloaders and baggage carts
• Water cartage (to refill fresh water tanks)
• • •
• Gate checked luggage, often handled on the tarmac as passengers disembark
• • •
Air cargo handling, usually by means of cargo dollies, and cargo loaders Catering trucks Refueling, which may be done with a refueling tanker truck or refuelling pumper
• Ground power (so that engines need not be running to provide aircraft power on the ground)
•
Passenger stairs (used instead of an aerobridge or airstairs, some budget airlines use both to improve turnaround speed)
• Wheelchair lifts, if required • Hydraulic mules (units that provide hydraulic power to an aircraft externally)
•
Deicing
Passenger service This includes services inside the airport terminal such as: • Providing check-in counter services for the passengers departing on the customer airlines. • Providing Gate arrival and departure services. The agents are required to meet a flight on arrival as well as provide departure services including boarding passengers, closing the flight, etc. Field operation service This service dispatches the aircraft, maintains communication with the rest of the airline operation at the airport and with Air Traffic Control.
Preventive maintenance Preventive maintenance is maintenance performed in an attempt to avoid failures, unnecessary production loss and HSE violation. As equipment cannot be maintained at all times, some way is needed to decide when it is proper to perform maintenance. Normally, this is done by deciding some inspection/maintenance intervals, and sticking to this interval more or less affected by what you find during these activities. The result of this is that most of the maintenance performed is unnecessary;[citation needed] it even adds substantial wear to the equipment. Also, you have no guarantee that the equipment will continue to work even if you are maintaining it according to the maintenance plan. The effectiveness of a preventive maintenance schedule depends on the RCM analysis which it was based on, and the ground rules used for cost-effectivity.[1] Corrective maintenance Corrective maintenance is probably the most commonly used approach, but it is easy to see its limitations. When equipment fails, it often leads to downtime in production. In most cases this is costly business. Also, if the equipment needs to be replaced, the cost of replacing it alone can be substantial. It is also important to consider health, safety and environment (HSE) issues related to malfunctioning equipment. Corrective maintenance can be defined as the maintenance which is required when an item has failed or worn out, to bring it back to working order. Corrective maintenance is carried out on all items where the consequences of failure or wearing out are not significant and the cost of this maintenance is not greater than preventive maintenance. MRO software In many organizations because of the number of devices or products that need to be maintained or the complexity of systems, there is a need to manage the information with software packages. This is particularly the case in aerospace (e.g. airline fleets), military installations, large plants (e.g. manufacturing, power generation, petrochemical) and ships.
These software tools help engineers and technicians in increasing the availability of systems and reducing costs and repair times as well as reducing material supply time and increasing material availability by improving supply chain communication. As MRO involves working with an organization’s products, resources, suppliers and customers, MRO packages have to interface with many enterprise business software systems (PLM, EAM, ERP, SCM, CRM). One of the functions of such software is the configuration of bills of materials or BOMs, taking the component parts list from engineering (eBOM) and manufacturing (mBOM) and updating it from “as delivered” through “as maintained” to “as used”. Another function is project planning logistics, for example identifying the critical path on the list of tasks to be carried out (inspection, diagnosis, locate/order parts and service) to calculate turnaround times (TAT). Other tasks that software can perform: • Planning operations, • Managing execution of events, • Management inventories), of assets (parts, tools and equipment
• Knowledge-base data on: ○ Maintenance service history, ○ Serial numbered parts,
○
Reliability data: MTBF, MTTB (mean time breakdown), MTBR (mean time between removals), and repair documentation and
to best
○ Maintenance practices,
○ Warranty/guarantee documents. Many of these tasks are addressed in Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS). Data standards have been developed around these activities, most notably EAMXML and MIMOSA.
MRO goods MRO goods are typically defined as any goods used in the creation of a product but not in the final product itself. Examples are:the machinery used to make a product, spare parts for the machinery that creates the product and items used to maintain the facility in which the product is made. Cabin service These services ensure passenger comfort. The cabin cleaning is the main job in the cabin service. They include such tasks as cleaning the passenger cabin and replenishment of on-board consumables or washable items such as soap, pillows, tissues, blankets, etc. Catering Catering includes the unloading of unused food and drink from the aircraft, and the loading of fresh food and drink for passengers and crew. Airline meals are typically delivered in trolleys. The empty or trash-filled trolley(s) from the previous flight is replaced by a fresh one. Meals are prepared mostly on the ground in order to minimize the amount of preparation (apart from chilling or reheating) required in the air. The following companies are some, which airline parent company's own, have owned, or have outsourced and divested, but still continue to provide airline catering to the world's airlines.
• • • • • • • • •
Atlas Catering Royal Air Maroc's Catering Service Cara Operations Cathay Pacific's Cathay Pacific Catering Services Gate Gourmet LSG Sky Chefs Servair American Airlines United Airlines Chelsea Food Services
Lavatory drainage
This includes services on the ramp or apron, such as:
• • •
Guiding the aircraft into and out of the parking position (by way of aircraft marshalling), Towing with pushback tractors Lavatory drainage Air conditioning (more common for smaller aircraft) Airstart units (for starting engines) Luggage handling, usually by means of beltloaders and baggage carts
• Water cartage (to refill fresh water tanks)
• • •
• Gate checked luggage, often handled on the tarmac as passengers disembark
• • •
Air cargo handling, usually by means of cargo dollies, and cargo loaders Catering trucks Refueling, which may be done with a refueling tanker truck or refuelling pumper
• Ground power (so that engines need not be running to provide aircraft power on the ground)
•
Passenger stairs (used instead of an aerobridge or airstairs, some budget airlines use both to improve turnaround speed)
• Wheelchair lifts, if required • Hydraulic mules (units that provide hydraulic power to an aircraft externally)
•
Deicing
Ramp Service This includes services on the ramp or apron, such as:
• • •
Guiding the aircraft into and out of the parking position (by way of aircraft marshalling), Towing with pushback tractors Lavatory drainage
• Water cartage (to refill fresh water tanks)
• • •
Air conditioning (more common for smaller aircraft) Airstart units (for starting engines) Luggage handling, usually by means of beltloaders and baggage carts
• Gate checked luggage, often handled on the tarmac as passengers disembark
• • •
Air cargo handling, usually by means of cargo dollies, and cargo loaders Catering trucks Refueling, which may be done with a refueling tanker truck or refuelling pumper
• Ground power (so that engines need not be running to provide aircraft power on the ground)
•
Passenger stairs (used instead of an aerobridge or airstairs, some budget airlines use both to improve turnaround speed)
• Wheelchair lifts, if required • Hydraulic mules (units that provide hydraulic power to an aircraft externally)
•
Deicing
Passenger service This includes services inside the airport terminal such as: • Providing check-in counter services for the passengers departing on the customer airlines. • Providing Gate arrival and departure services. The agents are required to meet a flight on arrival as well as provide departure services including boarding passengers, closing the flight, etc. Field operation service This service dispatches the aircraft, maintains communication with the rest of the airline operation at the airport and with Air Traffic Control.
A Check This is performed approximately every 500 - 800 flight hours. This check is usually done overnight at an airport gate. The actual occurrence of this check varies by aircraft type, the cycle count (takeoff and landing is considered an aircraft "cycle"), or the number of hours flown since the last check. The occurrence can be delayed by the airline if certain predetermined conditions are met. B Check This is performed approximately every 3 months. This check is also usually done overnight at an airport hangar. A similar occurrence schedule applies to the B check as to the A check. B checks may be incorporated into successive A checks, ie: A-1 through A-10 complete all the B check items. C Check This is performed approximately every 12–18 months or a specific amount of actual Flight Hours (FH) as defined by the manufacturer. This maintenance check puts the aircraft out of service and requires plenty of space - usually at a hangar at a maintenance base. The schedule of occurrence has many factors and components as has been described, and thus varies by aircraft category and type. D Check This is the most comprehensive check for an airplane. It is also known as a Heavy Maintenance Visit (HMV). This check occurs approximately every 4–5 years. This is the check that, more or less, takes the entire airplane apart for inspection. This requires even more space and time than all other checks, and must be performed at a maintenance base. Often, older aircraft being phased out of a particular airline's fleet are stored or scrapped upon reaching their next check, due to the high costs involved in comparison to the aircraft's value. Many Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) shops believe it is virtually impossible to perform a D check profitably at a shop located within the United States, and thus do not offer D checks.
.
