As the summer season winds down, it’s the opportune moment for airlines and Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) providers to reflect on their efficiency – and consider whether their current aviation MRO software is meeting their needs. In this article, we’ll look at current MRO challenges and how advanced software can help.
Current MRO Challenges
Increasing Demand
The aviation industry is seeing increasing passenger demand – amidst a shortage of aircraft. The backlog for new narrow and wide-body aircraft has reached over 16,000 units; considering how long it will take to fulfil this demand, airlines are delaying the retirement of older aircraft.
It’s also been estimated that between now and 2026, aircraft retirement rates will be 24% lower pre-pandemic levels.
As a result, there is greater demand for aircraft services and a need for more effective approaches such as predictive maintenance.
Engine Maintenance Delays
According to a report by Bain & Company, turnaround times for engine maintenance are up 35% and 150% for legacy and new generation engines, respectively (compared to pre-pandemic levels). This is the result of deferred maintenance during the pandemic as well as various issue with new generation engines, including powder metal contamination.
Bain & Company predict that MRO demand will exceed supply by 17% by 2030 – if capacity remains on its current trajectory. They advise organisations to increase efficiency in engine shops ahead of the next demand surge (which may include using automation and AI), and to build capacity on the whole.
Rising Costs
The industry continues to grapple with rising material and labour costs, which are significantly impacting operational budgets. According to research by Oliver Wyman, labour costs have seen a substantial increase, with a reported average rise of 7.3% last year, although this is expected to reduce to around 5.8%.
Despite this slight easing, these figures remain high compared to pre-pandemic levels of 2-3% annually, indicating ongoing challenges in attracting and retaining skilled labour amid a persistent workforce shortage.
Material costs have surged by approximately 8.3%, driven by supply chain disruptions and inflation, although there is hope for a decrease to about 6.5% in the near future.
The combination of these rising costs is forcing airlines and MRO providers to re-evaluate their strategies, focusing on improved cost management and operational efficiencies to sustain profitability while maintaining high service and safety standards.
Extensive Compliance Requirements
Extensive regulations govern the industry, pertaining to aircraft maintenance operations, aircraft design, sustainability, and the training of personnel. Sustainability is a particularly fast-changing area, keeping organisations on their toes. Of course, maintaining compliance across regions with different laws adds to the challenge.
How MRO Software Solutions Help
MRO software provides many useful tools for managing costs directly and boosting efficiency. Let’s review how it tackles the challenges mentioned above.
Aircraft Lifecycle Management
The best MRO software makes predictive maintenance possible, allowing organisations to monitor aircraft health in real-time, ensuring timely interventions that extend the lifespan of critical components (and reduce unscheduled downtime).
Cost Management
Some MRO software has extensive financial management capabilities. For example, OASES’ Commercial Management module provides visibility across all financial aspects from invoicing to margin analysis to cost of sales, and much more. This oversight – combined with analytics capabilities – is invaluable for any company that wants to keep its expenditures in check.
MRO software provides comprehensive data on all operational areas, helping identify inefficiencies that could be costing you. Also, inventory management features improve the cost effectiveness of stock control and minimises waste.
Streamlining Aircraft Maintenance Checks
With tight budgets, organisations seek to reduce the admin costs involved with maintenance management. Thankfully, MRO software streamlines and automates many parts of the process. Here are some ways it makes a significant impact.
Efficient Scheduling
When it comes to scheduling, bottlenecks often occur due to conflicting maintenance requirements, resource availability, and compliance deadlines. MRO software provides visibility, helping staff schedule checks in the most optimal manner. Here’s how:
- Effective line maintenance: Our software has a dedicated line maintenance module which takes in data directly from EFB, ETL, e-enabled aircraft, and electronic operations systems. It gives staff a clear overview of all short-term maintenance tasks on a single screen for the ultimate visibility.
- Foresight: Our software provides visualisations of the knock-on effect caused by short-notice schedule changes. This enables effective contingency planning so that disruptions are kept to a minimum.
- Automation: MRO software can automate alerts and notifications for upcoming maintenance tasks, ensuring that all necessary inspections are completed on time. OASES integrates forecast maintenance, modification and defect limitation tasks into work orders. From there, it automatically generates work package documentation and material pre-loads.
- Inventory management: A lack of available parts and components increases downtime. However, MRO software solutions with comprehensive stock control features ensure that the right parts are available in the right place at the right time.
Real-Time Tracking
Tracking the progress of maintenance activities is essential for maintaining efficiency. Cloud based MRO software provides real-time updates on the status of each maintenance task, allowing teams to monitor progress and make informed decisions quickly. This helps identify potential delays or issues early in the process, enabling timely interventions.
Improving Compliance
Compliance forms the foundation of the best MRO software solutions, tracking activities against airworthiness directives.
Software can automatically store comprehensive records of all maintenance activities, including inspections, repairs, and parts replacements. This makes life much easier when it comes to audits.
Comprehensive data collection enables the thorough analysis of operations, identifying trends and areas for improvement. This approach supports better decision-making and can lead to more reliable maintenance practices, lowering the risk of non-compliance.
Cloud based software provides regular updates, ensuring compliance with ever-changing regulations.
Improving Sustainability
As mentioned, timely maintenance, facilitated by preventive and predictive maintenance, ensures that aircraft remain in service for longer, thereby maximising their operational lifespan. This helps control the demand for new aircraft, reducing the environmental impact of production.
In addition, MRO solutions streamline logistics, which helps minimise emissions and reduces waste (i.e., parts becoming obsolete before they can be used).
The digital transformation of maintenance also contributes to sustainability by significantly decreasing paper usage.
Evaluating MRO Software Solutions
If you think your current solution is sub-optimal, here are a few questions to consider:
- Is the software meeting your operational needs? Evaluate whether your current software can handle the complexity and volume of your maintenance activities.
- Are there frequent issues or inefficiencies? Identify any recurring problems or inefficiencies that impact your operations, such as slow performance, lack of integration, or data inaccuracies.
- How does the software support compliance? Ensure that your current software can generate the necessary reports for audits.
- What is the user experience like? Assess how intuitive the software is for your team. Are users able to navigate the system easily, or do they frequently encounter challenges?
- How well does the software integrate with other systems? Consider whether your software can connect with other critical systems, such as accounting systems or flight operations software.
- What kind of support and training is available? Investigate the level of customer support provided by the software vendor. Are there training resources available to help your team maximise the software’s capabilities?
- How does the software facilitate data analytics? Evaluate the software’s ability to collect maintenance data and generate actionable insights.
- What are the software’s scalability options? Consider whether the software can grow with your organisation. Will it be able to accommodate an expanding fleet or increasing maintenance demands?
- What is the total cost of ownership? Analyse not just the initial purchase price but also ongoing costs such as maintenance, updates, and potential integration expenses.
With all of that in mind, let’s review the advantages of cloud based solutions.
What Are the Benefits of Cloud Based Aviation MRO Software?
On-premise software provides helpful functionality, but by its very nature, it can’t compete with cloud based solutions. Generally, cloud based software has more comprehensive functionality and many efficiency-boosting attributes.
So, if maintenance management has proven challenging for you this summer, here are some ways that a cloud based solution can transform your operations.
Improved Data Accuracy and Accessibility
Accurate and accessible data is critical for timely, informed decision-making. Cloud based software centralises all maintenance-related data, making it easily accessible to authorised personnel.
This eliminates the need for manual record-keeping or disparate spreadsheets. And comparing it to on-premise software, the cloud enables staff to access data from anywhere at any time.
Not only does this make life easier for maintenance managers, but for technicians as well. They can view essential documentation in the field, eliminating the need to use workstations in fixed locations. OASES Mobile provides such advantages.
Continuous Updates
Cloud based software benefits from continuous updates, ensuring that users always have access to the latest features – with minimal disruption. Updates are automatically deployed by the provider, eliminating the need for manual installations. This also ensures that users always have the most up to date security patches.
Scalability and Flexibility
Cloud-based solutions can easily scale up or down based on demand, accommodating fluctuations in maintenance activities without the need for significant infrastructure investments.
Integrations
Cloud technology allows for the seamless integration of diverse aviation systems, enabling different departments to share data effortlessly. For example, maintenance, operations, and finance can all be linked through a unified platform, allowing for automatic updates and notifications on maintenance schedules, inventory levels, and budget constraints.
Traditional legacy systems often create data silos where information is trapped within specific applications, making it difficult for teams to access the data they need. Integration, however, enhances collaboration and ensures that everyone is working with the most up-to-date information.
What’s more, cloud-based solutions are inherently designed to be compatible with emerging technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT).
Conclusion
If your current maintenance software is underperforming, it’s time to look at the other options out there. After all, if it can’t handle the current demand, things will be even more challenging in the years ahead.
Cloud-based software offers many efficiency-boosting features. From maintenance scheduling to inventory management to reporting, it automates a great deal of administrative tasks and optimises costs. More benefits include mobile access, scalability, and regular updates.
OASES is built upon decades of aviation expertise and is trusted by airlines, MROs and CAMOs across six continents. To learn more about our solution or book a demo, contact us today.
