OASES Insights – Transforming Data into Decisions

We recently announced ‘Release 11‘, a major upgrade to OASES which brings our customers more advanced MRO management tools than ever before! Among the changes in this version include our all-new Business Intelligence tool, along with enhanced security, and an improved user interface. 

Given the update, we thought it was a good time to examine how BI can help airlines and MRO providers really drill down into their operations to find potential inefficiencies and opportunities for improvement. 

So, read on to learn what types of insights you can gain from analytics tools and what OASES Insights brings to the table.    

Business Intelligence in MRO: How Can it Help You?

BI is increasingly vital in in the industry, offering significant benefits that enhance operational efficiency, reduce costs, and improve service delivery. Below are just a few highlights, and some examples of the types of insights organisations can derive from their data. 

Quick Decision Making

BI tools aggregate and analyse data from various sources within the MRO ecosystem, including inventory levels, maintenance schedules, workforce productivity, and parts lifecycles. The integration of such diverse data sources provides a comprehensive overview that supports informed decision-making.

However, a crucial aspect of optimization is the ability to access timely data. In this sector, where quick decisions are essential, relying on outdated information can hinder effective decision-making. The capacity to analyse and utilise up-to-date data makes BI tools significantly more valuable than basic reporting, enabling more accurate and timely responses.

Improved Compliance

BI tools help ensure adherence to industry regulations by monitoring workflows and maintenance activities against regulatory standards. They provide audit trails, real-time reporting, and dashboards that can alert management to potential compliance issues before they become problematic.  

Cost Reduction and Efficiency Gains

Since MRO is one of the most significant costs in aviation (totalling around USD 70 billion per annum worldwide), it’s vital to boost process efficiency and look out for ways to control costs in order to stay profitable. 

Streamlining Inventory Management

According to McKinsey, airlines across the globe collectively hold around USD 50 billion in spares and inventory. While it may seem that the options are either to optimise inventory or increase asset availability, that’s not the case these days. That’s not to say there’s no trade-off at all, but it can be adjusted in line with objectives.

BI systems help optimise inventory levels by analysing usage patterns and forecasting based on flight schedules, maintenance histories and other operational data. This enables decisions that ensure organisations maintain an adequate supply of parts without overstocking, and it minimises the costs associated with parts obsolescence. 

Enhancing Maintenance Planning

Another significant aspect of cost control is the ability to improve maintenance planning. Having insights into aircraft health and maintenance history enables predictive maintenance which, in turn, helps prevent unexpected failures and the associated costs that come with urgent repairs. 

It can also enhance the scheduling of non-urgent, scheduled maintenance activities so that they occur during off-peak times when aircraft utilisation requirements are lower. 

Optimising Resource Allocation

BI also plays a critical role in resource allocation, ensuring that human resources and materials are assigned efficiently. For example, the detailed analysis of data regarding work orders can identify process bottlenecks, underutilisation of resources, and training needs. 

Addressing these issues leads to more efficient operations and lower labour costs. It can also help schedule work during less busy periods, balancing workloads more evenly and avoiding premium labour charges. 

Improving Supplier Negotiations

With comprehensive data about parts usage and vendor performance, MRO operators can enter supplier negotiations armed with the information needed to secure better terms. 

BI tools can track metrics such as vendor reliability, part failure rates, and compliance with SLAs, providing a strong basis for negotiating lower prices or more favourable payment terms.

Long-Term Asset Management

Finally, BI aids in the long-term management of assets. It can uncover long-term trends which can inform decisions about when to retire older aircraft, invest in new technologies, and so on. These decisions are critical to maintaining a cost-effective fleet and ensuring that capital expenditures lead to the best possible return on investment.

OASES Insights: Our BI Tool

Insights transforms vast volumes of operational data into actionable intelligence, leading to benefits such as reduced downtime and costs, and greater reliability of service. It empowers management to maintain tighter control over maintenance schedules and optimise resources and staffing allocation. 

Designed for Ease of Use

Despite its sophisticated backend, Insights is designed with a focus on user-friendliness. Its intuitive interface ensures that users of all technical skill levels can navigate and utilise the tool effectively. 

This democratises the process of advanced data analysis, making it accessible not just to data scientists/analysts but to anyone within the organisation. As a result, it empowers more members of the team to engage with data actively, enabling a more proactive and data-driven operation on the whole. 

Robust Dashboards for Comprehensive Analysis

Insights’ powerful dashboards offer a detailed view of MRO data, easily customisable to display diverse data points suited to unique user requirements. These dashboards deliver a clear, concise method for monitoring, analysing, and acting on data, streamlining the process and improving the precision and effectiveness of the insights obtained. This ensures that decisions are consistently backed by robust data, enhancing decision-making quality.

Conclusion 

Using BI in MRO brings a wealth of benefits. It enables timely decision making, helps improve compliance, and reduces costs in numerous ways.

Not only does it support operational goals, it also helps in the alignment with broader strategic objectives, enhancing competitiveness in this cut-throat and highly regulated industry where there is little margin for error.

Get in touch to learn more about the recent developments to OASES Insights or to request a demo.