The digital transformation of the aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) industry can provide a “wealth of opportunities”, QOCO Systems said in its latest whitepaper. Benefits such as safety, efficiency, and cost reduction position this digital transformation as a key driver for the industry to pursue and accelerate the modernisation of MRO operations.
QOCO System's 2024 survey — including respondents in roles varied but including directors, product, managers, vice presidents and managers from airlines, MRO companies, digital service providers, OEMs, lessors, and others — found that 84% of companies are committed to a digital strategy.
“While larger organisations tend to adopt digital strategies more readily, smaller companies often grapple with resource constraints and uncertainties around technological investment,” the report said.
Narrowing in on particular areas of business, the survey found that the 34.1% of companies planned to implement digitalisation of manual data transfer in the next one to three years, followed by 31.8% of respondents planning to implement over the next year. Around 22.7% of respondents said they were unsure. 6.8% and 4.5% planned to implement in 3-5 years and after five years, respectively.
When asked about digitalising tooling control implementation, 31.8% of respondents said it planned to implement in one to three years, followed by 30.7% planning for the next year, 27.3% of respondents unsure.
Tooling control was pointed to as a key operational challenge with current inefficient tooling control systems disrupting workflows and extending turnaround times, and inflating operational costs.
“The issue is further compounded by the complexity of aviation maintenance, where compliance with strict safety regulation hinges on precise tooling control,” the report said. Through digitalisation, these processes could improve visibility into tool availability and condition.
As for digitalising manpower assignment, 33% of respondents planned to implement in the next year, followed by 27.3% planning for the next one to three years. A quarter were unsure, while the remaining planned for either 3-5 years or after five years.
“Considering the upcoming lack of maintenance technicians, this is an issue which many should take seriously,” QOCO said. The survey found that the most commonly cited challenge for the industry at present is the “reliance on manual workflow”, which suggests that productivity is being hindered by inefficiencies.
QOCO said manual processes such as data entry and task tracing can introduce inefficiencies and errors that “ripple across the maintenance lifecycle”. These were pointed to as a key source of frustration from respondents. QOCO said training of staff and implementing user-friendly interfaces can reduce mistakes. In addition, automation such as predictive data entry and error-checking can become a valuable tool.
The report said that predictive maintenance was a “promising yet underutilised tool” that would require more investment and strategic planning to adopt. As such, resolving the more foundational issues through digital transformation could potentially open the pathway for this implementation. Further down the line, emerging technologies such as using drones for maintenance may also prove a valuable asset in areas such as aircraft inspections. In addition, they can provide high-resolution images, helping to improve analysis accuracy.
The report said drones represented “an exciting frontier” for the industry, though respondents reported on the technology less frequently. This suggested a “slower adoption” compared to more immediate challenges such as manual processed and tooling control. In addition, regulatory compliance, cost, and a general lack of technical expertise may hinder the implementation of drones in the MRO sphere.