INTRODUCTION
In this series of Blogs, I explain how using digital process twins can revolutionize MRO efficiency. I discuss how the concept of the Digital Process Twin, having been perfected in assembly plants across aerospace and automotive manufacturing, is now being applied to MRO operations.
The Internet of Things is a much-discussed topic, but people aren’t things, and nobody sells “smart, connected wing stands” so how do IoT concepts apply to MRO hangar operations? Similarly, Industry 4.0 promises revolutionary changes in manufacturing, but what lessons, concepts and technologies can transfer to the MRO industry? How does the Smart Factory inform the Smart Hangar?
Ubisense is a company that transforms physical spaces into smart spaces, with a long track record of bringing manufacturers proven gains in quality, cost, and productivity. Our SmartSpace® platform monitors the physical flow of complex operations creating a real-time “digital twin” of the process. This Digital Process Twin provides deep situational awareness which empowers people to make more insightful decisions, and business systems to operate with foresight and certainty.
Industry 4.0 and IoT have shown important value in manufacturing operations, and platforms like SmartSpace have filled the data gap, connecting those concepts to complex manual processes. Now MRO operations are beginning to leverage those innovations and solutions to create the Smart Hangar. The concept of the Digital Process Twin, so successful in bringing order, repeatability and efficiency to manufacturing operations is directly applicable to MRO processes.
Ubisense’s decade-plus of experience in deploying mission critical solutions is now being sought by MRO operators to guide them through the steps of plant digitization. Our SmartSpace platform extends existing business systems and creates new possibilities for improving compliance and turnaround time.
In this series of Blogs, I have looked at the importance of location, what we mean by a digital twin and how we create the MRO Digital twin. In this final Blog of this series I want to look at where we can achieve real benefit.
Sample Use Cases and Areas Where Operational Efficiency Can Be Improved
Perhaps the best way to understand where digital twins and SmartSpace might be useful for an MRO operation is reviewing some common use cases listed below.
Any of these use cases represents a possible start point for a smart hangar strategy, with the others being added over time as needs demand, and budgets allow. It is best to select quick wins that will deliver real value and enable the organization to gain knowledge and confidence in stages. When businesses begin using this technology, the most successful are those that implement one use case at a time but within the context of a long-term plan.
Also, think outside the box: don’t consider just what other companies might already have done. As long as there is a way to capture information about an object and its location (RFID, barcode, BLE, UWB or other technologies) then there are a multitude of ways to create value from that information. Selecting a platform that can grow with you over time allows you to leverage your initial sensor investment in ever more creative and value-added ways.
Hopefully, this series of blogs have helped you understand what we are doing at Ubisense to take our experiences from many other sectors and apply them to the MRO sector to help improve operational efficiency.
Do you want to learn more on How to Improve Business Efficiency in an Aerospace MRO Environment? Watch Dr Hugh Revie’s On-Demand Webinar on the same topic: WATCH NOW
Written by Dr Hugh Revie, Sales Director Aerospace EMEA at Ubisense
Hugh is one of the world’s leading experts in the Aerospace industry. Hugh has now been working in Aerospace for more than 30 years and, prior to joining Ubisense, started his career in aviation after graduating with a doctorate in Engineering and, initially working for British Aerospace. Around 18 years ago, he created his own company, CoreData Limited, focused on helping airlines, MROs, OEMS and aircraft supply chain companies with solutions that could drive value from the large amounts of data they were accumulating. He finally sold the company to Rolls Royce. Since then he has been working with customers to improve efficiencies by using their own data and continues to do this with Ubisense.