INFORMATION SUPPORT TOOL FOR AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE TASK PLANNING

Abstract: Aircraft maintenance can be described as a set of tasks that are carried out on an aircraft in order to keep it in an airworthy condition. Aircraft operators aim to achieve profitability and this happens only when the aircraft is flying. Operators can improve their fleet availability by reducing the maintenance time which in turn reduces the overall downtime of the aircraft. This is directly influenced by a number of factors such as availability of tools and spares, availability of labour, time required for maintenance etc. This paper presents a potential method to reduce the overall maintenance time by eliminating duplication of tasks thereby improving the maintenance efficiency. An information support tool will be used to determine whether the maintenance tasks can be grouped together or not. Hence, components maybe maintained simultaneously thereby reducing the number of times an access panel would undergo an opening/closing sequence. Potential gains include reduced work load on the maintenance crew, reduced wear and tear on access panels and reduced maintenance times amongst others.

Keywords: Aircraft Maintenance, Information support tool, Access Panel, Duplication of tasks.