Our ‘Value in Action’ series shares case studies that demonstrate the real value of our partners’ digital solutions in aviation. Here we find out why Rolls-Royce selected Yocova partner QOCO Systems and its data exchange platform EngineData.io to support the integration of airline engine maintenance information systems and Rolls-Royce digital services.
As a pioneer in cutting-edge technologies, and with customers in more than 150 countries, Rolls-Royce is at the forefront in developing aircraft engine technology. In fact the company has around 13,000 civil and 16,000 military engines in operation around the world.
In order to be able to mobilize the value of experience with all of those engines, an increasingly important element for the business is the viscosity of information flow among all parties – including in-house development engineers, suppliers and customers. This case study explains how Rolls-Royce tackled that challenge, and ultimately developed the software that actually made it all possible.
Blue data thread digitalization program
Rolls-Royce has often been a pioneering original equipment manufacturer (OEM), and not just in terms of the quality and innovative flair it brings to engineering.
More than twenty years ago the company was a pioneer in servitizing the aircraft engine business through ‘power by the hour’ and its TotalCare initiative. For those to have succeeded it was necessary to have the ability to follow and manage the engine very precisely throughout its operating life – a process known as product lifecycle management (PLM).
So, it is no surprise that today Rolls-Royce is pioneering another leap forward in lifelong engine maintenance – linking engine field data with ‘return-on-experience’ insights in order to optimize fleet management, supply chain, maintenance and repair, and overhaul MRO service delivery.
But, no matter how cutting-edge the service and the technology behind current PLM systems are, nothing ever stands still.
That’s why Rolls-Royce is bringing the TotalCare initiative up-to-date with a digital-centric generation called IntelligentEngine.
IntelligentEngine is a form of cyber-physical services where the physical engine – the services that surround that digital engine and Rolls-Royce’s digital capability – are indivisible.
Put simply, the IntelligentEngine is connected by data. It means that an engine is contextually aware of its own operating conditions, the environment through which it’s flying and what is happening with the rest of the fleet. Furthermore, the engine comprehends all of this information in a way that can support informed decision-making to maximize engine availability, while also minimizing maintenance costs and disruption.
To bring this revolutionary idea to reality, Rolls-Royce created the ‘Blue Data Thread’, a program connecting every Rolls-Royce powered aircraft, every airline operation using Rolls-Royce engines, and every maintenance shop and factory together.
The Blue Data Thread program supports a two-way movement of data, using a new suite of applications called ‘Intelligent Insights’ that provide a window into the reliability, health, the remaining life of and the efficiency of engines. Airlines can now retrieve this data from within the applications for use in their own digital ecosystem. That means that airlines who share their data will get value in return from the level of accessibility baked into the system. They can access an entire universe of engine data which will, in turn, underpin and enable their own in-house predictive maintenance capability – resulting in enhancements in both engine reliability and service quality.
QOCO role in the Rolls-Royce project to date
Of course all of these great ideas and innovative processes rely on the near seamless exchange of data. To that end, Rolls-Royce has selected QOCO Systems and its data exchange platform EngineData.io to support the integration of airline engine maintenance information systems and Rolls-Royce digital services.
The close working relationship between the two organisations began in 2018, when Rolls-Royce chose QOCO to accelerate its global digitalization initiative. QOCO’s significant industry expertise, its ability to deliver robust data exchange solutions for airlines, and its proven solution EngineData.io made it a prime candidate to become Rolls-Royce’s strategic partner for the IntelligentEngine project.
Customers routinely share data with Rolls-Royce, so that the best possible service outcomes can be provided. With accurate and timely data, Rolls-Royce can treat every engine as an individual unit, helping customers to achieve the highest possible engine availability and reliability, while also minimizing costly and time-consuming maintenance. It’s part of the IntelligentEngine vision in which QOCO enabled a ‘slippery’ data exchange between various Maintenance and Engineering (M&E) functions, and Rolls-Royce digital services for clients worldwide operating with modern Trent 1000, Trent XWB, and Trent 7000 engines.
Richard Swallow, Head of Digital Service Readiness at Rolls-Royce said: “We are delighted to be able to offer our customers a practical solution to data collaboration. EngineData.io gives airlines complete control over the data they choose to automatically share with and receive from us. And they have confidence that the data transfer is fully secure. It’s very effective, reducing the effort required by our customers to operate some services by over 50%”.
More importantly, this is only the first stage of the latest Rolls-Royce and QOCO collaboration. The two companies will continue to work in tandem to help airlines find other ways in which to optimize business processes. By adopting an automated real-world data exchange with Rolls-Royce digital services via EngineData.io carriers have been able to reduce operational costs, gather valuable operational insights on each trip, maximize Trent engines’ utilization, and optimize maintenance schedules.
ENGINEDATA.IO: The rational for using QOCO technology
At the heart of QOCO’s contribution to the Rolls-Royce IntelligentEngine is the software solution EngineData.io. EngineData.io is a highly sophisticated yet thoroughly reliable integration and data exchange platform. It works as a SaaS (Software as a Service) solution, enabling secure, automated data streams between the main collaborative players in the aviation industry. The four cornerstones of the solution make this possible are:
- Automated data transfer by integrations to existing customer systems for bidirectional data flows
- Data transformation to any required ingestible format for the receiving system
- Data validation to ensure that any data quality issues are flagged
- Information security compliant with ISO 27001 to ensure complete data confidentiality
Improving the LLP (Life Limited Part) data for instance can result in a longer component time on wing, whilst remaining within the OEM specifications and performance parameters.
Meeting Rolls-Royce standards for quality
The reputation and on-going success of a business like Rolls-Royce relies entirely on its ability to deliver the highest possible standards in product innovation, technical support and quality aftercare in the aviation sector .The bar has always been set very high. This is of particular importance with regard to the handling and security of sensitive third-party data that is an integral part of an aero-engine maintenance program such as IntelligentEngine. However, Rolls-Royce is confident that QOCO meets its exacting standards and values their contribution.
QOCO Systems recently passed the ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 certification audit. ISO 9001 ensures that organizations can deliver consistent quality of products and services to the customers and, moreover, increase customer satisfaction. ISO 27001 indicates requirements for establishing and maintaining an effective information security management system in the organization have been met.
Although this program will continue to develop over the coming years, Rolls-Royce is confident that everybody in the IntelligentEngine process will have greater confidence in sharing their data, knowing the quality standards that QOCO has achieved and knowing that that quality runs as a thread right through the service that Rolls-Royce offers to all users of its aircraft engines.
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Published: 29th March 2022
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