Neos Air has employed Rolls-Royce’s revolutionary new ‘deep-dive’ analytics approach to aircraft engine product lifecycle management (PLM) in order to reduce engine downtime, increase efficiency, and prolong engine life.
Established in 2001, Neos Air is a small airline, part of a larger holding, and fully owned by Alpitour Group, a leading travel operator in Italy. The core business is leisure flights, with an active fleet consisting of six Boeing 787-9, five 737-800 and four 737-8 aircraft.
New aircraft and engines required a new approach
All of Neos Air’s 787 Dreamliners are powered by Rolls-Royce Trent engines and, as part of the engine management plan implemented by Rolls-Royce to increase MTBSR, they are regulated by an innovative new aircraft engine management protocol called DAC. The purpose of DAC is to increase cyclic life by using modern analytical techniques to precisely determine how much of that cycle is actually consumed during each flight. By accurately measuring multiple data points it is possible to better understand authentic engine performance and maintenance requirements, rather than relying on the routine and more regimented time-driven life cycle calculations previously employed.
Naturally, a more realistic assessment of actual engine condition and wear offers the prospect of safely keeping them on wing longer, with all the positive economic efficiencies that would bring. Conventional maintenance regimes are based on well-established worst-case scenarios, but these often see parts removed and replaced well before their actual wear would necessitate.
In order for the DAC protocol to deliver the promised on-wing and maintenance efficiency benefits, Rolls-Royce required a vest amount of data, a good deal of which came from Neos’s MRO software AMOS, which the airline has been using since 2004.
In order to instigate DAC, Rolls-Royce worked closely with Neos to assess and remodel some of Neos’s operation processes in order to collect and deliver the exact data the DAC PLM required (Phase One). For instance, they began to collect data via ACARS messaging, using a downlink from the aircraft whilst in flight – and a secondary batch of engine telemetrics was then downloaded by the maintenance crew after the aircraft had landed.
This initial data migration process continued for some months until Rolls-Royce had built up a solid profile of Neos’s engine usage. For Phase Two, which would establish the DAC system as the primary PLM method for these engines, Neos needed the help of third-party service provider QOCO, to carefully construct, test and manage the integration of data interfaces between itself, the AMOS MRO system, and Rolls-Royce.
Overcoming the data transfer issues
QOCO was the ideal partner for this task, having previously delivered a number of effective data exchange solutions between an operator’s M&E system and Rolls-Royce digital services. Working with QOCO, Neos were able to collect and format data from AMOS and then delivered it to QOCO’s flexible EngineData.io data exchange platform. This data was then accessible to Rolls-Royce, who, in turn, were then able to provide meaningful metrics on both the exact level of life consumed and remaining life for individual engine parts (figure 1).
QOCO has a history of working with Rolls-Royce to support service delivery and providing effective data capture and management tools for the OEM’s Blue Data Thread as part of the digitalization of Rolls-Royce TotalCare, and Neos were happy to bring in their expertise to deliver the DAC project.
QOCO’s objective is to form a close, empathetic, hands-on working relationship with operators in order to thoroughly understand the existing processes, protocols, and operational nuances behind the partner’s data collection and management systems – and then aims to create and deploy the most harmonious and cost-effective data exchange mechanisms.
But when COVID-19 entered the equation during the planning stage of the integration project, on-site visits were obviously no longer possible for the QOCO team, so the use of remote collaboration tools (such as Microsoft Teams) became the norm. The Neos Air implementation would become the first to be managed completely remotely, with no on-site presence for QOCO whatsoever.
The Neos and QOCO project teams created a structured implementation roadmap, which involved as series of linear-sequential phases such as Discovery, Definition, Implementation, and Roll-Out. QOCO always aims to minimize the workload for the airline by utilizing existing services – for example, integrating the airline’s existing M&E systems and leveraging their capabilities to suit the project’s objectives. In addition to minimize the burden for the airline, QOCO also employs ‘best-fit’ technologies – they configure and deploy the required data pipelines between the airline and the EngineData.io platform utilizing existing data services and applicable technologies, for example SFTP (Secured File Transfer Protocol) transfer, or APIs – depending on the airline’s capabilities.
Once the Implementation phase was over, the next step was for Neos to go live with the data exchange, and handover to QOCO’s Continuous Services team for data monitoring. That service also includes data quality controls, such as an active surveillance system that will notice if, for instance, there is a missing flight for one aircraft, and will trigger the system to contact the airline through Rolls-Royce to query/resolve any data issues. The monitoring system constantly collects, interrogates and reviews the available data, and issues alerts when actions are required.
With such accurate data exchange capabilities, Rolls-Royce can now keep track of engines used by a wide range of airlines – gathering valuable operational information, and learning more about component performance and optimisation, and provoking a range of internal R&D projects. And of course they can build an infinitely accurate digital profile of each and every engine they supply, which stay with that individual engine during its lifespan.
The DAC PLM offers considerable benefits to the airline too, as they can confidently keep engines safely on the wing for a longer time, resulting in optimized, cost-effective operations.
This has a particular impact with life-limited parts (LLPs) – the traditional approach is that the manufacturer, who doesn’t know how the airline will operate the engines, has to assume the worst case scenario, which means that life limit recommendations are sensibly set based on worst case parameters. But with DAC, Rolls-Royce receives IoT data directly from the engines, and QOCO can provide accurate data from the associated maintenance systems, which combine to deliver an accurate LLP status. With that complete data set, Rolls-Royce is able to extend the use life of LLPs which, in turn, further supports longer safe operating times on wing. It also reduces unscheduled maintenance events, which as all airlines know, can be costly in terms of operational and financial consequences. This more detailed and comprehensive picture of how the airline is operating engines can also feed into and aid predictive maintenance processes.
Future plans and next steps
The process of measuring and recording LLP life used and remaining at Neos does not yet cover all of the LLPs in their aircraft engines – so there is an on-going project to include of other LLPs into the DAC system, and away from the traditional rationale of ‘one flight equals one cycle’.
Authors
Ivan Albini: CAMO Postholder at Neos. Joined Lauda Air as power plant engineer in 1998, moved to Air Europe 1999-2000, then joined the startup airline Neos in 2001. At NEOS, he started as power plant engineer, was promoted engineering manager in 2008 and eventually became CAMO Postholder in 2017. His technical background covers both legacy and new gen aircraft, such as 737ng, 767, 787 and 737max.
Ville Santaniemi: Senior Partner at QOCO Systems. Joined Finnair in 2005. With a strong background in IT and business, Ville has always felt comfortable working with, and aligning to, the needs of these two areas. In aviation, Ville’s expertise lies mostly within aircraft maintenance and airline operations. After Finnair he moved to Emirates, and then onto QOCO as a Senior Partner in 2015.
Published 09 November 2022
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