NOVEMBER 2015 27 Services together in a “One Boeing” manner, according to its managers. “We’ve had every major business unit from The Boeing Company speak to us or come to visit,” said Ed Apollo, V-22 Sustainment program manager. “The key message is: How do we replicate this across the enterprise?” In operation for less than two years, the readiness center monitors 280 V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft worldwide, receiving timely data reports on approximately 1,450 parameters per second of flight. Center personnel have the tools to play back the flight online. They sift through data and apply different mathematical models, developing algorithms that spotlight trends and problems. Their expertise draws on a variety of sources. “Boeing’s work in the intelligence community actually gave us insight into how we could use the data,” said Chris Raab, manager of Maintenance Analytics Systems. “Using it across the entire support process—from maintenance to the supply chain—in groundbreaking ways is how we’re significantly advancing V-22 support.” With the ability to deploy software to monitor incoming data, the center can look for anomalies and emerging issues in the fleet, Raab said. In one case, a military customer couldn’t pinpoint the cause of a persistent Osprey vibration, repeatedly swapping out parts without finding a solution. The center used its data to show a centrifugal force bearing was the problem and wrote an algorithm that predicted when bearing degradation would occur, thus preventing future parts and maintenance costs, plus the downtime of not flying the aircraft. Total savings according to the customer: $20 million. “From a safety standpoint, it is a real needle-mover with the customer,” said Carolyn Nichols, V-22 Sustainment director, about the readiness center. Using the incoming data and corresponding analytics, the center can even address pilot capabilities—whether or not that person behind the control stick warrants added training in an area such as landings or other air maneuvers. Airplane Health Management is another big-data service, one that monitors 2,800 Boeing airplanes in flight worldwide, processes 10 million reports per month and has a data repository of nearly 7 billion records. Offered to customers through Commercial Aviation Services Digital Aviation and in operation for 11 years, Airplane Health Management also is used heavily by an Operational Control Center that supplies around-the-clock dispatch for 787 fleet support from Everett, Wash. Eighty-one airline customers currently subscribe to the health management service, enabling them to access technical documents for solutions at any time through the myboeingfleet.com secure website and receive automated alerts that show maintenance trends that could prevent expensive operating disruptions. A canceled flight typically costs an airline $100,000, explained Mike Hurd, Airplane Health Management program manager in Renton, Wash. “In some cases, airlines have reduced unscheduled maintenance costs for specific systems by up to 90 percent,” Hurd said. “Whenever you use the data intelligence tool to reduce cancellations and downtime for maintenance, it’s a strong argument.” Additionally, the system will be enabled for the KC-46 Pegasus tanker and used during the military aircraft’s development and testing phases. Information will be passed from Boeing to Boeing, rather than from Boeing to the customer, an arrangement facilitated by Commercial Aviation Services, according to Ken Coe, KC-46 tanker senior manager. It was the best solution for the modified 767 and yet another example of the one-company approach, Coe said. “Airplane Health Management allows us to present data in a format to analyze it and make it actionable to increase the operational capability of the KC-46 fleet,” he explained. “The sooner you fix a problem, the sooner you’re back up in the air.” Photos: (Top) In the 787 Operational Control Center in Everett, Wash., analyst Mike Loyd reviews incoming data from all over the world. BOB FERGUSON | BOEING (Bottom) Support staff personnel, from left, Steve Boggess, Chris Raab, Jeff Thompson and Kelly Hill look for trends in Osprey data reports at the V-22 Readiness Operations Center in Ridley Township, Pa. FRED TROILO | BOEING
Frontiers November 2015 Issue
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