WHITE PAPER: IFS
GOING FROM PHYSICAL TO DIGITAL — MAXIMIZING THE POWER OF THE DIGITAL THREAD
operations. US Bureau of Transportation statistics show in the last full year of uninterrupted airline operations, 2019, US airlines reported 302 domestic tarmac delays longer than three hours, compared with 202 in 2018 and 193 in 2017. Rolls-Royce has a fundamental mission that every Rolls-Royce powered aircraft flies on time, every time with an availability as close as possible to 100%. That works for the airlines that own the aircraft, Rolls-Royce as the OEM and passengers themselves. This is where the confluence of predictive
maintenance incentives comes together for all parties involved in flying any given route. “The Blue Data Thread contributes significantly to Rolls-Royce’s strategies to eliminate unplanned failures,” says Nick Ward. “A jet engine is an incredibly complex example of high-engineering but being in-tune with the specific maintenance requirements and performance allows Rolls-Royce to accomplish feats like powering an A330 to fly the equivalent of to the moon and back 50 times between overhauls.”
“With this level of tracking, most failures are detected on an individual level before they are likely to occur, well before planned maintenance cycles. Rolls-Royce has extreme faith in its predictive analytics strategy with a goal of zero false predictions and 100% success rate.” AIRCRAFT IT MRO • SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021 • 42
Unlike some other OEM predictive maintenance initiatives, the Rolls-Royce Blue Data Thread is a two-way movement of data. The engine supplier is collecting data from multiple sources, such as engine health monitoring and information from airline maintenance management systems, contextual real time engine flying condition and other data sources including MRO data from Rolls-Royce engine facilities. This is where IFS has provided strategic support on multiple levels. IFS Maintenix has automated the sharing of the data critical for Rolls-Royce to re-life its engine parts, but also took a broader scope to allow airlines and Rolls-Royce to collaborate and share much more information about the work which happens on their engines: for example, which engine parts have been switched or inspected and even if any other aircraft systems have been impacted by engine behavior. The result of this two-way exchange is an even more complete picture of engine performance; a higher resolution digital twin and a way to deliver these digital insights to improve physical part use while in-service.
AIRLINES REALIZE MORE BENEFITS THAN THEY BARGAINED FOR — DAY TO DAY IMPROVEMENTS AND SUSTAINABILITY BOOST
Participating airlines were confidently expecting to see certain results from the IntelligentEngine and the Blue Data Thread initiatives in terms of overall engine performance and cost. However, what perhaps wasn’t anticipated was the weaving of new predictive maintenance results non-intrusively into day-to-day processes. “A Rolls-Royce Trent engine can, on average, fly around the world over 1,000 times between significant engine events. Through multi-variable forecasting, IFS is able to map the data on how an