Digital Transformation in Maintenance on the Example of a Tire Pressure Indicating System

Abstract

The digital transformation is getting increasingly important in the aviation industry to gain competitive advantages. Thus, digital services, like Aviatar (Lufthansa Technik) and Skywise (Airbus), have been introduced recently and are receiving much focus in the industry and research. Research in identifying profitable systems for an automated condition Monitoring and the evaluation of their respective operational and economic impact is still at an early stage in the aviation industry. In this paper, we provide a methodology for the identification of digitalization potentials. By combining the approach of the Open System Architecture - Condition Based Maintenance (OSA-CBM) model with a process oriented model, both, specific measures for the improvement of a system’s maintenance as well as suitable systems for the implementation of digitalization technologies, can be derived. With the developed method, the potential layout of an Automated Condition Monitoring System (ACMS) is shown on the example of a Tire Pressure Indicating System (TPIS). To quantify the benefit of such a system, a parametric study for the simulated tire pressure loss is conducted using a Monte Carlo simulation. The obtained results allow an estimation of the operational impact by an improved maintenance schedule as well as the determination of the total cost reduction by using such a condition monitoring system.