Going by the cue of my last post, time, or more fittingly the conservation of it, appears to be the primary motivation behind Predictive Maintenance (PDM). So what exactly is PDM?
Imagine an aircraft soaring at 36000ft develops a snag say in it’s hydraulic system. Essential items that are affected by it include Flight control systems, Landing gear systems, Brakes and Anti-skid etc. Now, there are independent standby hydraulic systems in most airliners today. So, you wouldn’t exactly plunge earthward; but, you still need to ensure that the snag is rectified at the next base. I.e., the aircraft cannot take-off to it’s next destination without snag rectification. PDM systems basically detect the snag (in flight) and transfer detailed descriptions and locations of the snag to base via ACARS (more on ACARS here). The mechanic on duty gets the details, studies the snag, prepares a rectification action plan and gets all necessary equipment and manpower ready. Just as the aircraft lands and rolls in to the gates, the mechanic trundles out, fully equipped, to the aircraft. While passengers unload/reload, he has rectified the snag and the Aircraft is ready to go!
Simple? Yes, but there are constraints here too. More on those later. Right now, we know what a predictive maintenance can do, and, that it can prove to be an important advantage. One that puts time…on your side.
No comments:
Post a Comment