DECEMBER - JANUARYAEROSPACEDEFENSEREVIEW.COM9World Wide Fleet data by the OEM. Each operator has unique routes and operating environments that play a big role in the long-term understanding of the fleet reliability data, especially over time in service. The Approved Reliability Program based on the Maintenance Review Board (MRB) of each operator also plays a critical role in continuous airworthiness and improvement of the aircraft over its life cycle. However, the reliability can easily be enhanced by staying engaged in the analysis of pilot discrepancies, non-routine and routine maintenance discrepancies, and work cards. Understanding these discrepancies and their causes can yield tremendous insights, leading to increased reliability. Rotable shortages often occur after many years of operation as the aircraft matures through its life cycle. Teardown reports and communication with the vendor regarding the faults can result in an airline maintenance task or improved troubleshooting, preventing schedule interruptions and extended out-of-service times. If these types of events are addressed during the entire aircraft life cycle, it adds to an overall effort to maintain a very high level of reliability. Advances in technology to improve reliability can be collected from other OEM platforms or by attending trade shows. Some advancements are very difficult and can be expensive to adapt to aging platforms, while others make sense from a reliability and cost of ownership perspective. One of the best examples in recent times is the manufacturing advances in LED lighting. In the past, it was accepted that bulbs had a known life; if critical they could be put on a time replacement interval, based on statistical analysis. On some platforms, inoperative bulbs play a significant role in dispatch rates (on-time departures), due to criticality or accessibility, which translates to an uncontrollable delay in flight departure. Consequently, the navigation lights were recognized by many OEMs and they created a modification to add additional bulbs to be switched (some automatic and other manual) as an approved alternate. These types of modifications are costly and require significant man-hours and downtime to install. However, with advances in direct replacement, LED lighting technology has dramatically changed failure rates, and with a relatively low cost, they have become a way to improve safety and dispatch reliability.Non-critical fatigue of the airframe and components come into play as the life cycle continues. A review of the OEM's service bulletins can yield much insight into ways this can be kept in check. Continuous monitoring of aircraft for out-of-service discrepancies through scheduled and unscheduled inspections can help formulate plans to install preventative reinforcements, replacements, and alterations to avoid recurring fatigue-related findings; thereby, increasing the availability of the aircraft and preventing disruptions of aircraft in service.The aircraft will tell you what it needs throughout its life cycle, through various discrepancies. The goal should not just be how to correct the discrepancy, but also how to prevent it from occurring again. Detailed attention and corrective measures to what the aircraft requires to operate from the beginning to the end of the life cycle will yield the highest reliability possible. THE AIRCRAFT WILL TELL YOU WHAT IT NEEDS THROUGHOUT ITS LIFE CYCLE, THROUGH VARIOUS DISCREPANCIES. THE GOAL SHOULD NOT JUST BE HOW TO CORRECT THE DISCREPANCY, BUT ALSO HOW TO PREVENT IT FROM OCCURRING AGAIN
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