Industry
Manufacturing
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Highlights
- Digitalization of MRO training can redefine aircraft maintenance for good. With the industry facing headwinds, given a major skills gap resulting from the retirement of experienced technicians, high attrition during the pandemic, and a relatively slower pace of onboarding and training of new hires.
- Creating a digital ecosystem will help a trainee technician to use relevant training data from a central repository and proceed with digitally assisted, self-paced online learning modules.
- Using generative AI (GenAI), digital twins, and gamification technologies, MROs can digitize legacy data and add latest information to the training resources.
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Challenges galore for the industry
The maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) function is critical to ensuring the safety and airworthiness of airplanes.
Providing these services in a fast, efficient, and seamless way – however – is challenging, and will be more so, in the times to come. This is because the industry is grappling with high attrition rates in a post-pandemic world. There is considerable shortage of qualified personnel as many experienced executives have retired or are due to, in the next couple of years.
Add to that, the apprehensions and uncertainties around automation continue to rise. An IATA study found that 60% of ground handling professionals feel that they do not have enough qualified staff to ensure smooth operations and an additional 27% of respondents are nervous about the fact that their current employees would leave soon either due to retirement or the want of better opportunities.
Digitalization of MRO training is being actively pursued by industry players so that they can train new hires and upskill the existing workforce rather quickly, to address these challenges and enable adherence to safety and compliance requirements.
A quick guide to digitalizing MRO training
The first step to training employees digitally is to convert physical data into digital formats.
This will be followed by creating a virtual training ecosystem. The learners can use centrally archived data for self-paced online learning, easy referencing during practical training, and rectification. They can then create personalized learning journeys, participate in story-based interactive courses, solve scenario-based problems, and work with use-case stories. Effective conversion of legacy learning techniques into a more immersive form is the way forward for all aerospace MRO companies.
The final phase is to integrate rectification and operations data of recently delivered MRO services with the training database. Provision for alerts and system-generated reminders for self-directed learning through recommendations and curated resources can be integrated into the learning platform, thus catering to multi-tiered learning needs for a diverse section of learners.
Artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to automate these training programs with real-time ingestion of learning gained during fault rectification. It will also help create virtual environments to evaluate the knowledge and understanding of complex aero machinery and equipment. And finally, MRO training, when digitalized, will help do more with less, that is, train more people even when the availability of trainers is limited, thereby being relatively more cost effective than the current methods.
Tech lends a helping hand
While AI has made it easier to digitalize MRO training, several other technologies will have a significant role to play.
MROs will need AI-enabled conversion platforms like smart OCR, data extraction and analysis (DEA) tools, incremental NLP tools, computer vision, voice to text tools, large language models (LLM) for converting video to text, and so on, to convert legacy data (printed text, audios, and videos) to structured digital formats.
Let us look at some key technologies in this regard:
Generative AI (GenAI): The MRO industry can implement GenAI-enabled evaluation techniques to assess knowledge levels of technicians after training and create unique learning journeys based on it. Cameras can record maintenance work, detect errors or steps skipped by supervisors, and assist in accident or incident investigations. In this scenario, machine learning (ML) models would be deployed to analyze video feeds which will flag activities that are not being undertaken properly by trainees. Trainees can then interact with a supervisor to create targeted feedback on a potential problem. Chatbots or learning scenarios can be tailored as per a trainee’s experience level, career level, and competency to provide real-time feedback using these e-learning systems.
Digital twins: A digital twin can provide a real-time, high-fidelity virtual model for any component of an aircraft. With the ability to collect, collate, store, analyze and provide feedback on the data, a digital twin can continuously evaluate its physical entity. Since the sensors can capture and continuously update the system’s digital twin throughout its operational life, MRO trainees can access the latest aircraft components during training, unlike physical systems that take time to be built and made available.
Digital twins and a well-designed leaning management system (LMS) can be used to simulate real-world scenarios in MRO training. Training programs can be made more effective by using digital twins of aircraft components. For example, engine components can be detailed up to the level of seats, screws, and fasteners which will be useful for training engine technicians. Subsystems and components like fins of the afterburner can be viewed in a 3D format and relevant snags can be linked to provide practical overviews.
Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR): Maintenance processes and technical activities like screwing or unscrewing of nuts and opening of panels can be simulated through immersive technologies such as AR and VR. During practical training and actual repairs, this infrastructure can be used to prompt technicians to choose the correct tools from the standard menus. They can also be enabled to access multi-paged block diagrams of airframes and instrument systems and detailed electrical wiring diagrams of an aircraft’s radio and radar systems.
AR-based training modules provide step-by-step guidance, offering immersive and interactive learning experiences. Technicians can practice various maintenance tasks, perform system inspections, troubleshoot problems virtually, and receive real-time feedback and guidance.
Conversational AI: Simulating human conversation to conduct training programs can become a game changer in the training Industry. Interactive training programs can now be run using conversational AI agents. As conversational AI is a combination of natural language processing (NLP) and ML, it can improve interactive learning experiences. By using conversational AI, MRO trainees can access reference material while undertaking fault rectification. They can also check the probable cause of a particular fault from an online database, which contains the fault history across aircraft fleet.
The road ahead
Training a huge number of technicians quickly is not going to be easy.
The aerospace industry will need 610,000 new technicians over the next 20 years to meet the demand from fleet operators and MRO firms, according to Boeing’s Pilot and Technician Outlook report. Digitalization of training programs will help these companies achieve this target by tackling the twin challenges of an ageing workforce and knowledge transfer to junior workers.
As airlines continue to place record orders for aircraft in a post-pandemic world, the need for trained technicians will only rise because airlines can’t afford to have their airplanes grounded (for maintenance) for longer than required. Accordingly, MRO firms are also adding coursework to their curriculums for new mechanics. Novel learning methods will only make these technicians better equipped and more effective to address the challenges and priorities of the industry.
