Optimisation of Aircraft Maintenance and Utilisation factor by Implementation of Effective Inventory Management

A considerable time is utilized in undertaking routine inspection during the operational cycle of aircraft The routine inspections contribute to the major share of downtime in addition to the downtimes arising due to unscheduled defects and associated inspections. Effective monitoring of the aircraft operations and maintenance and ensuring timely completion within scheduled timelines would enhance the operational availability of frontline aircraft by reducing the aircraft downtime. A large chunk of useful operational life and cost in terms of provisioning of critical spares are at times exhausted to maintain the operational readiness of frontline squadron despite there are various checks and balances in place to effectively manage the critical aircraft inventory. The main aim of the work is to indicate the increase in operational efficiency of aircraft in frontline squadrons and other maintenance lines by incorporation of an application to sort and undertake effective inventory management. In addition to enhancing the operational efficiency of a frontline operational air squadron and reducing maintenance downtime in other maintenance lines, the inventory management technique discussed in this paper would also help in reducing the operating cost and logistics management time associated with aircraft maintenance and operation. Keywords—Frontline Squadron, Routine Inspection, Maintenance, Downtime, Inventory, Supervisor, Tradesman, Line Replacement Unit(LRU).