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MRO Middle East: AI will integrate data across the ‘MRO continuum’ for better fault resolution

Improved fault resolution is one of the significant gains expected from the application of industrialised Artificial Intelligence in aircraft maintenance.

Speaking to Aviation Business News last week in Dubai at the MRO Middle East trade show Mark Buongiorno, OFS president of aerospace and defence said data sets need to be collated.

He said as airlines move increasingly to embrace a predictive approach to aircraft maintenance AI will be able to provide full operational context to proactive parts removal.

Buongiorno said an “embedded AI core” in an operator’s technical procedures can automate previously manual reporting “to deliver quality outcomes need in an industry setting”.

“A lot of what we’ve been talking about in predictive in the industry is understanding the characteristics of a fault before it occurs.

“Looking at the multi-parameter shifts within allowable factors with a component once that detection occurs we can then initialise an inspection.

“You can initialise a proactive removal of a part perhaps where an aircraft is at a station where the technician of the parts will be.”

Following the part removal the AI technology should then be able to close the loop by providing a package of reliability data to the OEM or MRO, added Buongiorno.

“Now, what you can actually send to the OEM of repair shop is not just the outcome of the fault, you can actually send a more complete package of what was going on with the aircraft at the time.”

Buongiorno says that historically in fault scenarios the aviation industry has been “data poor” leaving engineers to try to understand the context without the proper insights.

This “dynamic” data is now available, particularly on modern aircraft fitted with many thousands of sensors, the key is making use of this data across multiple systems.

Buongiorno said IFS’s approach to industrialising AI centres on integrating discreet data sets to give a full lifetime picture of a component or asset.

He said an aircraft will go through an “MRO continuum” during its serviceable life from manufacture to tear down.

“We have a suite of solutions optimised for something that is generally referred to as MRO. But there are different stages of MRO, all very different, but they are all labelled as MRO.

“They all have distinct systems in use, whether it’s an airline or independent aircraft support organisations, or MRO, they have their own systems at every level.

“We have the ability to integrate data through ever level of maintenance. Not only are we focussed on this specific industry but also support various levels of maintenance and provide full ERP enterprise capability. It’s about efficiency and data connectivity.”

Buongiorno the sort of AI technology IFS has developed will help to “bridge the knowledge gap” so that all technicians can do their jobs with the same depth of learning as someone with decades of experience.

But he said there will still be no alternative to human knowledge. “It does not help to know what you do not know,” he said.

At MRO Middle East IFS announced a new collaboration with Albatechnics, an Italy‑based aviation maintenance and engineering provider.

The partnership is expected to enhance maintenance execution, improve supply‑chain visibility, and accelerate turnaround performance using advanced digital tools and integrated workflows.

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