Development of a Maintenance and Spare Parts Distribution Model for Increasing Aircraft Efficiency

Abstract

Maintenance management plays a key role in many industries, as maintenance determines the availability of systems, influences their lifespan, impacts customer satisfaction, and as a result affects overall investment profitability. In this context, the aviation industry seeks models to improve efficiency. Researchers seek to provide conceptual models that help to shape the industry’s operations. Spare parts management plays a fundamental role in aviation, considering the predominance of planned maintenance. In this study, we analyzed the impact of the distribution network design for spare parts management and the fixed and dynamic planned maintenance intervals on the overall efficiency of an aircraft fleet. We present a conceptual model considering a variety of topics, such as distribution network design, that have been managed to a limited extent based on maintenance management. A simulation model was developed by applying the conceptual model for the aviation industry considering an aircraft fleet over its whole life cycle. The simulation model provides results concerning the impact of the distribution network, maintenance intervals, and other key factors on the efficiency of the aircraft fleet. The simulation enables a comparison of different distribution networks and maintenance strategies to decide which of them is the best fit for each spare part. The approach we propose enables companies and managers to make decisions informed by a centralized tool with all the relevant factors concerning the maintenance management of an aircraft fleet over its life cycle. As a result, managers are provided with a conceptual and simulation model for the assessment of future what-if scenarios based on aggregated databases from multiple sources without delays and with a dynamic vision of the relevant relationships between factors.