Shop Floor Data Captures Top Flight Maintenance .sx LAST year international aerospace maintenance engineers FFV Aerotech acquired one of the best equipped maintenance facilities in the UK at Stansted and set about becoming the first company in the industry worldwide to control Job Costing via computerised Shop Floor Data Capture ( SFCD) .sx The requirements of SFDC for aircraft maintenance are different from the standard production control systems in manufacturing .sx A full maintenance overhaul on an aircraft can involve 16,000 different jobs with the customer charged on a labour plus parts basis .sx FFV Aerotech employs over 700 permanent staff and 120 sub-contractors .sx The 'Heavy Check' in which the company specialises can take between 30,000 and 40,000 man hours at a cost to the customer of pounds1 .sx 2 million with the labour content accounting for 80% .sx FFV's aim was to pull in quickly accurate records of the time spent on each job and thus reduce the 35 days taken between completing a maintenance overhaul and invoicing the customer .sx The company's aim was to achieve good financial management , rapid job costing and accurate job tracking .sx Capturing the data on the shop floor was the first key step .sx All job sheets are now bar coded and each engineer has a personal bar code number .sx SFDC terminals manufactured by Source Computer Systems collect the data .sx When each job is issued the engineer takes the job card to the terminal and passes a wand over the bar code and over his personal bar code .sx The Source terminal logs the time and the number ; when the job is finished , the engineer repeats the process and the terminal clocks him off .sx FFV Aerotech thus has an accurate record of the time to be booked to each job which can be used for job costing .sx A further benefit is the saving in skilled man hours .sx With the previous manual system booking on and off each job took an average of ten seconds per man .sx The control clerk entered the engineer's name and the time against the job on a tabloid size record sheet .sx At shift change , with 120 engineers booking in at the same time , delays inevitably mounted .sx Using the Source terminals it takes just three seconds for each man to enter his personal bar code and the bar code on his job card before he is contributing to FFV's productive man hours .sx Major advantage .sx FFV chose Source terminals after evaluating the market in depth .sx A major advantage is their flexibility , enabling FFV to expend or adapt their use once the system was up and running .sx Secondly , the robust construction enables them to withstand the engineering environment of the engine service bays .sx FFV also wanted terminals with the ability to continue collecting data if the main frame went down .sx The Source 400 series terminals can store up to 2,000 transactions if necessary before they need to be downloaded .sx Source also offer both fixed and hand held versions ; in aircraft maintenance it is often impractical to wire up terminals on the hangar floor as this interferes with the movement of aircraft .sx The VAS report writing facility generates an initial report on the booking of jobs .sx A second report throws up errors and anomalies for investigation .sx Amendments necessitated because , for example , an engineer omits to book off before leaving the premises , are made by the supervisors of the appropriate departments .sx The system also has the flexibility to cope with a group of people working on one job or an engineer working on another job while waiting for the issue of spare parts .sx The job record is transmitted to the Accounts Department for job costing so that delays between completion of work and invoicing are kept to a minimum .sx Previously , collating , totalling and checking this information manually took ten man hours a day .sx The customer also receives a copy of the job record on his aircraft so that he has a detailed , factual analysis of the time spent and the work carried out .sx If necessary , daily reports can be produced for the customer and the work signed off as it progresses .sx In the longer term the data gathered for the shop floor will prove an important marketing tool in improving estimates , turnaround times and customer service levels , says group project manager Mike Gray .sx At present there is no detailed record of the work content required on an ageing jet aircraft .sx The production of a labour and parts data base will enable FFV to estimate the cost and turnaround time of heavy maintenance checks .sx " Such a system will be invaluable in optimising the productivity of our maintenance facilities and give us the information we need to offer fixed price quotations , " explains Mike Gray .sx Plastic Media Paint Stripping in Aircraft Maintenance .sx THE world is becoming so environmentally conscious that any technique that eliminates or reduces pollution is being strictly monitored .sx Recent trials indicate that plastic media paint stripping may represent one such 'green' technique .sx All aircraft , civil or military , fixed wing or rotary have to be painted several times in their lives to enhance their appearance and invariably , to update their livery .sx Typically , an aircraft is paint stripped and then repainted , as several coats of paint may mean reduced revenue because of weight limitations ; particularly relevant in the case of larger , commercial aircraft .sx Traditionally , the most commonly practicised technique for paint stripping of aircraft has been chemical stripping , predominantly used methylene chloride .sx Apart from the problems of safe disposal of materials , operator working conditions are hazardous and the overall technique is costly .sx An alternative method of shot blasting the surface has also been used and although paint stripping is achieved , the substrate is invariably damaged .sx In the last few years , in the light of the problems associated with the above techniques , many aerospace repair and maintenance organisations have conducted trials on a new technique of plastic media paint stripping which in environmental terms is non-hazardous and if conducted correctly , achieves removal of paint coatings without damaging the substrate material beneath .sx Although several aerospace organisations have given approval for the use of plastic media , trials are still in progress to clearly define the advantages and disadvantages of this technique over traditional methods .sx Several types of plastic media are available , generally made of a thermoset polyester , urea formaldehyde or melamine formaldehyde .sx Plastic media vary in size from 80-8 mesh ( approximately 0.13 - 2.4 mm in size ) and in hardness from 3 - 4 on the mohs scale .sx As a general guide , harder plastic media are faster cutting and are more suitable for hard surfaces and tenacious coatings , whilst software plastic media are used on more delicate parts .sx Plastic media also vary in terms of breakdown .sx Those plastic media with limited breakdown rondate in operation , thus losing their cutting action and developing abrasive peening effects .sx Several distinctive advances over traditional techniques .sx Plastic media paint stripping has several distinctive advantages over traditional techniques .sx It is non-hazardous in environmental terms .sx Dependent on the specific application , plastic media paint stripping is between 2 - 10 times cheaper than chemical stripping .sx Unlike chemical stripping , with selected plastic media , it is possible to remove paint coat by coat , without damaging the substrate material beneath .sx Plastic media can be used on metallic and composite surfaces which is contrary to chemical stripping which is limited to metallic surfaces only .sx To date , plastic media have been used successfully to strip graphite/epoxy , kevlor and fibre - glass composite surfaces .sx Presently , aerospace repair and maintenance organisations are only permitted to remove paint from composite surfaces using mechanical means such as sanding .sx Although sanding has been successful over many years , it is a time consuming technique and one in which damage to the substrate may easily occur .sx Controlled , dry plastic media paint stripping is best achieved manually , using skilled personnel as coat thicknesses vary considerably and it is essential not to dwell on the surface and to aim at multiple passes rather than a continued attack on one area .sx Excessive dwelling results in overheating , with the risk of warpage and even material loss .sx As most aircraft structures and therefore assemblies are mixtures of metallic and composite materials which always vary in thickness , it is essential prior to stripping that an appropriate stripping technique is designated for each area .sx The equipment used for plastic media paint stripping must satisfy the separation requirements necessary to ensure safe operator working conditions .sx Thus , it is necessary to identify what materials are being removed , how they are likely to appear as a mix in the plastic media and whether they can be removed prior to re-blasting by air wash , sieve or mechanical separator .sx The equipment must control delivery sufficiently to enable very low air pressures to be achieved at consistently high feed rates .sx Consistency here is of paramount importance as small variations of pressure and feed rate will vary particle velocity considerably which may result in substantial damage , if delicate structures are being treated .sx Metal Improvement Company have been active for over 40 years in the standard aircraft maintenance operation of controlled shot peening and shot blasting of aerospace structures to remove corrosion , expose exfoliation corrosion , reduce fretting fatigue and restore fatigue life and stress corrosion resistance .sx They now include plastic media paint stripping in the services they offer on site , or at least 3 U.K. facilities .sx Metal Improvement Company are an international corporation with 34 divisions worldwide .sx They believe that plastic media paint stripping can achieve excellent results providing caution , care and control are exercised in the selection of both the type of plastic media and the equipment to be used for each specific allocation .sx Kardex Carousel Storage Keeps British Airways Aircraft on the Move .sx REVIEWING spares storage and maintenance supply systems for their multi - million pound aircraft fleets at Heathrow , British Airways with their reputation for efficiency , could not afford to have their heads in the clouds !sx .sx Moves from multiple locations to a more central , but smaller Engineering Stores facility at Heathrow created the potential for greater operational efficiency , but presented physical problems of storage capacity .sx While high density automated storage and retrieval held the promise of solving the equation , the company were aware that success or failure would turn on system reliability .sx Aircraft service schedules , being pre - planned , demand instant spare parts availability , with aircraft allocated specific time slots , location and positions in the workshop .sx Delays in supplying spares for aircraft servicing and maintenance , which may hold up an aircraft being released into service are costly .sx Additionally , there is a domino effect on later scheduling .sx Absolute reliability of any automated storage system was , therefore , crucial and the lynch pin of success .sx Today , 10 Industriever rotary carousel automated storage and retrieval systems from Kardex Systems ( UK ) Limited are holding a wide variety of spares for the British Airways fleets of 34 , 1-11s ; 43 , 737's ; 17 Tristars and 7 A.320 Airbuses .sx As part of Phase 1 of the installation , four Industrievers were installed in June , 1989 , with a further three in Phase 2 , followed shortly after by three more in Phase 3 .sx The interest of British Airways in rotary carousel storage technology was first stirred in 1986 when methods of concentrating aircraft spares into a more centralised location were examined .sx At this time , parts were held both at Heathrow and Gatwick , entailing considerable transhipment .sx Inside large stores areas , conventional racking was employed both at floor level and on mezzanines .sx The system suffered from demanding a high level of physical effort , much walking to and from different locations with the bending , stooping and reaching associated with conventional racks and shelves .sx Appraisal As part of their appraisal , managers from BA conducted extensive studies into the concept of rotary carousel systems and the relative qualities of specific manufacturers .sx Several Industriever sites were visited , to examine systems in operation , including installations in other aviation-related engineering establishments .sx A visit to Hanover Fair , Europe's shop window for industrial goods , was followed by a visit to Kardex's manufacturing facility at Belheim in West Germany .sx Feasibility studies established essential criteria and examined the capability of carousel systems to meet them ; for example , bottlenecks , hold-ups at access points were not acceptable .sx Picking and replenishment rates were established and the new installation planned jointly by BA managers and Kardex personnel .sx