Centralized management of maintenance and materials for commercial aircraft fleets with fleet-wide benchmarking data

Abstract

Turnkey maintenance of a customer's aircraft fleet is managed by a single management service provider (MSP) controlling integrated maintenance and materials services from a central operations site. The MSP converts data received directly from on-board aircraft systems into information it uses to manage maintenance service providers and parts suppliers. The MSP contracts with and manages maintenance, repair and overhaul organizations (MROs) who perform the maintenance on the customers' aircraft at line and base stations. The MSP either remotely manages part inventories at the customer's site, or manages suppliers who deliver the parts to the MROs. Maintenance planning, scheduling and execution information is exchanged between the MSP, MROs, part suppliers and the customers through a shared data communication network controlled by the MSP. The MSP charges the customer for the maintenance services based on a flat rate per unit of aircraft flying time.

1 . A method of managing maintenance of vehicle fleets for customers, comprising the steps of: 
 (A) collecting data from each vehicle in the fleet relating to the condition of the vehicle;    (B) organizing a plurality of maintenance service providers under the control of an integrator to provide maintenance service for the vehicles in the fleet;    (C) organizing a plurality of part suppliers under the control of the integrator to provide parts used in the maintenance service; and,    (D) using the data collected in step (A) to establish the effectiveness of the maintenance service.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of storing the data collected in step (A), and wherein step (D) includes using the data to determine the reliability of each vehicle in the fleet.  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein step (D) includes using the data to determine the reliability of the fleet.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein: 
 the data includes information relating to problems on the vehicle requiring maintenance or repair, and    step (D) includes using the data to establish performance benchmarks,    wherein the benchmarks are used to establish the effectiveness of the maintenance.    
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein: 
 the data includes information relating to the utilization and to the health of the vehicle, and    step (D) includes using the data to establish performance benchmarks, and using the benchmarks to determine the reliability of the vehicles.    
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the steps of: 
 (E) charging the customer a fee for providing the service and parts based on the number of hours the vehicle is in service over a period of time, and    (F) adjusting the fee based on the effectiveness established in step (D).    
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the steps of: 
 (E) using the data to establish vehicle performance benchmarks; and    (F) providing the benchmarks to the customer.    
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of providing a vehicle reliability guarantee from the integrator to the customer based on the effectiveness of the maintenance service.  
     
     
         9 . A method of managing maintenance of commercial fleet aircraft for customers, comprising the steps of: 
 (A) organizing maintenance service providers under the control of an integrator to provide maintenance service for the aircraft in the fleet;    (B) organizing part suppliers under the control of the integrator to provide parts used in the maintenance service;    (C) collecting real-time data related to the operation of each of the aircraft;    (D) converting the data collected in step (C) into information representing the reliability of each aircraft;    (E) establishing reliability benchmarks for the fleet using the reliability information; and,    (F) comparing the reliability of the aircraft in the fleet with the benchmarks.    
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising the step of providing the benchmarks to the customer.  
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising the steps of: 
 (G) charging the customer a fee for the parts and maintenance service based on the number of flight hours the aircraft is in service over a period of time;    (H) adjusting the fee based on the results of the comparison performed in step (F).    
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein step (H) includes reducing the fee is the reliability of the fleet is less than the benchmarks.  
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein step (H) includes increasing the fee if the reliability of the fleet is greater than the benchmarks.  
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the data collected in step (C) includes: 
 the number of flight hours the aircraft is in service over a period of time,    the utilization of the aircraft over the time period, and    an identification of problems with systems on-board the aircraft requiring maintenance.    
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein step (C) includes: 
 wirelessly transmitting the data from the aircraft to the ground, and    storing the data at a central operations center controlled by the integrator.    
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the customer pays the integrator for the maintenance service and the parts based on the customer's level of use of the aircraft and the results of the comparison performed in step (F).  
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the data collected in step (C) includes: 
 on-board aircraft faults,    the number of aircraft flight hours, and    the number of aircraft flight cycles.    
     
     
         18 . A method of managing maintenance of fleet aircraft for customers, comprising the steps of: 
 (A) organizing a group of maintenance service providers and part suppliers under the control of an integrator to provide maintenance service and parts for the aircraft in the fleet;    (B) collecting real-time data from each of the aircraft related to the operation of the aircraft;    (C) generating reliability information representing the reliability of the aircraft based on the data collected in step (B); and,    (D) using the reliability information generated in step (C) to establish benchmarks for the reliability of the fleet.    
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the data collected in step (B) includes: 
 on-board aircraft faults,    the number of aircraft flight hours, and    the number of aircraft flight cycles.    
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising the step of: 
 (E) comparing the reliability of the fleet with the benchmarks.    
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , further comprising the steps of: 
 (F) charging the customer a fee for the maintenance service and parts provide in step (A) based the number of flight hours each aircraft is in service; and    (G) adjusting the fee charged in step (F) based on the results on the comparison performed in step (E).    
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising the steps of: 
 (E) providing the customer with a guarantee that the fleet will exhibit at least a predetermined level of aircraft reliability;    (F) charging the customer a fee for the maintenance service and parts provided in step (A) based on the number of flight hours the aircraft is in service; and    (G) adjusting the fee if the fleet exhibits a level of reliability less the predetermined level.    
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising the step of using the reliability information generated in step (C) to manage the maintenance service and parts provided in step (A).