Airbus Group as announced that the company’s President Asia Pacific, Pierre Jaffre, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tan Kong Hwee, Director, Transport Engineering of Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB), to establish a programme to develop technologies intended to improve efficiency of aircraft maintenance.
Airbus Group is expected to assemble a 10-strong team to collaborate with local institutions to adapt technologies to the particular needs of the highly regulated aircraft maintenance industry. Dubbing the project the “Future Hangar Initiative,” Airbus Group and its research partners plan to explore technologies for improving the efficacy and speed of aircraft maintenance and repair including a complete scan of an aircraft when it rolls into the hangar to digitalised inspections and employing 3D printers to make spare parts on site.
Pierre Jaffre said of the agreement, “The effort will focus on leveraging on the latest technology trends that have emerged in recent years, in particular the digitalisation of the shop floor.” He added, “These technologies will help maintenance engineers and technicians to access relevant information on demand, which will save tremendous amounts of time lost with more traditional MRO best practices and technologies,” he added.
Tan Kong Hwee added, “To maintain our competitive edge in MRO, Singapore is committed to working with companies to innovate and develop technologies for use in hangars and facilities. This programme with Airbus Group will leverage the strengths of our aerospace ecosystem, and is an example of how aerospace companies can partner with Singapore to develop and test innovative solutions to boost productivity and enhance competitiveness.”
Source: Airbus Group
