Lufthansa Technik
Defining a Framework for Classifying Standard / Non-Standard (MRO) Processes Based on Common Industry Standards
Description of the company
Lufthansa Technik is a global leader in maintenance, repair and overhaul services as well as modifications in the aviation industry. With tailor-made maintenance programs and the most advanced repair procedures, we ensure the reliability and availability of our customers' aircraft.
We are independent of aircraft manufacturers and are internationally licensed as a repair, manufacturing and design company. With more than 26,000 employees and over 30 international subsidiaries, the Lufthansa Technik Group offers a complete service to around 800 customers around the world in its Maintenance, Overhaul, Equipment, Engines, Aircraft Systems, VIP Services, Innovation and Digital Fleet Service business units around aircraft technology.
The project is provided and supervised by the IT department "HAM T/TI R-EF (Information Management Repair Shops).”
Initial situation
In our MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul) business, the SAP system has to hold information and processes from many different user groups throughout the company. We are talking about sales, purchasing, manufacturing, material management, financial service and the whole maintenance process. SAP delivers a solution for Aerospace & Defense industry based on standard processes.
Even though our SAP is based on a standardized IT solution, the question remains behind all IT development how the system landscape is to meet the extensive demands of the modern aerospace and defense industry.
Nowadays IT tries to develop an application to match exactly the user’s needs. To reach this goal we have to understand the process behind all activities done by users. Such process can include different steps, some of them done manually and others are automated, and include different user groups throughout the company. This is not a simple task anymore. The complexity behind some of the processes often looks like we need thousands of individual digital solutions. Supporting such huge amount of different solutions in operation means high operation cost because of high maintainability effort and low usability.
Problem
LHT has different business segments to meet the customer needs in MRO business operating all over the world. For this reason, many IT solutions have been developed throughout the last years. Even though different business segments are working in different domains of the MRO process, many steps, workflows and requirements within and towards the IT system are essentially the same. Because the business segments are highly individual, it often seems as if processes differ and requirements towards an SAP solution are individual.
As of today, there is no framework for measuring whether or not a process can be standardized and used by many stakeholders in the same way.
While purchase or finance are easily standardized, especially the repair processes of the MRO business tend towards individual IT-solutions, creating a very diverse and high maintenance IT landscape. As the departments are convinced that what they do follows mainly non-standard processes, as of today IT follows individual needs while not forcing business to use standard processes as much as possible. Therefore, the process analysis needs to focus on process characteristics rather than individual process steps.
While the current IT solution perfectly fits the needs of a single business segment, it is costly and slow due to complexity and individual programming. Chances in using new technology are hindered through this.
Project Goals
Develop a metric based framework to find out characteristic for standard MRO processes. Industry standards should be used as blue print. This framework shall be tested on at least one LHT specific MRO process.
The final goal of such a framework is to help LHT to establish more and more standard solutions for MRO IT-processes in the future. This should have a positive effect on IT costs and enhance flexibility on using digital solution developed for our business.
Time permitting, a prototyping of a knowledge based app for identifying standard processes would be an on top activity. This app would assist the user (e.g. via a questionnaire) to sort processes by degree of standardization.
Tasks
- Identifying MRO standard process in Defense and Aerospace industry
- Defining a characteristic of MRO standard process
- Defining metrics to evaluate the standard process
- Developing a framework which can be used for validation of processes
- Prototyping a knowledge based app for identifying standard processes (time permitting)
- Testing/ validation through one of LHT process
Target group (students)
For this project, we are looking for highly motivated students in computer science and engineering who are interested in finding out how the digital solution should be harmonized for future MRO industries
Dates
Please save these dates: Fishing for Experience - Dates
Registration
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