Miller said that the MD-11 telemetry strategy focuses on capturing pneumatic temperatures produced by the aircraft engines in three stages. In an effort to keep all MD-11s flying as efficiently as possible, UPS has developed a fleet-specific data analytics program applicable to all 37 of the MD-11 freighters it operates.įrom a telemetry standpoint, the MD-11 analytics fleet health strategy has expanded in recent years to capture all of the pneumatic temperatures coming off the engines in three different stages, according to Randy Miller, who leads the MD-11 data analytics program for UPS. The MD-11 has been flying for more than 25 years with UPS, and there are no plans on retiring the airframe. Thus, the team members try to ensure that maintenance is performed in a timely manner so that they almost never have to take off with a missing thrust reverser. A penalty they could incur is not being able to land on a wet runway, because aircraft flying without a thrust reverser cannot land on wet runways. Additionally, if a pressurization system or pneumatic system is removed temporarily, airborne UPS aircraft can suffer from penalties. “Pneumatic system pressurization problems can cause rejected takeoffs on the 747 and 767,” said Wagner. This is best known as predictive or proactive aircraft maintenance. Once the pressure exceeds the threshold, a work order is written so that the identified part causing the pressure problem is swapped out before it fails. If the pneumatic system’s pressure level exceeds the established pressure threshold, then the team understands that one of the components within the pneumatic system is on the brink of failure. On every 747 and 767 takeoff, his team takes a look at the pressure of the pneumatic system at 80 kt from takeoff. “We develop triggers for them to where we can impact that pain index number and bring it down by getting to maintenance ahead of time before it manifests itself in a delay, cancellation or service failure.”Īccording to Wagner, UPS uses a data-driven approach to monitoring the pneumatic pressures on its Boeing 767s and 747s. Those cause the greatest deal of pain,” Wagner said. “For example, ATA-36 is pneumatics, ATA-21 is air conditioning and ATA-29 is hydraulic power. UPS ensures aircraft maintenance delays do not impact its ability to delivery every package to its destination on time by using a fleet data analytics program. The maintenance team has documented the causes of service failures using the Air Transportation Association (ATA) aircraft component and numbering system. “That pain index is a compilation of delays, cancellations, pilot reports and minimum equipment list (MEL) items,” said Wagner. Based on the operational thresholds established for those systems, UPS receives fault-code messaging and triggered alerts, alerting it to when a system or component is on the brink of failure. What it has established is what Wagner refers to as a “pain index.” By constantly monitoring pilot reports and service failures associated with specific aircraft types within its fleet, it has identified specific aircraft systems and components that cause the most pain. Over the past decade, the maintenance division of UPS Air Cargo has been using a combination of digital analytics tools for its fleet maintenance program. Between 20, UPS will add 14 new 747-8 freighters and four new 767s. UPS’ fleet is made up of 240 aircraft, the majority of which are Boeing 757s and 767s, Airbus A300s and McDonnell Douglas MD-11s. “Having data ahead of time, and being able to get to aircraft maintenance gateways and have them understand the problem and diagnose it as quick as possible, is critical to our mission. “We’re flying a lot of flight critical stuff, like medical supplies that have to be delivered within a 24-hour period,” said Tom Wagner, manager of aircraft maintenance technical support and data analytics at UPS. UPS ensures aircraft maintenance delays do not impact its ability to delivery every package to its destination on time by using an extensive fleet data analytics program that takes advantage of line-fit avionics and Boeing’s airplane health management (AHM) system, among other digital analytics tools. The air cargo carrier is also now operating new routes in Lithuania, Poland and Spain, and a new chartered flight between its European hub in Cologne, Germany, and Casablanca. The Kentucky-based global logistics company also increased flight frequencies in the Asia-Pacific region last year, while adding a five-time-per-week flight between Louisville and Dubai, its longest route at 6,691 nm. UPS delivered 5.1 billion packages via air and ground in 2017.
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