RUNNING HEAD: Case study analysis

CASE STUDY ANALYSIS

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CASE STUDY ANALYSIS

Table of Contents

Introduction......................................................................................................................................3

Issues of traditional aircraft development processes.......................................................................3

Advantages of digital technologies, which COMAC can apply for their aircraft manufacturing
process.............................................................................................................................................4

Digital transformation strategies for COMAC by using a decision matrix.....................................6

Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8

References........................................................................................................................................9
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CASE STUDY ANALYSIS

Introduction

The digital transformational strategy of Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China

(COMAC), Ltd is the focus of this study. COMAC is a government-owned limited-liability
corporation. It was approved by the State Council and is jointly invested by the State Council's
State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC). COMAC is a
prominent manufacturer of liner and regional jet aircraft.

Issues of traditional aircraft development processes

The development and construction of big aircraft are complicated, time-consuming, and
technically challenging due to rigorous aerodynamic criteria, frequent design modifications,
multiple product variants, diverse part materials and forms, complex internal structures, and
compact interior space. As a result, digital technology is critically needed in the aircraft
manufacturing sector to increase design quality and efficiency. MBD (model-based definition) is
a new approach for digitally defining goods that goes beyond two-dimensional engineering
drawings.

COMAC is very determined to overcome significant technological innovations, build 5G

networks, realise 4G+ edge computing, deploy private clouds, and incorporate big data, AR, and
artificial intelligence techniques to develop a batch of 5G cloud applications (Liao, Zhao &
Zhang, 2021). Due to strict aerodynamic constraints, frequent design revisions, many product
variations, different part materials and shapes, complex internal structures, and restricted interior
space, the development and production of large aircraft is complicated, time-consuming, and
technically hard.

Aircraft development is a complex process that requires precise project plans and cycle
management, as well as better supplier management and constantly optimised risk measures.
COMAC is a good illustration of China's advanced manufacturing industry's sophistication.
Design and main manufacturers, ten airframe structure suppliers, 24 airborne equipment
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providers, 16 material suppliers, and 54 standard part vendors were all engaged in the C919
aircraft's research and development.

MBD creates a three-dimensional (3D) product model that incorporates both product
design information and manufacturing needs. MBD has a significant effect, reducing the
aircraft's design, production preparation, and manufacturing cycle by 40 per cent, 75 per cent,
and 30 per cent, respectively (Yin, Chen & Zhao, 2019). China was unable to create an MBD
technology collaborative research team until 2009 due to a technological barrier.

COMAC created an integrated and collaborative atmosphere across the venture and
supply chain, allowing all business connections to fully utilise the established MBD single data
source for work; product data sharing across the venture; and quick, smooth, and comparatively
low deployment.

According to Chengyun, Yi & Xuhan (2021), COMAC recognises that digital adoption
necessitates a clear vision and long-term commitment but also recognises the necessity to ensure
company continuity. They're concerned about issues like resilience and connection, especially
when shifting from pilot projects to full-scale adoption, as well as the financial and reputational
consequences. Industrial 4.0 (Germany), industrial Internet (USA), and China Manufacturing
2025 have all been proposed recently to boost the modernisation of manufacturing strategies, and
data-driven intelligent manufacturing is the development of conditions and trends that are
unavoidable for modern global manufacturing.

In essence, the commercial aviation industry is continuing to improve and enhance

conventional aircraft, as it has done for the past 100 years, with the goal of lowering prices and
reducing the environmental effects. However, the industry is moving in new directions, with
super-efficient new airliners that will look completely different, electric-powered rotorcraft that
will revolutionise urban transportation, and hypersonic aeroplanes that will protect the world's
environment while shrinking the distance between its people. Air travel may look considerably
different in a few decades than it does now.
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CASE STUDY ANALYSIS

Advantages of digital technologies, which COMAC can apply for their

aircraft manufacturing process

Thanks to extensive popularisation and rapid growth of information technology and

industrialisation, Internet information technology has totally entered the industrial production
chain. Modern manufacturing industrial systems create enormous volumes of data in real-time,
and systematic mining and analysis of this data may significantly enhance product manufacture.

The event clearly demonstrated the fundamental shifts we see across the aircraft industry:
more competition, new consumer passenger expectations around comfort and amenities, and the
growing distinction between high-end and low-cost options. The influence of growing
environmental limitations, as well as the ever-present and basic problem of safety, were also
evident. These developments are having a significant impact on the industry, both on the ground
and in the air (Teng, 2020). From tour operators, airports, and travel firms to manufacturers and
their subcontractors, they are all affected.

Aircraft manufacturers competed on cost and their ability to differentiate themselves via
continual innovation, demonstrating the severity of competition. You can see how they've
slashed development timelines in recent years to accomplish both of these goals. It was clear
how important collaborative platforms and High-Performance Computing (HPC) are. These
technologies work together to improve timeframes, accuracy, and efficiency during the
development process and modelling phases.

In both civil and military aviation, the COMAC is characterised by abrupt fluctuations in
workload, both up and down. During the air show, we see how firms can adjust to severe
unpredictability quickly and cost-effectively by computerising manufacturing (Zhang et al.,
2021). They're using the Internet of Things (IoT) and Big Data to build completely automated
manufacturing units, implementing predictive maintenance to increase machine availability, and
implementing platforms to improve cooperation throughout their supply chains. They're also
looking at the huge potential that additive manufacturing provides for enhancing the flexibility
and responsiveness of industrial processes.
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When it comes to handling rising quantities of passengers, digital technology will be a

significant tool for COMAC, which is why airports with the most capacity limitations are turning
to digital for more efficiency, operational resilience, and agility. Zhang et al. (2021) suggested
that COMAC should place a high value on informatisation work and aggressively investigate the
practice of trunk liner development. This forum was centred on the airline industry, with a focus
on high-end manufacturing, and showcased achievements in enterprise digital transformation to
exchange management and innovation experience, promote reform and development of digital
technology enabling, and is a grand meeting for government, industry, and research institutes to
understand each other, as well as a gathering for technology pioneer to exchange ideas.

COMAC would also encourage the growth of an intelligent manufacturing system,

achieve enterprise work mode innovation and breakthroughs, realise single data source
management, enterprise management integration, informatisation and digitisation, upgrade
system integration model, and serve as a bridge to enhance the coordinated development of civil
aircraft.

Ultimately, COMAC employs MBD technology to execute digital product definition and
uses IoT, 5G, and other information technologies as a data connectivity bridge (Zhang et al.,
2021). COMAC has begun the design, testing, manufacture, service, and supply-chain
management of digital goods, as well as the digitisation of the whole business process, on this
foundation.

Digital transformation strategies for COMAC by using a decision matrix

In recent years, the Internet has expedited the penetration of information technology into
and integration with the economy and society; with the rapid growth of the digital economy,
digital transformation has become a major issue and focus of contemporary informatisation
efforts. The cornerstone of intelligent manufacturing is digitalisation, which is the initial stage in
an organisation's digital transformation. The digitisation of aeroplane production is a difficult
task.

COMAC digitisation is primarily seen in the creation of data-driven goods, the building
of a factory based on digital models, and the creation of an information platform for data
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collecting, storage, and circulation in order to fully comprehend the physical manufacturing
process (Dong et al., 2020). With the implementation of predictive data collection and analysis,
an effective data analysis decision-making and feedback control system can efficiently
incorporate the production chain by allowing for real-time and efficient decisions regarding
actual production and manufacturing, facilitating intelligent product manufacturing.

The second initiative, smart manufacturing, is the major trend in China's manufacturing
modernisation process, stressing digitisation, networking, and intelligence. The use of the
industrial Internet can effectively promote data-driven manufacturing models, precisely allocate
production and service resources, facilitate the advancement of traditional industries, create new
technologies, forms, and models, as well as provide a technical groundwork for the growth of
advanced manufacturing industries.

According to Hu & Liu, (2021) COMAC can successfully execute its industrial Internet
innovation and development plan, promoting the building of the three key systems of the
industrial Internet network, platforms, and security, as well as the formation of a new industrial
production and service system. The layout of the five top national nodes of the identification and
analysis system had been finished, and network transformation had been accomplished fully.

COMAC can break the data link between engineering research and development and
product manufacturing to acknowledge the digital transformation based on intelligent
manufacturing. The merging with information system and virtual manufacturing environment
with the physical environment of production sites, and recognise the digital transformation based
on intelligent manufacturing.

Teng (2020) suggested that COMAC can commit to confronting significant key
technologies, developing 5G networks, realising 4G+ edge computing, implementing private
clouds, and combining big data, AR, and AI techniques to develop a batch of 5G cloud
applications. The real-time capture of production data is achieved by combining cameras and
sensors with the latest generation of communication technologies. The issues of "blind eyes,"
"blind persons feeling pictures," and "seeing flowers in the fog" are handled at the manufacturing
site using image recognition, machine learning, data analysis, and intelligent solutions.
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COMAC, on the other hand, continues to promote intelligent technology research and
implementation. Exhibit 2 shows COMAC's intelligent technology, which is presently being
used in intelligent manufacturing (Zhang et al., 2021). Under the primary manufacturer–multiple
suppliers’ model, COMAC can develop a set of collaborative manufacturing technologies and
management methodologies that serve as a successful reference for the intelligent production of
big and complicated goods such as aviation devices, aerospace devices, and ships. COMAC still
has a long way to go in terms of implementing new technologies. The use of new technology is
not restricted to COMAC companies; it also necessitates collaboration between upstream and
downstream companies in the industry.

Conclusion

Digital intelligent manufacturing presents China's manufacturing industry with a once-in-

a-lifetime opportunity and opportunity to execute innovation-driven growth plans and become a
manufacturing powerhouse. COMAC is proactively dedicated to achieving the intelligent
manufacturing of digital transformation, therefore allowing intelligent manufacture of large
aircraft, thanks to the fast growth of information technologies such as 5G, big data, and IoT.
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References

Journals
Chengyun, W., Yi, C., & Xuhan, Z. (2021, July). Simulation Model and Verification of Heat
Transfer Characteristics in Aircraft Cabin Bulkhead. In Journal of Physics: Conference
Series (Vol. 1965, No. 1, p. 012041). IOP Publishing. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-
1050/11/16/4266
Dong, W., Wang, Y., Li, X., & Dong, D. (2020, November). Commonality Considerations in the
Design of Flight Deck of Civil Aircraft. In Journal of Physics: Conference Series (Vol.
1678, No. 1, p. 012037). IOP Publishing. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-
6596/1678/1/012037/pdf
Hu, X., & Liu, Y. (2021, May). Improving Thermal Comfort in Aircraft Cockpit Based on
Optimisation of Supply Air Grille. In IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental
Science (Vol. 769, No. 4, p. 042059). IOP Publishing.
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/769/4/042059/pdf
Liao, K., Zhao, Y., & Zhang, X. (2021, March). A Simulation Platform for Airport Runway
Collision Warning System. In Journal of Physics: Conference Series (Vol. 1827, No. 1,
p. 012044). IOP Publishing. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-
6596/1827/1/012044/pdf
Teng, X. (2020). Discuss the Lean Countermeasures of Commercial Aircraft Production Project
Management.
http://clausiuspress.com/conferences/LNEMSS/EDMS%202020/G8100.pdf
Yin, X., Chen, J., & Zhao, C. (2019). Double Screen Innovation: Building sustainable core
competence through knowledge management. Sustainability, 11(16), 4266.
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/16/4266
Zhang, G., Liu, S., Zhang, L., & Zhang, J. (2021, March). The Design of Static Test Scheme for
Composite Aileron Structure of Large Aircraft. In IOP Conference Series: Materials
Science and Engineering (Vol. 1102, No. 1, p. 012002). IOP Publishing.
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1757-899X/1102/1/012002/pdf
Zhang, J., Zhang, X., Guo, D., & Li, H. (2021, March). Application of Model-Based System
Engineering Method in Civil Aircraft Communication System Design. In Journal of
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Physics: Conference Series (Vol. 1827, No. 1, p. 012201). IOP Publishing.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/1827/1/012201/pdf