Digital Transformation in DWH MRO: Delivering long term-value.

Akinsanmi Akinduro

October 2023.

As digitalization is causing an increasing global competition across all industries and the
challenges faced by the aviation industry in the wake of the COVID -19 pandemic, Digital MRO
(Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul) is fast becoming the core strategy of all the aviation group
helping to gain the competitive advantage over others. According to a Market Research future
Report, the global digital MRO market is expected to register a 12% annual growth during the
forecast period 2019-2030. The report showed that the digital transformation of the aviation
industry will positively impact all other sectors in the industry.

The Digital MRO market Size was valued at $8.2B in 2022. It is projected to grow from USD 9.1
billion this year to USD22.01 billion by 2032 which is a projected growth of 11.60%. This has
shown that the adoption of digital technology is a key market driver for the MRO market.
The digital transformation in MRO provides cloud/system-based software to coordinate,
monitor, and improve all aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul processes. This will be
across all the various functions from aircraft handling, safety and security services, workforce
management, hangar operations, all enhanced with analytics. This provides improved Big Data
analytics on the historical and real time generated data and will improve predictive
maintenance while reducing cost and aircraft downtime.

DWH MRO

DWH is one of the most accomplished aircraft designers and manufacturers in the Canadian
history. The production line from the Twin Otters, Beavers, Caribou, The Dash 7s and Dash 8s
with the history of the organization from the 1928.

DWH began the MRO and the aircraft conversion program in 2015 and has since partnered with
various top airlines across the world for MRO and aircraft conversion services. Beginning with
the first MRO contract on the first aircraft, it is a huge challenge for DWH to compete with other
big players in the industry due to some challenges in the process and set up. The company is
struggling to improve the value creation to customers as competition is not only stiff, but
airlines cannot afford to keep aircrafts grounded for too long. To be successful and increase the
cost of MRO, DWH will have to reduce operating cost across the entire MRO cycle. To succeed,
there is need for fundamental and systemic operational changes.
The Future of DWH with Digital Transformation

To improve value created and compete with the other providers, the confluence of AI, Advanced
analytics, and new technologies will help to achieve higher operational efficiencies. By bringing
together ERP systems, electronic flight bags, mobile and wearable technologies, embedded IoT
and seamless interlinked external systems. Efficiently consolidating all of these to build a
formidable data platform will bring about the efficient operation of the MRO. Using an
engineering tool like Systems Modelling Language (SysML) to maintain our competitive
advantage will involve streamlining of the existing processes and switching to a faster and more
efficient operating model. The competitiveness growth will be able proportionate to the growth
of the digital MRO.

How Digital Transformation will help DWH.

The process will involve the use of data. The platform and the data selection and collection,
analysis and labelling, and Algorithm training. Our MRO platform will pull aircraft operation’s
data through cloud, web-based system to provide the operating pattern of the aircraft. These
data can also be submitted by the GOL maintenance teams.

The collected data will be analysed by the system to understand the pattern and weaknesses
that needs to be improved. The system will provide the foundation of the aircraft problems, and
this will help reduce the ground time.

The interaction between the physical and the cyber world. Our MRO system starts from the date
an aircraft begins operation because of the data collection system. The data is continuously
transmitted from the aircraft to the system which will advice airlines on what and when to carry
out a maintenance – this improves the efficiency of the aircraft and will also reduce the ground
time. In return, this improves the efficiency of the MRO process.
The DWH new cyber-physical model will predict the need for maintenance, providing warning,
and providing decisions based on safety. These will lead to reduction in an aircraft downtime. It
will bring efficiencies to heavy maintenance processes and causing increased profits to the
airlines. This is value creation to the airlines and profits to DWH.

Skills, Equipment, and Organizational change.

DWH aligning the digital transformation programs with the business outcomes is the key.
Implementing a change management strategy with a comprehensive management strategy that
flows from the top and keeps an open communication that removes the data silo and bridge the
skills gap. Employees must be empowered and motivated to help improve their performance.

[1]https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/digital-mro-market-8603

[2] https://www.icas.org/ICAS_ARCHIVE/ICAS2018/data/papers/ICAS2018_0664_paper.pdf