School of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences

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Student Name
Email address

Islam Ahmed Shafik

Student Number (if known)

Islam.shafik@gmail.com

Address

8 Mohamed el Doumery Street, El nozha ,Cairo, Egypt

Programme
ATM/ASM/AMM

AMM

Module Title

130052830

Word Count

Airline Maintenance

Submission Deadline

14.01.2015

Coursework A or B
Submission Date

1624
A

09.01.2015

DECLARATION:

I confirm that the work is my own, that I have not copied the work of others, nor allowed others to copy my work and that I have
referenced the work of other authors used in an appropriate way. I have also read and complied with the guidelines on plagiarism as
set out in the student handbook. I understand that the university may make use of plagiarism detection software and that my work
may therefore be stored on a database which is accessible to other users of the same software. I certify that the word count
declared is correct.

Acknowledgment by student:

Islam Ahmed Shafik

Students should be aware that, where plagiarism is suspected, a formal investigation

will be carried out, and action may be taken under the university's rules on Academic
Misconduct. This might result in penalties ranging from mark deduction to withdrawal
from the university.
Lecturer / Tutor to complete: Feedback to student

Final Mark

If penalties were applied:

Original mark:
Marks deducted:
Reason for deduction:

Airline Maintenance: Coursework A

By : Islam Ahmed Shafik

List with explanation the key component parts of the Production Planning
and Control process within an aircraft maintenance environment
Introduction:
In the Aviation industry; Timing is crucial. On yearly basis; Airlines suffer from huge
losses due to flight delays; there are many sources of delays and one of the most known causes
of delays is Maintenance. Like any vehicle, Aircrafts must be regularly maintained in order keep
performing well and safe. But in order to keep an airline profitable, maintenance must aid the
Aircraft Operation and not delay it. Therefore the main target of any Maintenance Organization
(Either in house or independent) is to produce a serviceable aircraft / aircraft component on
time. Therefore the most important process in any MRO is the Production Planning and Control
process. This process is considered the heart of any successful MRO. Through this process; all
aircraft maintenance activities are planned, scheduled, performed and controlled. The Process
consists of three main components which are Production Forecasting, Production Planning and
Production Control (1) . Production Forecasting is mainly about determining the workload.
Production Planning covers the Methods of production, Manpower planning, Material/Spars
Planning, Facilities Planning and Production Scheduling. Finally the Production Control is about
working the plan and the feedback to the whole process. In this Paper I will explain each
component of the Production Planning and Control process.
Production Forecasting:
It is known that if we collect enough information about the future, then we might be ready for all
the outcomes. Forecasting is all about collecting data about the changes in the future. It also
involves future workload predictions. From these data; MROs will be able to calculate all the
required Manpower, Spare parts, Facilities, ..etc for the future workload. For simplicity there are
two main types of forecasts, Short term and Long term. Each of them concentrates on a certain
type of data which will be explained below.
Short term Forecast focuses mainly on the upcoming detailed work load. It usually covers 1 to
2 Years. There are four main sources of information(2) and data for short term forecast:
First, the Airline Operating Plan. This will include the number of Aircrafts, The Fleet
Composition (Aircrafts Types), Routs and Destinations, Flight Schedule and Flight Hours.
Second, the Maintenance/Technical Plan. It consists of the Maintenance Routine Tasks,
Checks and Limitations in the Maintenance planning document (MPD) which will be used
in the development of the approved maintenance schedule.
Third, Special Projects. These are onetime events that are either Authority/Manufacturer
Driven (Ex. Airworthiness Directives and Service Bulletins) or Airline Driven (Ex. Cabin
refurbishment, Aircraft repainting etc.).
Forth Unforeseen Items, This means the Accidents, Incidents and unplanned failures.
Although these items cannot be predicted, but there occurrence must be taken in
consideration during Planning.
Independent MROs must also take in consideration the potential Maintenance events that are
available in the market and they are planning to tackle them.
Short term Forecasts must be periodically revised and updated, thats because of the
continuous change of the data of the above sources
Long Term Forecasts are more generic than the short term. It covers for 5 to 10 years. It focuses
on the MRO & Airlines strategic goals, For example Building a new Hanger, Introducing a new
Date: 07/01/2015

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Airline Maintenance: Coursework A

By : Islam Ahmed Shafik

aircraft to the fleet (Ex A380), Adding Aircrafts to the current fleet, phasing out Aircrafts from the
fleet , exploring new markets (Like Asia or Africa), Mergers and alliances of airlines ..etc. Mostly
all future plans have an impact of the production and future work load. This type of Forecast is
revised and updated on annual biases because corporate strategies are more stable.
After collecting all the needed information and data for the future workload. The Production
Planners have the sufficient information to begin the Planning Phase of the Process.
Production Planning:
The Aircraft Maintenance Program defines the Maintenance Intervals by Flight Hours an cycles.
These intervals are commonly known as Transit, Daily, 48Hours, Weekly, A, B (not for all types),
C and D Checks. Each of these check have a different set of tasks, tool requirements, material
requirements, Man-hours, Facilities..etc. . Therefore not all of the check types can be planned
using the same method.
Some Check like Transit, Daily, 48Hours and Weekly are considered Standard checks and in
many airlines these check are planned by the Maintenance Control Centre in the Line
Maintenance. The PPC only gets involved at the beginning of the establishment of the standard
Work Packages and when some additional tasks are required (Ex. Simple ADs, Mods..).
In all the other Maintenance Checks (A Check or higher) the PPC Carries out all the detailed
planning process. Before the beginning of the planning process the PPC must defines the
following Items for all the upcoming checks (Known from the forecast stage):
Routine Tasks: These tasks are extracted from the MPD and assigned on each check
type according to the task interval.
ADs, MODs : These are the Additional Tasks that are either Authority or Airline
Requirement
Deferred Tasks: These are the Tasks which were postponed form previous checks.
Required Skills for each Task: Here they must define who can accomplish each of the
above tasks. This include the Authorisation Type (B1, B2, A or QT), the experience (New
or Experienced) and any other requirement (Ex. Small bodied QT for fuel tank access)
Required Man-hours: Calculate the estimated Man-hour required for each task and the
required manpower for it using previous experience and manufacturer recommendations.
Required Materials: Define all the Materials, spars, Mod Kits required for the check.
Required Tools: Define all the general and special tools required
Facility Requirements: Define the facilities needed to complete the check (Ex.. Is a
Hanger, Engine run area, washing area required)
Maintenance Data: Here the PPC must ensure that all the required Maintenance Data
will be available to the production staff ( AMM, CMM, IPC, SRM .. )
Fully engineered Task Cards: which includes all the required data from the above items,
also it will include a sequenced step by step instructions for how to complete the Tasks.
After defining all the detailed requirements for the checks, the PPC will begin the planning for
the upcoming checks.
First, the Manpower planning. PPC will check the available Manpower VS the required Manhours (workload) taking in consideration the annual vacation plan, Sick leaves, Training Plan ,
Shift patterns and Human factor Limitations. In case there is not enough manpower to
accomplish the work, a Hiring and Training plans must be established to overcome the shortage
in manpower.

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Airline Maintenance: Coursework A

By : Islam Ahmed Shafik

Second, Material Planning. PPC must always monitor the stock level of materials. And in
cooperation with the supply chain team/department they must ensure that all the required
materials and spars are available at the time of the check. To do so they will need to calculate
the quantity required, the consumption rate, the supplier delivery time and the finances required.
Sometimes airlines make special agreements with suppliers and manufacturers to secure their
stock levels.
Third, Ground Facilities Planning. After knowing what facilities are needed for each upcoming
check, PPC must ensure their availability at the time of the check. If some facilities are not
available for any reason, subcontracting some tasks may be an efficient solution, but if the
repeatedly required, maybe an investment in a new facility is the right solution (ex. An MRO is
always short on Hanger Slots and is always subcontracting work to competitors, Investment in
a New Hanger will be a good Idea.
At the end of the planning phase, Production scheduling takes place. After gathering all the
required data and securing all the required resources, PPC and the workstation establishes
Production schedules for all the upcoming checks by assigning Work packs to facilities, Staff ,
Material/spars, Tools ..etc . The time of each check will be set taking in consideration the
unplanned non-routine tasks. Usually this process is done before the actual check date by 1 to
2 weeks in simple checks (A,2A..) and by 4 to 6 weeks in Complex Checks (C) and sometimes
several months in case of heavy maintenance checks.
The Production has now begun. No comes the Production Control Phase.
Production Control:
During production, it is expected that many things will occur that will case deviation from the
Target schedule. PPC main role is to manoeuvre with the whole production process to meet the
required targets. For example, if there was a sudden shortage of manpower. The PPC may
request extended shifts or Contracted personnel. Another example, some inspections and
checks generate additional unplanned tasks due to failure of some parts (Ex leakage or crack),
the PPC must take a fast decision whether to carry out the additional tasks and integrate them
in the current schedule or request extension for the maintenance check days or defer these
tasks to another check During this phase the main role of the PPC is to ensure that all the
Maintenance tasks are done and the Aircraft is Airworthy, The Target date is met and there is
no delay, and the budget is not exceeded.
After the Release of the Aircraft, Post Production Performance analysis must take place. This
will be considered as the feedback to the system. The lessons learned from the current event
will aid the Future plans.
Conclusion:
To conclude; Production Planning and control Process is the stem of any MRO. It is the main
indicator whether this is a successful MRO or not. The success of this Process will not only
benefit the MRO, but it will also benefit the Airlines. And the Main objectives of the whole
Process is to deliver of a fully serviceable aircraft on Time, at the right Quality, and Cost(2)

References:
(1) Aviation Maintenance Management. A Book By Harry Kinnison & Tariq Siddiqui
(2) Course Material : PPC Presentation
Date: 07/01/2015

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