Enhanced Visibility and Planning of Distributed Activities through EFPF WASP Solution

In the aerospace manufacturing sector, highly customised commercial aircraft products often require precise solutions developed and provided by small but innovative high-tech companies. The customer demands, e.g., for novel cabin features, specialist parts and maintenance services must be developed and delivered quickly with high-tech SMEs' close collaboration.

The Aerospace Pilot in the EFPF project encompass several scenarios related to the ad-hoc setup of a production network involving multiple SME suppliers. One such scenario is from the partner Allied Maintenance (AAM) that manages the transport trailers (trolleys) that are used to transport various jigs (devices) across customer locations in Hamburg (Germany), Toulouse, St. Nazaire (France) and Mobile/Alabama (USA). As part of regulatory compliance, AAM needs to carry out a monthly visual inspection of these trolleys about damage and, if necessary, to carry out repair work immediately. These inspections are carried out by following German accident prevention regulations (DGUV) and only certified trollies can be used for transportation.

To bring automation and more visibility into the trolly tracking and maintenance processes, the EFPF WASP (Workflow and Service Automation Platform) is used by AAM. WASP allows fast automation and orchestration of distributed activities in a standardised way. The adjecent workflow is implemented in WASP to provide real-time information to AAM concerning the status of trollies and their maintenance needs.

To address the AAM scenario, WASP offers a corresponding service character as it enables AAM to communicate with their customers in a more targeted manner. The advantage for AAM is that they receive information about the condition of the trolleys much earlier when they use WASP and in this way they can plan the reported repairs in advance. The procurement of spare parts can also be planned much better resulting in the cost reduction by about 20%, as possible express surcharges for transport or shipping are eliminated. In addition, warehousing costs can be reduced accordingly by approx. 15%. Through WASP-based visibility and planning support, the AAM employees can be better plan their activities as ad-hoc assignments are reduced. With the WASP solution, the customer also can see the status of the trolleys immediately. This high transparency, in general, allows a better service for the customer and raises customer loyalty.

The validation of the WASP solution was carried out by AAM taking into account their specific requirements with particular attention to the ease of use and quick learnability of the solution for the users.

For more information on WASP please visit the project technical portal: http://portal.efpf.org/