UK enterprise asset-management software specialist IFS is boosting its involvement in the aerospace and defense sector in the Middle East. Here in the UAE, for example, it recently provided the software for Emirates Airline’s new engine overhaul shop. The new facility will open soon and is due to support around 300 engines per year.
Major programs such as Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighter have provided significant opportunities for IFS to demonstrate how its systems can reduce costs and improve overall value propositions.
IFS also developed a core software component for the overarching Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS) used by F-35 operators to plan aspects of the fifth generation warplane’s service life, including spares supplies.
“This is a first for a military program,” said Jeff Pike, IFS’s head of marketing and strategy for aerospace and defense. “When the aircraft flies, it self-diagnoses any faults and relays this data to a ground station so that support crew can be ready to provide maintenance.”
Pike, who was formerly a wing commander with responsibility for logistics in Britain’s Royal Air Force, indicated that there is potential to save around 10 percent in the cost of ownership of advanced fighters by more efficiently managing support and maintenance. According to IFS, only around 20 percent of the cost of operating a military jet through life is in procurement, which is why the company is so focused on helping to make the remaining 80 percent more efficient.
IFS also is supporting the air forces of both Saudi Arabia and Norway in their efforts to optimize their fleets of aircraft. The software provided in these instances supports multiple aspects of engineering, maintenance and military logistics. “We’ve led the field for enterprise asset management activities like this; we’ve been doing it for more than 30 years,” said Pike.
Similarly, IFS (Stand 839) believes its software can make a big difference in reducing maintenance costs for airlines whose profit margins are increasingly squeezed. “A 10 percent reduction in maintenance costs could double the profits for an operator,” claimed Pike. The company is already providing field solution applications to support GE Aviation’s commercial aircraft engines worldwide.
“Nearly all the asset-intensive industries we support, like aerospace and defense, operate to the same basic process,” said Pike. “Most start as manufacturers; most have complex supply chains; most are project-based; and most have expanded into services. This is why we do well in these industries.”
IFS believes its advantage among enterprise asset management specialists is that its software is developed in a modular way, leaving customers free to pick the specific functions, such as risk management, inventory replenishment and engineering change management. “Unlike some software, it isn’t monolithic and that makes it more flexible for our clients,” concluded Pike.