Camp Systems, West Star Partner on AI Operations Manager

West Star Aviation is the launch partner for Camp Systems International’s new AI Operations Manager, an artificial intelligence (AI)-based predictive intelligence tool for aircraft maintenance facilities that use Camp’s Corridor software.

AI Operations Manager is designed to help MROs address key hurdles that hamper efficiency. West Star will use the AI-based tool to address these in four areas, using data “to plan maintenance visits more effectively, achieve faster turnaround times, provision labor efficiently, and reduce unexpected issues during projects,” according to Camp Systems.

“Automation and AI are ushering in a new era in aviation maintenance,” said Peter Velikin, general manager, Camp enterprise information systems. “With our patented AI models, the AI Operations Manager ensures faster turnarounds, consistent quality, and smarter utilization of assets, all driven by a service center’s own historical ERP data.” 

During the past two years, Velikin has been visiting MRO facilities to ask about their challenges and identify areas where AI might help. He believes that AI offers many opportunities for the aviation MRO industry. “One of the things that I am passionate about, and we have made investments in…is the ability and the opportunity for AI to transform MRO operations,” he said.

Aviation is highly regulated, so putting AI and automation tools to work in the MRO business must be done carefully, Velikin explained. Camp Systems has an advantage in that it has partnerships with all the aircraft OEMs for maintenance tracking programs, and it also works many service centers.

The company is actively working on ways to leverage this experience and the vast amount of data it captures to make sure AI tools are implemented correctly. That said, Camp Systems is careful to segregate owner-generated data from the data it collects from partner MROs.

Of the four core areas that AI Operations Manager addresses, planning is an important element. It is hard for an MRO to budget the time and resources needed for a major inspection, for example, given the unknowns that invariably pop up during the process. “The challenge they run into is that the airplane would land, and they quoted two weeks for repair, and then they realize that there's other jobs that need to happen that are unscheduled,” Velikin said. Parts might not be in stock, and then when they arrive the mechanics have already been moved to another job.

MROs deal with this by adding buffers to their estimates, stocking expensive parts, and dealing with problems as they arise. A better way is to use AI to evaluate the airplane’s history, where it flies, and age and condition of parts to predict what problems are likely to emerge.

“That gives you a lot of a lot of opportunities,” he said. “You can be much more confident and aggressive in quoting to the customer and promising a turnaround time. You can pre-stage parts…and plan for the right mechanics to be there. That optimizes the chain in many ways.”

Another core area is to address quality escapes by mechanics. AI can help with this by ensuring mechanics have information they need related to a particular task. “So, being able to give warnings in cautions to the mechanics as they do certain jobs based on quality escapes,” Velikin said.

This could include providing task-specific training with a video, and experienced mechanics capturing and sharing guidance that will help the next person do the same task. AI is also a powerful assistant when it comes to troubleshooting, he added. “You could be the best at whatever you do, but it is always beneficial to have a trained second [opinion] AI that can provide a structure and verify [the problem].”

The third area is to use AI-enhanced analytics to evaluate components and provide insights on more efficient pricing of repairs and overhauls. This could eventually include tying customer information with a particular component, to help inform failure modes based on operational data.

“That will be super beneficial,” Velikin said. “Today, I don't think we're going that far, because one of the most important things for our customers is that they want to protect the privacy of their own data. I'm optimistic that—I don't know if it's the medium term or long term—that there will be enough benefit to go there.”

The final area is using AI to gain insights and find correlations from unstructured data, he explained, “and being able to visualize it instantly.”

Dashboards for monitoring operations are commend, he added, “but they are somewhat limited because you're looking at data and, as a human, you're trying to infer what's going on.”

Where AI proves more useful is to spot trends and use that information to optimize the operation and the business. “I believe that the businesses that invest in technology and leverage this ability to react faster will out-compete the laggards,” Velikin said.

“The aviation industry is at an inflection point where predictive technologies will define competitive advantage,” said Camp Systems president and CEO Sean Lanagan. “With AI Operations Manager, Camp is leading that shift by helping our customers move to a more strategic, data-driven approach to maintenance.” 

“West Star Aviation is committed to embracing innovative approaches that elevate our service offerings,” said West Star Aviation president and COO Allen McReynolds. “This partnership with Corridor enables us to accurately anticipate operational requirements, enhance efficiency, and uphold our promise of timely delivery to our customers.”