Aerospace Training Facility at Jandakot
Qantas Spares Logistics Analysis
Have you ever looked out of an aircraft window and wondered if Qantas keep a spare engine at the location you just left, or how many engines an aircraft must have to fly 5 hours over water? Have you ever wondered how the internals of a jet engine actually works or how the pilots, maintenance technicians and cabin crew are trained? Have you ever attended a technical presentation in the back of a Boeing 737 aircraft or walked around an aircraft maintenance facility?
Well those who came to the Technical Session held at the AeroSpace Training Facility at Jandakot did just that and have a little more insight into the answers to these questions than when they last flew.
Michael Killeen is the 747 and 767 Fleet Manager for Qantas. Prior to delivering his presentation from Row 20, Michael stood in the aisle as a “flight attendant” gave us a full safety briefing. We were not sure of the relevance of the lifejacket demonstration as all we could see that we were inside the Aerospace Training hanger facility, but we listened attentively. Once we were ready, Michael then gave an in-depth presentation on how Qantas approaches the challenging issues of deciding how many of what spares should be held in what global locations to optimise their fleet performance. Qantas have been through a process of identifying business needs and fleet performance requirements and then matching spares requirements and aircraft capability. Some of the answers were straight forward – spare wheels and brakes in most ports, but where to hold spare winglets is more complex.
The process led to developing a methodology to optimise spares holding across the network drawing on actuarial skills supported by algorithms in an in-house software solution. This approach has delivered a number of significant benefits for Qantas. The spares holding across the network is now well understood, total number of spares held at various locations across the globe has been reduced and the holding locations rationalised to optimise the spares service levels required by the fleets. The next steps are to expand the analysis across other fleets in the Qantas network.
It is easy to see how the approach taken by Qantas is relevant across many industries, especially for organisations that operate large “fleets” of fixed or mobile assets, from generators and transformers to mining excavators and haul trucks. The answers may not be the same, but the approach to finding the solutions is entirely relevant.
We were also treated to a presentation by Steven Sartain of the training structures and approach for the aircraft industry. Polytechnic West delivers an extensive range of vocational training to the global aircraft industry, from maintenance technician training to cabin crew emergency procedure refresher courses. So next time we travel, we know a little more about the extent of the training behind the people in the cabin and the support teams.
We were shown around the training facility. All within a huge hanger, we saw the apprentice training facilities and workshops which house many different cutaway aircraft engines, test benches, operational helicopters and light aircraft, a cutaway gas turbine, and yes, a 737 in fully operational condition. Getting up close and personal with these aviation assets is not a daily occurrence and we all appreciated the opportunities this Technical Session presented.
Thankyou to those who organised and presented at the session, and to those who attended.