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Aviation History
1994
1994 - 2696.PDF
fBUMMULOSY Major maintenance companies could benefit from the implementation of the APATS in the fight against pirate part-makers that the FAA and other aviation authorities regulate parts distributors. Avmark disagrees." Systems to control spare parts are already in service around the world, but vary from region to region and between sections of the aero space industry. For example, the Civil Aviation Authority of the UK says that it does not suffer from the problem nearly as much the USA, "...because we have better documentation". The problem also exists in Asia, and is worse in the CIS. In Europe, the release of spare parts is cov ered by the Joint Airworthiness Authorities' (JAA) Airworthiness Notice 17. A specific JAA form is the mechanism used to allow a person to release a part to service, and is used to trace it from that point onwards. In the USA, a variety of systems is operated. Repair stations are regulated and certificated under Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR). They are required by law to carry out business under either the rules in FAR Part 43 or under a commercial operator or air carrier's FAA- approved maintenance manual, covered by FAR Part 145. Additionally, FAR Part 21.305 requires processes, materials and parts to be approved under a Parts Manufacturer Approval, under an FAA-issued Technical Standard Order, or by another form of approval by the FAA Administrator. The method of spare-part control also dif fers between different types of organisation. For example, British Airways operates its Real Time Advanced Purchasing Information Data system, with rotables being tracked by the Time Inventory Management System. The total-systems approach of the APATS is designed to integrate all of these existing proce dures through the implementation of a mecha nism to authenticate a part, track it and then manage the resultant database of information. Avmark and Xerox will use a variety of dif ferent, but interlocking and co-ordinated, technologies, to achieve their goals. Avmark is providing the marketing function for the team, and Xerox is developing the technology. The starting point for the APATS is a mark ing and sensing process. Every single part cov ered by the system — no matter how small — is marked by the manufacturer, using one or several mutually supportive technologies. Aircraft parts fall into two distinct categories, which require slightly different approaches within the APATS concept. The first are dispos able parts, which require authentification and then tracking from the manufacturer to the user. The second are rotable and life-limited parts which require full life-cycle tracking in addition to the authentification. The authentification process consists of two elements. These are marking and sensing. Beyer says: "The type of marking depends on the type of part, size of the part, the operating FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 2 - 8 November 1994 environment of the part and so on." She adds: "No one technology is applicable to all parts or will function in all operating environments." She gives as an example the potential problems which have to be overcome to mark parts des tined for use in harsh environments such as aero-engine combustors. The mark, or tag, can take many forms. For example, micro holograms, suspended in a clear medium, can be sprayed on nuts and bolts, spectrographically unique chemical tags can be used to indicate a manufacturer; while an optical tag could be mixed with paint. For rotable parts, micro engraving (using lasers or sandblasting) can be used, as can Xerox mark ings, holographic fingerprints, circuits con taining coded information, or smart chips which can store large amounts of data. The more important the part, the more obvious the tag must be to act as a deterrent. Beyer says: "More than one technology would be used to make the code more diffi cult to break." The sensing process needed to access infor mation on the tagged part depends on the type of tag. Options include optical systems, mechan ical sensing of anomalies and the electronic mea surement of embedded or returned signals. Beyer says: "We are designing hand-held scanners for inventory tracking and field work that can read a variety of simple technologies to identify the validity of the part. Information obtained from the scanner can then be trans ferred to a computer database for inventory con trol and tracking." The scanners will be capable of reading more than one type of marking. Beyer adds that, if necessary, security-sensitive infor mation could go back to the manufacturer for more positive identification. PARTS DATABASE One of the DoT's OIG report recommenda tions is that the FAA develop a "statistically based management-feedback system" for repair stations, which would enable those most at risk to be targeted. This requirement is reflected by Avmark and Xerox, whose mark ing and sensing process will be supported by a database which is being designed to track all life-limited and rotable parts. This is a huge task, however. Today, the FAA employs 2,700 inspectors to oversee about 4,400 domestic and 344 non-US repair stations. This does not include other areas of the industry. Beyer says that the APATS "...would be glob al, independently held and secure. Unless other wise specified, only the owner of the parts would have access to information about his inventory to protect confidential and competitive informa tion. Access would only be gained through unique coded cards. However, universal access could be given for parts available in a pool, or for sale or lease, or could be made available to the manufacturer of the parts." In other words, an entry is made to the sys tem (and possibly the parts tag) describing when the part is manufactured, when it is sold, and when it enters service on an aircraft. Details are also recorded when it is overhauled or refurbished. Beyer says: "The limited infor mation on the part is supported by detailed information on the database." She says that, "...to tackle the market, we have decided to take a multi-pronged approach, targeting the aircraft and part man ufacturers, the airlines and also industry groups". The latter includes the International Air Transport Association and the US Air Transport Association (ATA), both of which have had meetings with Avmark and Xerox to discuss the APATS. The two companies are now conducting market research for the APATS concept, using an advisory group which includes the FAA and the ATA. Beyer says that airlines such as United Airlines and British Airways are now also showing interest. Beyer believes that an initial APATS system could be up and running within 18 months, with some of the basic building blocks in operation sooner, although she admits that it could take up to ten years to attain full global coverage. The APATS is not an off-the-shelf system, because of the nature of the requirement. Each aircraft part type is unique, and Beyer says that, as a consequence, the system "...will be tailored to the individual requirement of each user with in a defined framework of a limited number of technologies. In other words, each manufactur er can purchase only the specific technologies he needs to mark his parts, but all of the marks can be read by the scanners regardless of what tech nology is used." According to Beyer, the APATS will be designed to be operated with existing systems. For example, the ATA's "...Spec 2000 parts- ordering system can also be modified to inter face with the tracking system so we don't have to re-invent the wheel. In sum, the system will be built on what the industry has in place." Beyer hopes that the APATS will generate wide-ranging savings in the aerospace indus try. She says: "It is our goal to bring this system to the industry at a net saving. We expect that the industry can save by reducing employ ment, by reducing unnecessary overhauls, by reducing the number of parts rejected when their history cannot be verified and by reduc ing the potential liability of using parts that are unapproved or fraudulent". Beyer is convinced that the requirement for an APATS-type system is real. Although the FAA is taking steps to eliminate bogus parts (for example, its draft AC 20-62D note entitled Eligibility, Quality and Identification of Approved Aeronautical Replacement Parts), the OIG still feels that there is room for improvement. It says: "We have concluded that the actions proposed [by the FAA] are not sufficient to provide reasonable assurance [that] aircraft maintenance and repair will con form to FAA aircraft-certificate requirements." Beyer's response is that the APATS will pro vide "...a round-the-clock, secure, global- information and data-management system at your disposal when you want and need it". J
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