Safety Return on Investment (ROI): The Broader Adoption of Rotorcraft CFIT-Avoidance Technology

This dissertation provided a method of estimating the potential return on investment (ROI) that could be achieved if operators were to adopt the readily available controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) avoidance technology more broadly. Previous research explored the costs and benefits of different safety initiatives but did not evaluate from an operators’ perspective. For the operators, a private ROI that excludes societal costs and benefits was therefore considered the suitable metric. For the rotorcraft industry, the ROI estimation methodology was not readily available, and this study sought to fill that gap. The purpose of this study was to estimate the potential ROI by determining the costs associated with the outcomes of CFIT-accidents, the costs of adopting the technology, the current accident rate, the benefits expressed as costs avoided through a reduction in the number of accidents, and application of the appropriate ROI formula. The dissertation was conducted as a mixed method study that used qualitative data from historical CFIT-related accident reports to identify the accident outcomes and estimate the associated accident costs plus the available quantitative data to estimate the CFIT-avoidance technology adoption costs. The accident cost categories were based on categories used in airline research and modified for the rotorcraft industry. Using the formula, ROI = Net benefits divided by safety technology adoption costs, ROI values were generated in multiple iterations of the Monte Carlo simulation. The net benefits were evaluated as the difference between the potential accident costs avoided with a reduction in CFIT accidents and the technology adoption costs. The simulation results for the three rotorcraft categories showed that the turbinesingle would experience the highest ROI, followed by the piston category and the twinturbines. When all rotorcraft categories were considered, the ROI was positive but could turn negative if the technology adoption costs grew by a factor of more than three. The broad range in the ROI values for both the piston and single-turbine categories were largely driven by the high variation of the individual cost categories, especially the direct costs: occupant death and injuries, aircraft damage, and leasing costs. From the results of the study, it was recommended that CFIT-avoidance technology should be more broadly adopted by piston and single-turbine rotorcraft operators. For twin-turbines, the adoption should be evaluated against the impact of the regulatory changes for helicopter air ambulance (HAA) operations, which may reduce the number of accidents and generate a positive ROI before further action from operators. Future research should focus on validating the methodology by using it as a starting point for evaluating the ROI for safety initiatives that have already been implemented, whether technology or operational programs. The industry should also improve the methodology by defining or proposing better processes for estimating rotorcraft accident costs, especially indirect costs estimated to be the of the same magnitude as the direct costs. The rotorcraft industry should find ways to make costs data, such as accident investigation costs, more accessible in order to apply the ROI estimation methodology to achieve more accurate results

Investigating the Use of RFID Technology in the Reverse Logistics of End-of-Service-Life Helicopters: A Hybrid Approach Based On Design for Six Sigma and Discrete-event Simulation

ABSTRACT Investigating the Use of RFID Technology in the Reverse Logistics of End-of-Service-Life Helicopters: A Hybrid Approach Based On Design for Six Sigma and Discrete-event Simulation James S. Corrigan Concordia University and Bell Helicopter Textron Canada Ltd embarked upon a study to investigate the potential for using RFID technology in the reverse logistics of aircraft components, specifically those of end-of-service-life commercial helicopters. This study necessitated the consideration of the way in which contemporary commercial aircraft components (specifically those of helicopters) are handled during the reverse logistics process and the consideration of the peculiarities of the value proposition of end-of-service-life commercial helicopters that differentiate them in certain key respects from their fixed-wing counterparts. The research presented in this thesis presents a proposed implementation framework for the use of RFID technology in the reverse logistics of end-of-service-life helicopters and provides a quantitative assessment (using discrete event simulation modelling) of the role which RFID technology can play in the ‘leaning out’ that reverse logistics process. The research uses a real-life case study of an actual helicopter commercial remanufacturing operation as a basis for the simulation modelling framework. The simulation modelling considers various, and increasingly complex, means of RFID implementation as part of a Return-On-Investment (ROI) analysis. One of the means of RFID implementation makes use of a novel RFID process for aircraft part identification which has been developed as part of this study: this innovative process makes use of a form of low-cost/low-weight RFID labels for identifying the component parts. This thesis also presents the results of the actual laboratory testing of these novel RFID labels which has been carried out as part of this study to assess the feasibility of implementing this innovative RFID process technology on helicopter structural components

Applications of advanced transport aircraft in developing countries

Four representative market scenarios were studied to evaluate the relative performance of air-and surface-based transportation systems in meeting the needs of two developing contries, Brazil and Indonesia, which were selected for detailed case studies. The market scenarios were: remote mining, low-density transport, tropical forestry, and large cargo aircraft serving processing centers in resource-rich, remote areas. The long-term potential of various aircraft types, together with fleet requirements and necessary technology advances, is determined for each application

Program Management for Large Scale Engineering Programs

The goal of this whitepaper is to summarize the LAI research that applies to program management. The context of most of the research discussed in this whitepaper are large-scale engineering programs, particularly in the aerospace & defense sector. The main objective is to make a large number of LAI publications – around 120 – accessible to industry practitioners by grouping them along major program management activities. Our goal is to provide starting points for program managers, program management staff and system engineers to explore the knowledge accumulated by LAI and discover new thoughts and practical guidance for their everyday challenges. The whitepaper begins by introducing the challenges of programs in section 4, proceeds to define program management in section 5 and then gives an overview of existing program management frameworks in section 6. In section 7, we introduce a new program management framework that is tailored towards describing the early program management phases – up to the start of production. This framework is used in section 8 to summarize the relevant LAI research

LAI Whitepaper Series: “Lean Product Development for Practitioners”: Program Management for Large Scale Engineering Programs

The whitepaper begins by introducing the challenges of programs in section 4, proceeds to define program management in section 5 and then gives an overview of existing program management frameworks in section 6. In section 7, we introduce a new program management framework that is tailored towards describing the early program management phases – up to the start of production. This framework is used in section 8 to summarize the relevant LAI research

System-of-Systems Considerations in the Notional Development of a Metropolitan Aerial Transportation System

There are substantial future challenges related to sustaining and improving efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly transportation options for urban regions. Over the past several decades there has been a worldwide trend towards increasing urbanization of society. Accompanying this urbanization are increasing surface transportation infrastructure costs and, despite public infrastructure investments, increasing surface transportation "gridlock." In addition to this global urbanization trend, there has been a substantial increase in concern regarding energy sustainability, fossil fuel emissions, and the potential implications of global climate change. A recently completed study investigated the feasibility of an aviation solution for future urban transportation (refs. 1, 2). Such an aerial transportation system could ideally address some of the above noted concerns related to urbanization, transportation gridlock, and fossil fuel emissions (ref. 3). A metro/regional aerial transportation system could also provide enhanced transportation flexibility to accommodate extraordinary events such as surface (rail/road) transportation network disruptions and emergency/disaster relief responses

Flying low: HR challenges in the airline industry

This case study describes the journey of Aakash Airways from a monopolistic environment, showing remarkable profitability, to a point where local and international competition stiffens and operational inefficiencies lead to a significant plunge in company profits.The main concerns for the newly appointed chairman are to revive the company in order to recover the huge losses, and to prepare the organization to meet the challenges of globalization and stiffer competition.The top management of Aakash Airways now has to focus on overhauling the company’s Human Resource System in order to build sustainable capacity, improve productivity and service quality, and integrate different HR areas, including recruitment, job description, training, performance appraisal and promotion to achieve organizational goals.The issue requires urgent attention since time is of utmost importance, wherein the overall company performance is deteriorating and the fuel costs are expected to rise, making the situation even worse

system dynamics simulation for investigating RFID potential in aircraft dis-assembly operations

One of the main issues in modern supply chain management is the recovery of value from the end of life (EOL) or defective products by re-manufacturing, reassembly, re-use and recycling. Despite the fact that reverse logistics would impose extra amount of complexity to the supply chain, it has captured a lot of attention as it is possible to recycle the materials where there are limited resources. Through reverse logistics companies will be able to minimize the overall production costs through reclaiming the unsold or defective products’ values which in turn may lead to more productivity and growth, and more importantly reverse logistics may improve the quality of end products by finding the faults of the system and the points which directly or indirectly affect the ultimate product. However, a number of challenges arise with reverse logistics; integration of the whole supply chain including both inbound activities and outbound activities, creating incentives for return and reuse, huge amount of inspections and imposed complexity to the supply chain as a whole since the number of partners may increase. On the other hand, technologies such as barcodes, radio frequency identification (RFID), global positioning system (GPS), etc, have made it easier to cope with the aforementioned challenges and complexities of reverse supply chains. In this thesis, our goal is to examine the potential of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology on dis-assembly operations of aircraft at the End of Life using system dynamics simulation. In particular, a case study on how RFID technology affects the time of dis-assembly of a single helicopter has been conducted in cooperation with Bell Helicopters. The proposed System dynamics simulation model is developed using “AnyLogic”. The results of our study show that employing RFID technology will lead to a reduction in total dis-assembly time of a helicopter. However, bringing motivations to the market to employ RFID technology in industries and developing trust in the promising benefits and results will require more challenging planning and managerial activities. Keywords: Reverse logistics (RL), RFID, aviation industry, end of life products (EOL), System Dynamics simulatio

The application of system engineering methodologies in support of the lean enterprise transformation

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, 2001.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 110-111).by David L. Cocuzzo and Brian W. Millard.S.M

Aircraft System Analysis of Technology Benefits to Civil Transport Rotorcraft

An aircraft systems analysis was conducted to evaluate the net benefits of advanced technologies on two conceptual civil transport rotorcraft, to quantify the potential of future civil rotorcraft to become operationally viable and economically competitive, with the ultimate goal of alleviating congestion in our airways, runways and terminals. These questions are three of many that must be resolved for the successful introduction of civil transport rotorcraft: 1) Can civil transport rotorcraft actually relieve current airport congestion and improve overall air traffic and passenger throughput at busy hub airports? What is that operational scenario? 2) Can advanced technology make future civil rotorcraft economically competitive in scheduled passenger transport? What are those enabling technologies? 3) What level of investment is necessary to mature the key enabling technologies? This study addresses the first two questions, and several others, by applying a systems analysis approach to a broad spectrum of potential advanced technologies at a conceptual level of design. The method was to identify those advanced technologies that showed the most promise and to quantify their benefits to the design, development, production, and operation of future civil rotorcraft. Adjustments are made to sizing data by subject matter experts to reflect the introduction of new technologies that offer improved performance, reduced weight, reduced maintenance, or reduced cost. This study used projected benefits from new, advanced technologies, generally based on research results, analysis, or small-scale test data. The technologies are identified, categorized and quantified in the report. The net benefit of selected advanced technologies is quantified for two civil transport rotorcraft concepts, a Single Main Rotor Compound (SMRC) helicopter designed for 250 ktas cruise airspeed and a Civil Tilt Rotor (CTR) designed for 350 ktas cruise airspeed. A baseline design of each concept was sized for a representative civil passenger transport mission, using current technology. Individual advanced technologies are quantified and applied to resize the aircraft, thereby quantifying the net benefit of that technology to the rotorcraft. Estimates of development cost, production cost and operating and support costs are made with a commercial cost estimating program, calibrated to Boeing products with adjustments for future civil production processes. A cost metric of cash direct operating cost per available seat-mile (DOC ASM) is used to compare the cost benefit of the technologies. The same metric is used to compare results with turboprop operating costs. Reduced engine SFC was the most advantageous advanced technology for both rotorcraft concepts. Structural weight reduction was the second most beneficial technology, followed by advanced drive systems and then by technology for rotorcraft performance. Most of the technologies evaluated in this report should apply similarly to conventional helicopters. The implicit assumption is that resources will become available to mature the technologies for fullscale production aircraft. That assumption is certainly the weak link in any forecast of future possibilities. The analysis serves the purpose of identifying which technologies offer the most potential benefit, and thus the ones that should receive the highest priority for continued development. This study directly addressed the following NASA Subsonic Rotary Wing (SRW) subtopics: SR W.4.8.I.J Establish capability for rotorcraft system analysis and SRW. 4.8.I.4 Conduct limited technology benefit assessment on baseline rotorcraft configurations