Universidade de São Paulo. Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade
Abstract
Purpose – This paper aims to exemplify the use of project management tools in the scheduling of aircraftmaintenance activities. This process is known as maintenance, repair and overhaul and it has gainedimportance within the aeronautical sector due to its expected growth in the coming years; however, it alsofaces increasing competitiveness in its market. This fact gives rise to the need of acting in maintenancemanagement and seeking lower costs while maintaining the quality of the service provided. The purpose ofthis paper is to propose the structuring of a procedure that aims to reduce the total maintenance time(downtime) and guarantee the delivery of the aircraft on time.Design/methodology/approach – The paper, through a case study at a Brazilian aircraft maintenancecenter, used critical path method and critical chain project management, the latter being derived from thetheory of constraints, with the purpose of analyzing resources systematically and synchronizing the activitiesin the precedence network.Findings – As a result, it is shown that downtime can be reduced from 11 to 5 days and improvements areproposed to achieve greater market competitiveness.Originality/value – This paper demonstrates the competitive advantage that resulted from the applicationof project management tools in the aircraft maintenance planning and execution
