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System Thinking

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▪ Description [pic] ▪ Executive Summary

▪ Content Page ▪ Introduction The commercial aircraft engine consists of 3 major modules namely the Fan, Core and the Low Pressure Turbine (LPT). Each module will then be split into sub modules before it is stripped into individual parts. The engine is made up of thousands of parts put together and a typical shop visit (input, repair/upgrade, assembly, testing) will take approximately 60 days to complete.

The current system of achieving the 60 days target is done by dividing the resources into 4 different sections. Each section will be in-charge of each module’s strip and assembly. Upon completion an additional team will put together all 3 major modules together before it is sent to the Test Cell for an engine run.

The objective of this paper is to look into how the process of engine may be streamlined to reduce the overall turn around time (TAT). Some concepts and models adapted from an article “10 effective performance tools for 21st century managers” by Prof KC Chan (Reference 1) and the “Stage Gate System” by Robert R Cooper (Reference 2) will be incorporated to illustrate how to create an efficient system for the engine shop.

The goal is to achieve at least 15% reduction in the TAT per engine. With a typical input of 100 engines per year, the target savings in number of labour days is approximately 900 days. Using the labour days multiplied by the cost of manhours (assuming US$70) will be the quantitative savings that is used to measure the outcome of the improved system (Figure 1)

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