Aviation’s MRO professionals have descended on Amsterdam for this year’s MRO Europe conference. The event is bustling as delegates enjoy the packed agenda of insightful panel discussions and the many networking opportunities at the busy exhibition centre.
MRO Europe kicked off on Tuesday morning (17 October) with a two-day conference, bringing a line-up of panellists and speakers from a variety of companies spanning OEMs to airlines and MRO companies to consultancies to discuss key industry issues.
A handful of industry pressures dominated discussions: supply chain issues, workforce shortages and balancing the escalating prices of inflation with the best interest of MRO customers, to name a few.
The procurement of raw materials for parts and components continues to disrupt operations for the entire supply chain as the post-Covid challenges continue, made all the more difficult by the loss of many of the industry’s experienced and highly skilled workforce during the pandemic.
During the aero-engines panel discussion, Basil Papayoti, VP – Commercial MRO, Delta TechOps, cited a total loss of 58,000 years of experience throughout the pandemic for the Delta Airlines MRO division.
Similar experiences are apparent for MRO across the board, meaning that attracting talent has become a top priority to fill these gaps, requiring a combination of attracting young talent, effective training, as well as implementing measures to retain the current workforce of highly skilled and trained professionals.
Also on the agenda was a variety of discussions focused on digitisation in MRO as a strategy for improving the efficiency of MRO operations and speeding up lead times and delays. Transitioning from paper data handling to paperless was given a top priority amongst speakers, with digital solutions and artificial intelligence (AI) also explored as the future of seamless MRO operations.
Particularly, predictive maintenance was identified as a key solution for MROs to invest in for the coming years, allowing them to anticipate maintenance and have the necessary parts and components ready for use, shortening lead times and avoiding prolonged AOG events.
The sentiment seen across MRO Europe is quite clear – the MRO industry is not out of the Covid turbulence quite yet. However, with forecasts predicting a positive demand for MRO in the coming years, the full recovery of the MRO industry may be on the horizon if the industry can balance supply with demand and adapt to “do more with less.”
