How Aircraft Design is Changing Maintenance

Sept. 12, 2016
With the development of the Boeing 737 MAX, Base2 Solutions has built a diagnostic software application that will allow mechanics to access performance diagnostics via the cockpit or a mobile device.

Designing aircraft now includes software solutions that will make it easier for maintainers to troubleshoot.

With the development of the Boeing 737 MAX, Base2 Solutions, an engineering and software development company based in Bellevue, WA, has created a diagnostic software application that will allow mechanics to access performance diagnostics via the cockpit or a mobile device.

No more taking an engine apart to see what is malfunctioning. Reading codes from sensors will speed up the maintenance process saving time and money. Whether it is checking components in the manufacturing process or when the aircraft is at the gate, maintainers will have the data they need to get the aircraft flying.

Updated technology on the 737 Max disrupted the way diagnostics/testing for manufacturing and maintenance is traditionally done. The 737 MAX features new engines and components, along with updated sensor technology that changes how diagnostics and testing are performed during manufacturing and maintenance. On older aircraft, maintainers need to physically climb into the maintenance bay for manual checks of the sensors, which just like your car, light up with “check engine” message codes. They previously had to find and read the codes off multiple servers, then look up its meaning in a manual.

Boeing needed a solution

Boeing gave Base2 Solutions more than 1,700 requirements to meet its project deadlines for the 737 MAX. Ron Hopkins, Base 2 Solutions president, says with the company’s smoke-jumper attitude, it jumped right into the project. With the status of the project (in design stage), the software developers had to become virtual mechanics to create a simulator which mimicked the attributes of the real aircraft. The solution, known as the Onboard Maintenance Function (OMF), supports the MAX 737 during manufacturing and maintenance by easily surfacing fault conditions for the mechanics.

The company was formed in 1996 as the IMS Company, and rebranded in 2012 as Base2 Solutions. As a boutique consulting company, Base2 has skilled developers, engineers, and consultants who thrive on tough challenges, especially in regulated environments such as aerospace, transportation, and health care.

OMF took the company two and a half years to complete, and testing on prototype 737MAX aircraft is currently in progress. By bringing all the sensor data to a central location, OMF allows the maintainers to access the data on a flight deck computer or a portable maintenance device, which significantly speeds the troubleshooting and systems integration process.

The biggest challenge according to Andrew Hosch, vice president software, was the timeline. Because the implementation of the OMF tool was ahead of the data bus that would provide all of the fault information, Base2 engineers had to become virtual maintenance engineers and create their own fault simulator. At its peak, the development team had over 25 engineers on the project, but averaged between 17 and 18 engineers through its lifespan. “With the limited schedule, we had to ramp up quickly and get the team up to speed. Since Base2 is technology agnostic, our employees have a broad range of skills and we must quickly learn the customer’s domain.”

At its core, The OMF application evaluates more than 6,000 fault conditions using sensor data from across the aircraft, according to Donevan Dolby, Base2 development lead. To speed up the avionics integration cycle, OMF was used to diagnose issues when those components were installed during manufacturing. To hasten gate-turn (and reduce airline costs), OMF will also be used to diagnose fault conditions at the gate and during regular maintenance flight checks.

While Base2 Solutions developed the functionality, the OMF application belongs to Boeing, which owns the right to use it in additional aircraft platforms.

“On our test airplane, we have been impressed with the responsiveness of the OMF system on both the manufacturing and maintenance interfaces,” Jessica Kowal, Boeing spokesperson, says. “When the airplane is in service, even a small reduction in maintenance turnaround time would produce impressive benefits for airline customers.”

Hosch says the application is part of the overall trend of aircraft maintenance switching from wrenches to technology. With the OMF as part of the engine health management you don’t have to unbolt things to get the information you need to perform maintenance checks.

The 737 MAX is scheduled for delivery to Southwest Airlines in 2017. It is undergoing test flights now and was introduced at the Farnborough International Airshow in July.