At Aermetric, one of our primary objectives is to help aircraft technicians troubleshoot more effectively. In order to do that, before we write algorithm after algorithm in the predictive realm, we needed to modernize and reapply the basic ideologies of troubleshooting. What are those basic ideologies and what do they mean in the real-world? Let’s take a look.
What is troubleshooting?
The dictionary defines it as “tracing and correcting faults in a mechanical or electronic system.” From this definition alone, a few major points can be deduced:
1. The system that we’re about to correct isn’t working per its design criteria. It isn’t broken per-say, but something in its current operation has veered off course from the intended use.
2. An indicator must be present and is determining that the system isn’t working correctly. This indicator could be electronic, such as a displayed code or it could be physical, like sparks, smoke, noises.
3. A solution to correct the indicator must be put into place to return the system to its design criteria and thusly realign the operation with the job it was designed to complete.
At Aermetric we apply these basic principles to the highly complicated world of aircraft, which have a number of systems and countless components working in concert to accomplish their design criteria —in short, to safely and reliably fly and land. In order to better understand what troubleshooting for aircraft is and how we’ve evolved the process, let’s explain these concepts using a more simple scenario: apple sorting.
Congratulations! You’ve just started an apple sorting company and intend to revolutionize the world with your new apple sorting abilities. At the base of your operation is your apple sorter. Meant to separate green apples from red apples, its design criteria is such that green apples get sorted to the left and red apples get sorted to the right. You expect great things from this machine! Day one has arrived for your apple sorting operation and the moment has come to power up your apple sorter— it hums, things move, it comes to life, apples flow, it’s awesome. Until you quickly realize that…something…isn’t…right. Green and red apples are going in every-which direction. Congratulations! You’ve just become an apple sorter troubleshooter and it’s your job to correct this problem. Our story together begins here.
All we know right now is that the machine isn’t sorting. We were able to infer this from a simple observation. We call these faults.
Fault (Observation): Not Sorting Apples
Now what? Do we read the user manual? Do we call the manufacturer and explain the issue? Do we call a repair service that’s fixed thousands of apple sorting machines before?
Yes, any of these solutions is a good first (and potentially final) step. But right now we can’t do them all at once, so a user manual seems like a good starting point.
The user manual gives us additional insight as to what is specifically causing the sorting malfunction. Evidently there’s an error code that gives us more information on our fault and recommends disassembling the sorting device and testing each component. Okay, let’s do that. After hours of work we find that the color detection unit isn’t working properly. But now what?
Fault (User Manual Update): Not Sorting Apples Due to Fault in Color Detection Unit
With the information from the user manual exhausted, input from the manufacturer would be a good addition. It takes a day for the manufacturer to get back to us, but when they do they explain that this issue occurs often for your model of apple sorter and there is an updated component that’s known to fix the poor sorting.
Fault (Manufacturer Update): Not Sorting Apples Due to Fault in Color Detection Lens Apparatus
Because the manufacturer has had so many of these issues in the past, they were able to direct us to the exact part within the color detection unit that needs replacing: the lens apparatus. Now we just order a lens apparatus, right? Maybe, but let’s check in with the repair company first just to be safe.
Having been in the business for decades and having worked on thousands of apple sorters, the repair service has plenty of hands-on experience with our model. They instruct us that, yes, the lens apparatus for the color detection unit isn’t working properly, but there’s actually an easy fix available. They suggest removing the lens and cleaning it. Done. And just like that the machine begins properly sorting again. If the problem persists, we can spend the money and purchase a new lens apparatus, but for now the machine can continue to operate at 100% capacity with a quick clean.
Fault (Repair Service) — Color Detection Unit Lens Requires Cleaning
To recap, in order to troubleshoot we’ve now consulted the user manual, disassembled the unit, identified the faulting component (color detection unit), contacted the manufacturer, identified a faulting sub-component (lens apparatus), and hired a repair service. The process has had our sorting operation on hold for weeks, only to finally find out that all we needed to do was clean a lens.
Solution — Clean Lens
None of these troubleshooting steps were incorrect as they all would have fixed the apple sorter, however some were much more efficient and effective than others. Yet, if we were to just call the repair service, getting advice to clean the lens, we may not have had much confidence in the fix. If we were to just call the manufacturer, receiving instruction to order a brand-new lens apparatus, we would think we were getting ripped off. Every starting point, if incomplete, leads to an unconfident solution. It would have been easier if instead all information surrounding the apple sorter malfunction and all possible solutions presented to us at once — aggregated, compared, and with confidence. Enter Aermetric.
At Aermetric, we bring that data and confidence. We aggregate and present all user manual and manufacturer information, combine it with invaluable tribal knowledge, and model it to make it actionable. This gives us a comprehensive and cohesive look at the solutions intended by the manufacturer along with the in-field repairs that are completed in the real world. We create associations within datasets to prioritize certain fixes and solutions based on prior criteria and conditions. Historical trends are created to differentiate the operational variances that require different troubleshooting solutions. For example: when all apples get mis-sorted, the lens needs cleaning; if only green apples are mis-sorted, there’s a wiring issue in the power supply. All of this insight gets built into our initial model and adds accuracy and precision to the troubleshooting process. And of course being able to access the insight at a moments notice makes it so that you shouldn’t have to put your apple sorting on hold again — your lens cleaning fix, instead of taking weeks to troubleshoot, could have been done from start to finish in less than 10 minutes if you were using our software.
Aermetric Troubleshooting:
1. Aggregated data and solutions. Acquiring all of the data manually is no longer necessary. All solution information is presented to you.
2. Availability of advanced troubleshooting skills. Nuanced fixes and troubleshooting shortcuts are available to all skill levels.
3. Data driven confidence. Our model is based off of historical, real-world data that takes into account previously-used correct and incorrect troubleshooting methods.
This may seem like overkill in the case of one apple sorter, but now imagine 100 apple sorters running and only a team of 4 people to fix them. To amplify that even further, imagine that you’re an airline operating 500 aircraft, with billions of components, 24/7, with hubs around the world and important flight schedules to keep. Everyone needs to be working as efficiently as possible to ensure all of the machinery is continuously working.
You now have a basic understanding of the fundamentals of troubleshooting and how they can be optimized for the modern era.
Part 2 will be focused on sustaining the reliability of our apple sorters and the bigger maintenance operation.
Aermetric is empowering aircraft operators to take control of their data. To learn more visit us at www.aermetric.com or check out our Medium Page!
