Materials management system

• US 20090157532A1
• Filed: 12/14/2007
• Published: 06/18/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Fischer, Christian K., Curphey, John W., Shiner, James R., Hoang, Thanh D.
• Granted Patent: US 8,548,879 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/28
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders

Abstract

A material management system includes integrated modules that cooperate to electronically manage a pooled inventory of material held at differing locations and used in the maintenance of multiple fleets of aircraft. The system includes a material request module for processing requests for material and for determining whether the requested material is present at one of the locations. A material transfer module responds to material requests by transferring parts between the differing locations. A material receiving and inspection module controls receiving and inspection of the material. A material shipment module manages the shipment of the material from a supplier in response to a material request.

Claims

1. A method of managing a pooled inventory of parts held at differing locations and used in the maintenance of multiple fleets of aircraft, the method comprising:

generating a request for a part required for the maintenance of an aircraft;

determining whether the requested part is in the pooled inventory;

if the requested part is determined to be in the pooled inventory, then generating a logistical plan for moving the part to a location where the maintenance is to be performed on the aircraft when the requested part is determined to be in the pooled inventory; and

,

if the requested part is determined not to be in the pooled inventory, then ordering the requested part from a supplier when the requested part is determined not to be in the pooled inventory.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the operation of determining whether the requested part is in the pooled inventory includes determining whether the requested part is being held in the inventory at the location where the maintenance is to be performed, and the method further comprises:

reserving the requested part determined to be held at the location where the maintenance is to be performed when the requested part is being held at the location where the maintenance is to be performed; and

associating a unique identifier of the aircraft with the reserved part.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the unique identifier is one of:

a tail number,

a registration number, and

a certification number.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the operation of ordering the requested part from a supplier includes issuing an order to a parts supplier to send the requested part to the location where the maintenance is to be performed on the aircraft.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

removing a part on the aircraft corresponding to the requested part;

replacing the removed part with the requested part; and

,

determining whether the removed part is one of expendable or repairable.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

if the removed part is determined to be expendable, then determining whether the removed part satisfies a set of warranty conditions requiring a supplier to replace the removed part when the removed part is determined to be expendable.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

determining the value of the removed part, and

wherein determining whether the removed part satisfies a set of warranty conditions requiring a supplier to replace the removed part is performed only when the determined value of the removed part exceeds a preselected value.

8. A method of managing parts used in the maintenance of multiple fleets of aircraft, the method comprising:

generating a request for a replacement part required for the maintenance of an aircraft in one of the fleets;

moving the requested replacement part to a location where the maintenance on the aircraft is to be performed;

removing and replacing a part on the aircraft with the replacement part;

moving the removed part to a parts receiving and inspection location;

receiving and inspecting the removed part at the receiving and inspection location; and

,

determining at the receiving and inspection location whether the removed part is serviceable.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

quarantining the removed part if the removed part is determined not to be serviceable.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

returning the removed part to the pooled inventory if the removed part is determined to be serviceable.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

if the removed part is determined not to be serviceable, then determining whether the removed part is expendable or repairable.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

if the removed part is determined to be repairable, then determining whether the removed part should be repaired or replaced.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

if the removed part is determined to be expendable, then determining whether the removed part should be repaired or scrapped.

14. A method of managing parts used in the maintenance of a fleet of aircraft, the method comprising:

receiving a part required for the maintenance of an aircraft;

inspecting the received part to determine whether the part meets a set of predefined conditions;

determining whether the part is a repaired part;

if the part is determined to be a repaired part, then determining whether a set of historical records relating to the repaired part are complete; and

,

if either the historical records are not determined to be complete or the predefined conditions are determined not to be met, then placing the repaired part in quarantine.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

determining whether a request is open for the part at the location where the part is received; and

,

if an open request for the part is determined to exist, then issuing the part for use in the maintenance of an aircraft at the location where the part is received.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the predefined conditions include whether the part is serviceable and undamaged.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the historical records include service bulletins and airworthiness directives relating to the part.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

determining whether a request is open for the part at a location other than the location where the part is received; and

,

if an open request for the part is determined to exist, then shipping the part to the other location.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

if an open request for the part is not determined to, then placing the part in inventory.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

determining whether an unauthorized modification has been made to the part received; and

if an unauthorized modification is determined to have been made, then placing the received part in quarantine.

21. A system for managing a pooled inventory of material held at differing locations and used in the maintenance of multiple fleets of aircraft, comprising:

a material request module for processing requests for material and for determining whether the requested material is present at one of the locations;

a material transfer module responsive to material requests for transferring parts between the differing locations;

a material receiving and inspection module for receiving and inspecting the material; and

,

a material shipment module for managing the shipment of material from a supplier in response to a material request.

22. The system of claim 21, further comprising a material quarantine module for quarantining material received and inspected by the material receiving and inspection module.

23. The system of claim 21, further comprising a material scrap module for scraping material received and inspected by the material receiving and inspection module.

24. The system of claim 21, further comprising a material provisioning module for determining the material required for maintenance of aircraft at each of the locations.

25. A method of managing a pooled inventory of parts held at differing locations and used in the maintenance of multiple fleets of aircraft, the method comprising:

generating a request for a part required for the maintenance of an aircraft;

determining whether the requested part is in the pooled inventory, including determining whether the requested part is being held in the inventory at the location where the maintenance is to be performed;

if the requested part is determined to be in the pooled inventory, then—

(i) if the part is not at the location where the maintenance is to be performed, then generating logistics for moving the part to a location where the maintenance is to be performed,

(ii) if the requested part is being held in the inventory at the location where the maintenance is to be performed, then reserving the requested part at the location where the maintenance is to be performed, and associating a tail number of the aircraft with the reserved part;

if the requested part is determined not to be in the pooled inventory, then ordering a supplier to ship the requested part to the location where the maintenance is to be performed on the aircraft;

removing a part on the aircraft;

replacing the removed part with the requested part;

determining whether the removed part is expendable or repairable;

if the removed part is determined to be expendable, then determining whether the removed part satisfies a set of warranty conditions requiring a supplier to replace the removed part; and

,

determining the value of the removed part, and wherein determining whether the removed part satisfies a set of warranty conditions is performed only if the determined value of the removed part exceeds a preselected value.

26. A system for managing a pooled inventory of material held at differing locations and used in the maintenance of multiple fleets of aircraft, comprising, comprising:

a material request module for processing requests for material and for determining whether the requested material is present at one of the locations;

a material transfer module responsive to material requests for transferring parts between the differing locations;

a material receiving and inspection module for receiving and inspecting the material;

a material shipment module for managing the shipment of material from a supplier in response to a material request;

a material quarantine module for quarantining material received and inspected by the material receiving and inspection module;

a material scrap module for scraping material received and inspected by the material receiving and inspection module;

a material inventory adjustment module for making adjustments to records reflecting the pooled inventory; and

,

a material provisioning module for determining the material required for maintenance of aircraft at each of the locations.