Materials management system

• US 8,548,879 B2
• Filed: 12/14/2007
• Issued: 10/01/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Shiner, James R., Curphey, John W., Hoang, Thanh D., Fischer, Christian K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Glass, Shay S
• Application Number:
  US11/956,664
• Publication Number:
  US 20090157532A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,118 Days
• Field of Search: 705/28
• 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 maintenance of multiple fleets of aircraft, the method comprising:

generating a request for a part to a material request module used in the maintenance of an aircraft;

determining by the material request module whether the requested part is in the pooled inventory by determining whether the requested part is being held in an inventory at a location where maintenance is to be performed;

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

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

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

if the requested part is determined not to be in the pooled inventory, ordering the requested part by a material shipment module from a supplier, wherein at least one of the material request module, the material transfer module, or the material shipment module is executed via a processor.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the unique identifier is at least one of a tail number, a registration number, or a certification number.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein ordering the requested part from the 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.

4. 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.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

if the removed part is determined to be expendable, 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.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

determining the value of the removed part, and

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

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

a material request module to process requests for material and to determine whether the requested material is present at one of the locations;

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

a material receiving and inspection module to receive and inspect the material;

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

a material shipment module to manage the shipment of material from a supplier in response to a material request, wherein at least one of the material request module, the material transfer module, the material receiving and inspection module, the material quarantine module, or the material shipment module is executed via a processor.

8. The system of claim 7, further comprising a material scrap module to scrap material received and inspected by the material receiving and inspection module.

9. The system of claim 7, further comprising a material provisioning module to determine the material required for maintenance of aircraft at the locations.

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

generating a request to a material request module for a part used in maintenance of an aircraft;

determining by the material request module whether the requested part is in the pooled inventory by determining whether the requested part is being held in an inventory at a location where the maintenance is to be performed;

if the requested part is determined to be in the pooled inventory;

if the part is not at the location where the maintenance is to be performed, generating logistics by a material transfer module for moving the part to the location where the maintenance is to be performed; and

if the requested part is being held in the inventory at the location where the maintenance is to be performed, reserving by the material request module the requested part at the location where the maintenance is to be performed, and associating a number associated with the aircraft with the reserved part;

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

removing a part on the aircraft and 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, determining by a material quarantine module whether the removed part satisfies a set of warranty conditions requiring a supplier to replace the removed part; and

determining a value of the removed part, wherein determining by the material quarantine module whether the removed part satisfies the set of warranty conditions is performed only if the determined value of the removed part exceeds a preselected value, wherein at least one of the material request module, the material transfer module, the material shipment module or the material quarantine module is executed via a processor.

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

a material request module to process requests for material and to determine whether the requested material is present at one of the locations;

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

a material receiving and inspection module to receive and inspect the material;

a material shipment module to manage shipment of material from a supplier in response to a material request;

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

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

a material inventory adjustment module to adjust records reflecting the pooled inventory; and

a material provisioning module to determine the material required for maintenance of aircraft at each of the locations, wherein at least one of the material request module, the material transfer module, the material receiving and inspection module, the material shipment module, the material quarantine module, the material scrap module, the material inventory adjustment module, or the material provisioning module is implemented via a processor.