Masters Level Dissertation

Question: Describe about the role of aircraft component management in reducing the cost associated with maintenance. Answer: 1.0 Introduction The research work is intended to shed light on the concerned research topic i.e., role of aircraft component management in reducing the cost associated with maintenance. Therefore, in this regard the introduction chapter will be quite important for depicting the nooks and corners of the topic with a vivid details and information. For the initialization of the research this chapter will play an extremely important role. In this chapter a brief description about the background of the study along with the aims and objectives of the study will be given. It will also describe the rationale of the study. In other words, this chapter as a whole works as the guiding line of the entire research. 1.1 Background of the study Maintenance of components of an airline may account for nearly one fifth of the total maintenance cost of the company. However, a number of companies still make purchase decisions of component and repair of repair services in efficiently and that on a part by part basis (Anderson and Neri 2012). This study will provide the airline executives a more effective approach to deal with these issues and thereby help them to reduce maintenance cost and enhancing the reliability and performance as well. 1.2 Rationale Presently the airline industry is one of the most successful industries in the world. The airline industry is dependent on the level of customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction on the other hand is determined by the safety and punctuality. If either of these two fails, it will affect the customer satisfaction. Therefore, the effect of airlines component management over the maintenance cost is an issue that must be focused. Because of the flourishing nature of the airline companies, if this issue is solved and new component management approaches are provided to the airline executives they will be able to deal with the maintenance cost more efficiently and thereby will reduce the cost and increase customer satisfaction. Presently, the airline companies are faced with a number of problems regarding the maintenance cost, therefore it is essential to solve the issue as soon as possible. 1.3 Problem Statement As the success of an airline company is widely determined by the level of customer satisfaction it can provide, it is essential for the airline to aim at reducing the hazards associated with aircraft maintenance. This will increase the safety and comfort of the customers and thereby increase the level of satisfaction derived. On the other hand, inefficient maintenance requires a lot of time and thereby hampers the punctuality of the airlines (Campbell and Reyes-Picknell 2015). It can be harmful for the airlines as well because this reduces the customer satisfaction and this can also make the airline to be subject to legal framework. Therefore, it is quite essential for the airline companies to determine the exact method of management of components, this will help them to reduce the cost of maintenance and thereby increase the profitability. 1.4 Aims of the Research The broader aim of this research is to investigate and determine the perfect management strategy for managing the components of aircraft and thereby reduce the maintenance cost associated with the aircraft. 1.5 Objectives of the Research The objectives of the study is stated below, To investigate different aspects of aircraft component management. To investigate the relationship between aircraft component management with maintenance cost. To determine the different styles of component management To provide recommendations for improving the component management. 1.6 Research Questions What are the different aspects of aircraft component management? What is the relationship between component management and maintenance cost? What are the different styles of component management? What could be done to improve the component management? 2.0 Literature Review 2.1 Introduction According to Jardine and Tsang (2013), for a number of airlines replaceable units (LRU), maintenance of components, repair as well as overhaul puts a significantly vital challenge. There are a number of reason for which the airline companies experience an escalation in their maintenance cost. These reasons may include expiry of warranty coverage of the aircraft, availability of parts and management of other parts (Ferreiro et al. 2012). 2.2 Techniques of Aircraft Component Management A number of tactics are proven to be beneficial for effective management of components of aircrafts and thereby reduce the maintenance cost (Fritzsche 2012). Companies can reduce the cost of maintenance by leveraging the capabilities of the suppliers. This will in turn enable the airlines to reduce the maintenance risk and the reliability level as well. The airlines may build partnerships with the MRO providers by aligning the risk of the airlines. This partnership should be designed based on five principles (Cao et al. 2012), Developing detailed probabilistic model for maintenance cost and aircraft lifecycle. Leveraging the market costs. Risk alignment Determining and clarifying the gray areas. Managing sourcing process effectively. 2.3 Role of Aircraft Component Management in reducing maintenance cost In the era of excessive pressure between the airlines for minimizing cost, aircraft maintenance has become extremely important for maintain the bottom line of the competition. Designing the strategic deals and reestablishing relationship with the MRO and thereby gaining competitive advantage (Roy et al. 2013). A properly structured MRO partnership can also give the airlines an edge to become successful in the increasingly competitive environment. Aircraft component management is focused on minimizing the maintenance cost associated with the aircraft maintenance (Chester and Horvath 2012.). The framework is so designed that it will efficiently cover every aspects of component management so as to reduce the cost associated with component management. 2.4 Conceptual Framework Figure 1: Conceptual Framework (Source: Created by Author) 3.0 Methodology 3.1 Introduction For acquiring required information from the theoretical framework along with the hypothetical framework stated in the previous episode, this section has dedicatedly tried to design a proper framework of research technique. This will help to achieve the aims and objectives of the research as well as answering the research question. 3.2 Research Paradigm (Positivism) The two types of research paradigm are interpretivism and positivism, and these two paradigms are used widely in the research works. The philosophy of positivism concentrates on investigating the research issues based on the truths and original facts after observing these factors effectively (Robson and McCartan 2016). However, interpretivism is not appropriate for this research and therefore positivism paradigm is selected. 3.3 Research Approach (Deductive) Based on the nature, research approaches are divided broadly into two categories, namely, inductive and deductive approach. For most of the research works deductive approach is beneficial because this approach first gains access to the available data (Robson and McCartan 2016). Then based on the data and using a top to bottom approach develops a theory after reviewing the available literature. On the contrary, inductive approach is more appropriate for building up new theories associated with the research problem. Hence it is justified for selecting deductive approach for this research work. 3.4 Research Rationale (Analytical/ Descriptive) According to Robson and McCartan (2016), explanatory, exploratory and analytical are the three research rationale which are used mostly in the research works. Explanatory rationale is more focused on developing a relationship between the two variables found in the investigated topic. Exploratory rationale on the other hand puts more importance on receiving the background data as the research topic is anticipated. However, analytical rationale focus on the relation between dependent, independent and unrestrained variables and thereby determines problems associated with the research topic. Therefore, as per these three rationales it is appropriate to chose Analytical principle. 3.5 Research Strategy The research strategy are conducting interview, focused groups, reviewing case studies and survey. A survey seems important for collecting data for the research as this collects data directly from the sample population in a time efficient manner. Interview is also another efficient method as this helps to collect data from a few but knowledgeable persons who are amalgamated with the research topic (Taylor et al. 2015). Hence, survey and interview method have been selected for conducting the research. 3.6 Method of data collection The required will be collected by distributing the questionnaire online among the 85 employees of Pacific Hawk. Along with this 5 respected managers of the company will also be interviewed. For the online collection of data simple random sampling method will be used. 3.7 Method of Data Analysis The collected data will be analyzed by using different statistical packages and represented via graphs, charts and tables. Here, MS Excel will be used for analyzing the collected data, determining and thereby representing the data with the help of graphs, charts and tables. 3.8 Limitations of the research The research work is subject to certain limitations as the fund provided to the student is limited. Moreover the time constraint and interviewing the managers despite their busy schedule is quite challenging. 3.9 Ethical Considerations The researcher will maintain all the ethical considerations involved with the research work. The data protection act will be followed in detail. The collected data will not be used for any personal purpose and will not be disclosed under any circumstances. Reference List: Anderson, R.T. and Neri, L. eds., 2012.Reliability-centered maintenance: management and engineering methods. Springer Science Business Media. Campbell, J.D. and Reyes-Picknell, J.V., 2015.Uptime: Strategies for excellence in maintenance management. CRC Press. Cao, W., Mecrow, B.C., Atkinson, G.J., Bennett, J.W. and Atkinson, D.J., 2012. Overview of electric motor technologies used for more electric aircraft (MEA).Industrial Electronics, IEEE Transactions on,59(9), pp.3523-3531. Chester, M. and Horvath, A., 2012. 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Taylor, S.J., Bogdan, R. and DeVault, M., 2015.Introduction to qualitative research methods: A guidebook and resource. John Wiley Sons.