MRO a formal category It is the first year that MRO has become a formal category in the challenge! This opens doors for a wider variety of E&M activities to participate within the challenge, and so several activities performed by E&M are nominated for an award. Read below which activities are nominated for an award:

• Wide-body Aircraft Exterior Wash Program

Due to many improvements made in the Exterior Washing team, our wide-body fleet is now in tip-top condition. Due to the improvements made in the past years, the team is now able to wash pro-actively instead of reactively. Next to having our fleet beautifully washed it also has a positive impact on our climate. Cleaner aircraft have less drag and therefore less fuel and CO2 emissions.

• 737 Engine Water Wash program

Engineering has provided a solution for the ‘wet-sock’ smell in the cabin of the 737 after performing an Engine Water Wash. Due to this solution, no high power test run is needed which was normally performed to burn away the excess water left in the engine after the wash. Also, the aircraft does not need to be towed to Schiphol-East reducing ground time. Most importantly, due to reduced ground time needed, there is room in the planning to increase the amount of washes per engine. Resulting in lower emissions during flight.

• Laser Cleaning

The E&M Repair Lab is in the process of certifying a new way of cleaning components: by use of laser technology. The laser cleans the component from corrosion, paint or dirt without the need for any chemical solvents nor water, which is more sustainable towards our employees and environment. Since this technology is also reducing the time needed for cleaning it could prove itself as a real win-win solution.

• Prognos for Aircraft – Predictive maintenance models

The Engineering Big Data team has developed several predictive maintenance models designed to anticipate component failures. These models help prevent operational disruptions, ensure peak aircraft efficiency, and reduce both repair materials and the rate of scrapped parts. Models such as the 787 Air Cycle Machine (ACM) and Cabin Air Compressor (CAC) focus on minimizing repair costs and material usage, while others, like the 787 Brakes and the 737/777 bleed systems, have a direct impact on fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

• Green Supply Chain Initiative

At Component Services, the Green Supply Chain team is active in reducing the emissions from the global Supply Chain of CS. The goal of the Green Supply Chain is to design a cost-efficient Supply Chain in which environmental costs are incorporated. This is achieved by converting transport emissions to costs. The new Supply Chain design favors less transport and less emissions as it comes with less costs. By applying this model, the Supply Chain deglobalizes and operates more locally, which reduces the need for transportation and reduces emissions.

After the showcase flight in October, the jury will look into all nominations and chose the winners. The winning nominations will be announced at the award ceremony in Januari 2025. Later more on that.