Reducing Turnaround Time (TAT) Considering Lean Principles within Aircraft Maintenance Organizations (Case Study: FARSCO Aircraft MRO Center)

The Aircraft Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) has always played a key role in the aviation industry which is responsible for restoring aircraft to flight conditions based on a set of technical instructions and implementation of repair processes. According to researches, the most important reasons why airlines choose MRO centers to provide services are quality, turnaround time (TAT), and cost, respectively. In this research paper, the application of lean, its principles and techniques, and in particular the study of its compatibility and effectiveness in order to reduce TAT in the aircraft repair and overhaul industry has been considered. Accordingly, at the beginning and after the comprehensive review and analysis of the literature, the subject of a comprehensive list of principles of lean production has been studied and the indicators have been considered according to the characteristics of the aircraft repair and overhaul industry. Then, based on the obtained indicators, a questionnaire was prepared, and based on it, more than 25 hours of interviews with experts, including deputies, managers, and experts of the aircraft repair and overhaul industry in the case study were conducted. Based on the Yin analysis method (2003), the data of the questionnaire were analyzed and evaluated in order to identify the influential factors of service time during the aircraft maintenance check. Based on the research findings, the existence of defects in some areas, such as the lack of inventory management and alternative planning for serviceable components have created significant effects in increasing the service time of aircraft.