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The MRO Lab in Dubai

Cobot-assisted Inspections

A cobot, or Collaborative Robot, operates like a robot but in a non-autonomous manner. It works in direct collaboration with a human, aiming to increase productivity and reduce repetitive tasks. The MRO Lab will showcase one or two use cases of cobots utilization in AFI KLM E&M business units and mainly at the Engine Shop.

Use Case Engines: Blades measurement

The first showcase involves using cobots to sort engine blades in preparation for assembly. Precise and accurate measurements are critical for balancing to ensure smooth rotation after blades installation. With cobot assistance, this task is completed precisely and significantly faster, reducing the time from 7 hours to just 2 hours.

Use Case NDT (Non-Destructive Testing): Materials measurement

Another application involves NDT teams performing material thickness measurements. These measurements are mandatory for assessing material health and ensuring airworthiness. Cobots facilitate the process by enabling more measurement points to be captured in a shorter timeframe that enhance efficiency and accuracy.

CRMA: fluent innovation for enhanced performance

Innovation is a central pillar of AFI KLM E&M’s business culture. Each year, the Group and its global MRO network deploy fresh solutions adapted to the specific challenges of aviation maintenance, in order to improve every aspect of the service we provide to airlines. CRMA is heavily invested in this mindset, showcasing its innovation capabilities in order to maximize the impact of its solutions, building upon a carefully calibrated strategic vision.

As AFI KLM E&M’s center of excellence for the repair of engine modules and parts, CRMA has made innovation a key performance lever in its operations, and by extension its range of services. The BU’s Industrial Strategy & Engineering department is at the forefront of these fields – it is responsible for both new product development and repairs, as well as the coordination of investment projects and industrial retro-fitting, the promotion of participative innovation, and the acceleration of the company’s wider transformation.

“The CRMA's overall ambition is to provide the best innovation solutions whether technical or economic to our customers. Our department supports this strategy and transposes it into tangible outcomes. This means consolidating, enriching and supplementing the existing product range with a dynamic portfolio of commercial services. These can be adapted to fit the needs of our customers, with whom we carry out satisfaction surveys and follow-up procedures, ensuring we are always receptive to their needs. Using this mindset, we focus on the products that will have the greatest impact for our customers.”

Antoine Martin

Director of Engineering, Innovation and Industrial Strategy for CRMA

Staying a step ahead with novel methods and procedures

The implementation of leading-edge technologies pursues a dual objective: guaranteeing the levels of quality, security and compliance required by the MRO sector, while also enabling the company to future-proof its expertise and stay one step ahead of the pack. Several recent or ongoing innovation projects illustrate the CRMA’s capacity to rise to this challenge with gusto, delivering benefits to the customer. The introduction of laser procedures into drilling, welding and cutting operations has, for example, enabled workshops to adapt to the design upgrades implemented by OEMs, while simultaneously giving the operations involved a substantial boost in terms of reliability and optimization. CRMA is also a pioneer in robotics solutions, which are used to perform repetitive and/or laborious jobs – leaving human experts free to focus on tasks with higher added value. A specialized robot is being developed for torque fastening purposes, particularly for the re-assembly of combustion chambers. This robot is designed to gather and record various data during the fastening process.

“The implementation of this strategy helps set us apart in technological terms. There is no doubt that adopting such a philosophy, such an approach is a real added-value as CRMA is both positioned on current generation engine e.g CFM56, GE90 as well as latest generation ones e.g. GENX, Trent XWB, Trent 1000 and PW 1500 & LEAP soon. We are constantly challenging ourselves, and above all we remain open to any and all innovation opportunities and ideas, regardless of which part of the ecosystem they emerge in, and maintain expansive monitoring of new technological developments. The company often undertakes projects in partnership with a wide range of stakeholders – academics, research institutes, OEMS, SMEs, customers, etc. in addition to the AFI KLM E&M MRO Lab.”

More recently, CRMA developed an optical laser profilometer, designed to assist the operator in a specific use case: controlling the angular orientation of booster vanes during their replacement. With this application, a technician working on their own can ensure the vanes are correctly positioned, without needing to wait for validation via metrological inspection. This invaluable technological assistance avoids redundant cycles of adjustment and inspection, and ultimately helps reduce production times!

29th of February: LEAP forward!

We are proud to announce the launch of our latest campaign, aimed at promoting our maintenance services for the LEAP engine. And what better day to kick off this campaign than on Leap Day, February 29th, 2024!

The demand for LEAP MRO services is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years. As the world’s largest OEM-independent engine MRO service provider, we industrialize the LEAP engine at our facilities in Paris & Amsterdam, allowing both the capacity and the flexibility to answer the needs of this rapidly growing competitive market. This new campaign, appropriately named #LEAPyear, aims to showcase our expertise and commitment to providing exceptional maintenance services for the LEAP engine. With a state-of-the-art infrastructure, experienced technicians and innovative solutions, we are a partner of choice to meet the demands of the world’s airlines.