Pratt & Whitney Simulations Pressure-Test Processes to Ensure Program and System Readiness

"It is the middle of the night on a holiday and you're an airline in need of maintenance," described Andrew Tanner, vice president, Customer Service. "What do you do? Who do you call? How does Pratt & Whitney handle that call? We want to be prepared for our customer on that dark and stormy night."

As Pratt & Whitney's PurePower® Geared Turbofan™ (GTF) engine family approaches customer delivery, the organization is validating readiness through a series of elaborate simulations designed to pressure test existing systems and processes.

"A massive amount of work has been dedicated to production and delivery of the GTF engines," explained Matt Stoner, director, Entry into Service. "The responsibility now shifts to how we are supporting our customers."

These simulations are one piece of the extensive process providing customers all the necessary tooling, manuals, support personnel, training and provisions to ensure a smooth entry to the fleet.

"One major effort in preparation for engine delivery is ensuring that we are ready to help the customer whenever and wherever the need for assistance arises ... we want to find any gaps, lack of processes, and risks now, prior to engine delivery," said Hank Norton, 17-24K operations and logistics manager, Customer Service.

"The reality is that practice makes perfect. The intention of this process is to identify opportunities which allow us to continue improving and learning as we strive to provide world-class support for our customers," said Keith Crawford, 30K operations and logistics manager, Customer Service.

The first event took place in March, followed by additional events on a monthly cadence, becoming more elaborate with each test. One recent event, a simulated bird strike, was considered the most complicated to date. Without advance notice, this test required the coordination of as many as 12 organizations to resolve the simulated engine event.

"Over time the simulations have become increasingly complex," explained Norton. "Our first event involved only three organizations, while some of the more recent ones involved closer to 12. We set these up such that, as we progress along our plan, the complexity of the events being managed has increased as well."

The simulations involve teams across the entire company, representing all departments responsible for customer service, including the Global Operations Center, Customer Technical Support, Line Maintenance Services, Component Integrated Product Team, Legal, Finance and Engine Services. They have also proven to be an effective way to collaborate jointly with the airlines, aircraft manufacturers and suppliers.

In both planning and execution, these events relied heavily on the ACE operating system and tools to implement more robust solutions for each simulated event.

Each simulation has resulted in numerous learnings for the organization. "It is all about continuous improvement," said Tanner. "If it works, that's great. If it doesn't, let's learn from it, adapt from it, and then simulate it again."

When the team encounters a hurdle, they focus on implementing robust corrective actions, followed by an impromptu retest to validate an all-encompassing, relentless root cause analysis and solution.

"We learn and improve with each simulation from the hurdles we encounter throughout each event," said Crawford. "These learning opportunities ensure Pratt & Whitney is prepared to support airline customers on day one and beyond."