Pattonair Unveils Agile Warehouse – the First `Warehouse in a Box` for MRO Services
Leading global aerospace and defence supply chain provider, Pattonair, is unveiling the first `warehouse in a box` designed for MRO services, Agile Warehouse, at MRO Europe in ExCel, London this week 3-5th October. Agile Warehouse is capable of providing all the parts, tooling and instrumentation needed at the point of use, whether off-wing for use inside the hangar, or on-wing for tactical use at remote sites. It is air and multimodal transportable and its robust design ensures all products are protected and kept secure.
This fully integrated solution is the first product to be launched onto the market from Pattonair’s enhanced portfolio of MRO services announced six months ago at the Airline Purchasing & Maintenance Show. The portfolio introduces innovations in Zero-Lead-Time solutions to optimise efficiency and reduce operational disruption and downtime for customers in the Aerospace as well as Marine and Industrial gas turbine power plant sectors.
Applications for Agile Warehouse include Zero-Lead Time Line Side Support with 24/7 part availability, including a remote vending capability; Control and Storage of Rotable LRU inventories; supporting Flight-Line, A.O.G and Remote Site Rescue; Remote Engine Testing and to provide additional capability for tooling, PPE and consumables. The customer benefits from features such as automated replenishment and stock reporting, full user-transaction history and complete control over access to inventory via automated technologies.
The design can be completely customised to meet the user’s exact requirement or operational environment. Optional levels of automation are available which can include an on board Intelligent Inventory Management System or Global Asset Visibility via built in global tracking systems.
Agile Warehouse has been designed and tested by Pattonair’s industry experts with a detailed understanding of MRO and its logistic requirements. It can be directly loaded by forklift and its inbuilt payload lift system is compatible with the rear crane lift of an Antonov 124 typically used to transport replacement large fan engines. It’s also fully flight safe, regulatory compliant and ergonomic design includes features such as 100% extension drawer slides to allow complete access to contents and a lock-in feature to secure them during transportation. High security options include an anti-tamper and electronic security lock to prevent access by unauthorised personnel.
“Agile Warehouse has been a fast paced and exciting project, only this week the team have been conducting live load validation trials in a 777 freighter. It’s sister solution which is significantly more automated and designed to be less mobile is also nearing completion. We are really pleased that they have already attracted interest from potential launch customers which also include OEMs and maintenance organisations spanning a diverse range of disciplines”, said Jim Smith, Pattonair’s MRO Services Director, who led the portfolio redesign.
Pattonair’s enhanced MRO Services build on the company’s leadership in supplying C class parts to major OEMs and MROs and its investment in intelligent inventory management and intelligent forecasting and planning using Pattonair’s own state of the art Arkrivis© tool. Pattonair serves over 2000 blue chip engine, airframe, systems and MRO customers, including Rolls-Royce, GE, Pratt & Whitney and Airbus, from its global network of dedicated facilities.
Pattonair’s quality and delivery has made it the service provider of choice, which is reflected in a series supplier awards, most recently the Boeing Performance Excellence Silver Award; Safran Landing Systems’ top supplier award, the Performance Excellence Award; Safran Helicopter Engines’ Gold Supplier status and Rolls-Royce’s 2016 `Supplier of the Year`.
