In-service information required by engineering designers

This paper describes some research stimulated by a fundamental shift that is occurring in the manufacture and marketing of aero engines for commercial and defence purposes, away from the selling of products to the provision of services. The collaborating aerospace company offers contracts under which it remains responsible for the maintenance of engines which have been purchased by airlines through these contracts based on payment for usage. This has triggered a major re-assessment of the design of aero engines to reduce their overall life cycle costs, while maintaining performance efficiency. In this context, the use of in-service experience of existing engines is important in the design of components and systems of a new engine, to tackle in-service issues through design and thus to reduce maintenance costs and increase reliability. This paper aims at identifying designers’ requirements regarding in-service information. Semi-structured interviews with designers from an aerospace company were conducted; after these interviews, the designers were requested to comment on a set of questions regarding in-service information, indicating how frequently they might ask each of them when designing a new component or system. In addition, some documents containing the in-service information considered by the designers in designing components and systems of a new engine were analysed. The results indicate what in-service information is required by designers for this new task.