Redução de custos de manutenção em empresas aéreas: fabricação de partes de interiores

Abstract

The maintenance of an aircraft is fundamental for operational safety and readiness to the ongoing operation of an airline. Most of the materials and spare parts of an aircraft are imported. In Brazil, the maintenance and cost of the acquisition is even more significant given the cost of materials, along with logistics and customs factors. The scope of this project is to comprehend and verify the opportunity to reduce maintenance costs through internally manufacturing parts for use in the passenger cabin of the aircraft, without compromising operational safety or incurring in legal risks that may prevent or limit of such practice. The research and knowledge acquired of the manufacturing process and the regulatory environment demonstrate that the manufacture of injected molded plastic parts results in benefits such as uniformity and scale through the creation of a manufacturing capacity, inhouse or outsourced, from simple to more complex parts, notwithstanding the challenge presented by the excessive cost of manufacturing, maintenance and adjustment of the tools and the injection molds. The feasibility of such initiative, already in course by some other international airlines, indicates the need to acquire the technical design and data from the aircraft manufacturer; precise specification and dimensioning of materials for manufacturing the replacement parts; and a high-quality control for the manufactured parts. In addition to the process, it is required to ascertain the requirements and contract limitations imposed by the aircraft manufacturer and the national and international regulatory issues.