What does that mean?

By Chuck Marx, SkyThread Chief Strategy Officer

Note: this post is part of a 52-week series we’re posting about digital aviation. This post is Week 13.

SkyThread developed a blockchain enabled, trusted data network to improve the data flow on commercial aviation aircraft parts, complex assemblies, and the planes on which they fly. To ensure safe and efficient operations, airlines, suppliers, and MRO providers go to extreme lengths to validate and document that components, complex assemblies, engines, and aircraft have been maintained at the desired levels. The chain will store this validated part history by aircraft tail number. This plane is on that chain. 

How does it work?

The journey that aircraft, engines, assemblies, and parts move through over their life creates many opportunities to collect useful information, but more often creates doubt about how assets have been operated and maintained. SkyThread collects part life data by tail number and delivers validation and trust on that data so that plane buyers, lessors and operators need not worry about the lineage of the parts on that plane.

Why is this important?

Inefficient data validation and incomplete documentation delay plane transfers, lease returns and many maintenance activities. This creates excessive safety stocks at the parts level and require significant forensics labor to document part status before installing on aircraft. This is resolved by employing a curated, blockchain data network for the aircraft, the engines and all their parts. The full provenance of the parts on an aircraft are captured and validated by SkyThread.

Who loads the data?

The system is built around all the actors that have a designated role in this plane’s life. This is a “permissioned” network, meaning that to load and see information about a plane, you must have an approved role on that plane –The airframer (assembly), Tier 1 parts maker, airline (operator), leasing company, Primary MRO (line / hangars), component repair centers and disassembly operations. If you are in this ecosystem for this plane, you can load and view details about this plane.

What data is loaded?

We’re recording the life events of the aircraft across the ecosystem as the various actors’ “touch” the plane. There will be gaps in the life history that can be highlighted and resolved as the plane and its parts move through its life.

• Original Part Manufacture

• Aircraft assembly and finishing by tail number

• Delivery of aircraft to operator and induction

• On wing hours and cycles for part validation

• On wing inspections for compliance validation

• Part removal and installation events for configuration

• Aircraft events (heavy check / modification / conversion)

• Aircraft events (sale or lease initiation and return)

• Aircraft decommissioning and "part out"

SkyThread is building the validation of the plane from the bottom up (original part authentication), top down (mapping of serial numbers by tail) and side to side, as maintenance activities are performed. 

How is the data validated?

The system uses data triangulation to support part research, looking for gaps and overlaps in the part data and flags those as “gap” events in the chain. Errors in part number / serial number documentation are avoided by tracing the part data back to original birth (manufacture), assembly on an aircraft, and monitoring serial number flying on aircraft to avoid part quarantine and duplicate serial numbers on flying aircraft. “The plane” is thousands of serialized parts flying in common formation.

How does the system respect confidentiality?

The system will know the life events of the parts as they are installed and removed from the aircraft. The primary actors will be able to see the part through its life. The aftermarket contractual members such as components repair, distributors and brokers will have the ability to protect the nature of their relationships and confidential data (TAT, pricing, availability) from the marketplace at large, as this data is handled contractually and bilaterally.

How secure is the data?

Blockchain is the most secure cloud architecture. The distribution of the nodes prevents successful intrusion and deletion of the data. The data, when loaded, is immutable. It can’t be changed. When data about a plane is loaded, it’s permanent. 

How is the system funded?

First, the companies that load the data receive tokens from SkyThread, which are monetized when the data is viewed by others. Data on the parts coming off this plane are viewed on a “pay per view” basis by permissioned actors down the road. Views are likely to occur in support of secondary activities such as inbound parts planning, parts repair analysis and in conjunction with aircraft events such as an aircraft sale or return on lease.

What is the System Architecture?   

SkyThread is an independent Solution as a Service (SaaS) built using blockchain. The solution embraces a “chain of chains” architecture to engage stand-alone systems that are also capturing relevant part data. The solution is best integrated to the MRO, ERP, EDI, and ARM systems of the industry actors for maximum value, and aligns with existing airframe, engine, and airline MRO lifecycle solutions. We’re engaging all parts and all planes over the next aircraft event cycles.

What is the Business Value to the Industry?  

SkyThread provides the friction free data platform and solutions that:

• Register aircraft parts at birth and follow them through their life journey. Part authentication and visibility

• Registers the 1st use of that part into an aircraft assembly or provisioning into the aftermarket

• Validates the movement and condition of aircraft parts on and off aircraft and through maintenance events

• Lowers aircraft part risks and inventory levels through validation of part life events, provenance, and scrap

• Increases part residual value and availability, reduce maintenance costs, lower inventories, and TAT

• Validates the “as flown” configuration of the aircraft - facilitating part management on lease return, aircraft sale, and heavy maintenance events

How do I view history of the parts on this plane?

Your company may have a license. You will be authenticated to view the part history by your company.  For more information on loading your parts (on-wing and off-wing), your part history or how to engage with SkyThread contact us at info@skythread.aero

SkyThread for Parts and Planes

For more information on what we’re doing, see my SkyThread article series on LinkedIn. In the first week of the series, I included a history of how we’ve come to realize there is a better way to achieving what we call “Data for the Life of the Aircraft”. We’ve been working with blockchain (and other technologies) to develop ways to use blockchain to achieve the industry business needs for data transparency and trust. In the 2nd week of the series, I included a short post on “Lessons Learned in Blockchain”. Now we’re making progress and working with over a dozen companies around the world in their respective parts and plane ecosystems to achieve “breakthrough” results.