Date: 15th May
Hour: 1.30 p.m.
Venue: Amphitheatre FA2, Alameda Campus

Speaker: Sérgio Carvalho (Portugália Airlines / Instituto Superior Técnico)
Title: “Reliability and Efficiency of Aircraft Maintenance”

Abstract:
With an increasingly evident expression in a consumer society, in a flow of people, goods and information at an unprecedented speed, air transport is an activity in maturity and growth that still knows no borders. Despite the somewhat attenuated growth and activity as a result of the impact of the covid 19 pandemic, the fact is that this market quickly saw its activity resume to pre-pandemic levels, where, eventually due to the deprivations, the growth gradient is observed to be increased.
With the emergence of low cost operators, associated with abundant and aggressive competition, despite having quite significant business volumes, real profit margins are of a reduced percentage. In order to keep activity above break even, efforts are being made in all adjacent business areas to eliminate and reduce costs to a minimum.
One of the fundamental parts that have a considerable volume of costs is the maintenance of flight material. Since the maintenance program is mandatory, its efficiency is crucial in order to maintain the necessary safety levels, but also to avoid wasting revenue on unnecessary tasks that reduce aircraft availability, but on the other hand, avoiding constraints due to situations of failure or breakdown.
This seminar presents a summary of the characteristics and concepts of maintenance, as well as the general lines of a reliability control program, starting with the classic reactive approach which, with the evolution of information technology, has become preventive and predictive.
The quality of this program increasingly allows continuous improvement of procedures and maintenance programs.

The “Seminars@DEM” are organised by the Department of Mechanical Engineering (DEM).