AkzoNobel Launches Digital Coatings Management Service
AkzoNobel Aerospace Coatings will launch Aerofleet Coatings Management, a new digital, data-driven service that helps airlines and other large operators to tailor and optimize the coatings’ replacement and maintenance schedule for individual aircraft within an airline fleet. Aerofleet Coatings Management captures the data from both manual inspections and drone-operated inspections, creating a database of every aircraft in a fleet. The history includes details of the coatings used (e.g. single or basecoat/clearcoat coatings) along with flight path data (e.g. weather conditions etc.) which affect the integrity/longevity of the coating applied.
“Put simply, it becomes easier and more accurate to determine when an aircraft needs to be repainted, rather than simply using time or flight hours,” said Michael Green, segment business services manager at AkzoNobel Aerospace Coatings. “Schedules can be created that balance the practical performance of a coating and where the aircraft in a fleet are being operated (i.e. the different flight paths, distances, heights, environment etc.) against the aesthetic/marketing (i.e. branding) and business needs of the airline.”