Etihad enhances maintenance efficiency and safety with automated tool control system

An aircraft engineer accessing the new Automated Tool System in front of an Etihad Airways’ A330 aircraft undergoing routine maintenance

Etihad Airways Engineering has enhanced its aircraft maintenance capability with a new Automated Tool Control (ATC) system which provides engineers and technicians with greater tool access, handling and traceability, and eliminates the risk of tools being lost in critical aircraft systems during maintenance.

Connected by Wi-Fi to a central server, and with the capability to provide an audit trail of the last 15,000 transactions, the automated system is immediately able to identify any broken, lost or unreturned tools, with full traceability to the engineer and the work location on the aircraft for which they had used the tool. 

The new tool control system combines software, a keyless entry system, foam cut-out toolbox drawer liners and digital image capture devices inside the toolbox to help organise and keep track of tools. 

The new system was successful trialed in the maintenance bays of Etihad Airways’ Hangar at Abu Dhabi International Airport in November 2015, and lead to the rolling out of the new system across all maintenance bays in January this year.

Around 350 staff from the Airframe Services and Cabin Maintenance department have been trained on the new system, with over 50,000 transactions being recorded to-date – with no missing tools. 

Jeff Wilkinson, Etihad Airways’ SVP Technical, said: “Tool control is a key factor for success as we look at ways to improve maintenance processes that reduce workflow, optimise efficiency and enhance safety. 

With our new ATC system, our engineers are able to get on with the job quickly and efficiently, without having to take additional steps to track, register or look for the tools they are using, which, in a busy maintenance environment, can save significant amounts of time.”

“This also significantly enhances safety as a lost tool isn’t just an inconvenience to the engineer, but it’s also a potential safety hazard if unintentionally left inside an aircraft,” he added

Multiple tool systems, some consisting of up to 1,000 individual tools per box, and others with dedicated tools for electrical and cabin engineer tooling, are allocated by the systems administrator to a specific maintenance task on the aircraft and the authorised engineer assigned to the task.

The toolbox can’t be opened until the engineers scan their badge against the reader mounted on the front of the box. The badge identifies the engineer as an authorised user and the box unlocks. Using the built-in touchscreen, the engineer confirms their job task (work order / task number) and job location. The withdrawn tools are automatically recorded by the system until they are returned. This ensures that if a tool isn't replaced, it is easy to track and identify the engineer who used it, and the maintenance project or part of the aircraft they used it for.

Etihad Airways’ Technical Maintenance department currently has 32 automated tool boxes in-house, with an average of 20 systems currently online at any one time. The remaining systems will be integrated to the Automated Tool Control server and administration software as required to meet the needs of the maintenance teams as the aircraft come in for maintenance and service.