Collins had to tap into unique markets for the differential skills and capitalize on their expertise to advance the mission of the iHub.
As with any airplane that is about to take off on a runway, the sky is the limit said Raphael Carlo Domingo while answering a question on his advice to young talent pursuing a career in aviation. Raphael is the Project Management Lead, Singapore Innovation Hub at Collins Aerospace. In an exclusive Interview with Swaati.k, Raphael discusses various ongoing projects at the Singapore Innovation hub, how sustainability is the key focus of Collins Aerospace, how the pandemic restrictions and limits impacted the work on-site and much more. Read On to find more about the ambitious Singapore iHub and its making.
Q – What were the challenges in developing the most ambitious project of Collins Aerospace – The Singapore Innovations hub
Ans – Collins Aerospace in Singapore has businesses in both the MRO and Manufacturing spaces. When the Singapore Innovation Hub (iHub) was being conceptualized together with the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), its primary thrust was to be the Enterprise’s Centre of Excellence for Innovation on Production Processes for both spaces; and each group had their own legacy procedures which may be very divergent, so the integration of ideas was quite interesting. Furthermore, aerospace, per se, has always been a very conservative industry by its precise nature (on safety), so automating conventional manual methods which relies heavily on human interface proves to be a challenge when translating that to machine language, and this required, almost always, thinking out of the box.
Q – Can you tell our readers the key focus areas of the Innovation hub?
Ans – The iHub currently has 3 pillars of focus for Industry 4.0 and Smart Factory –Automation and Robotics, Digitalization, and Additive Design and Manufacturing.
Q – What are some of the latest projects and technological developments underway in the facility which we will be able to see as day-to-day applications in the aviation industry in the coming years?
Ans – Aside from the earlier projects that were previously released such as the Automated Vision Inspection System, we have also started our development in Augmented Reality / Virtual Reality (AR/VR), which will very much benefit the industry in training future technicians, and also troubleshooting components at a remote setting.
We are also gaining headway in our developments for turnkey supply chain and logistic solutions, to integrate both the Automated Guided Vehicles (AGV) and RFID technologies for parts tracking, Store Light Pathfinder, and Receiving Shipping Visibility Automation (RSVA) to complement the needs of the fast-paced, high-volume business as the aerospace industry starts to pick-up again to pre-pandemic levels.
Lastly, our fully equipped additive manufacturing (AM) facility continues to advance its capabilities and is now qualifying different types of AM technologies and materials that will be used in future aerospace products for both OEM and Aftermarket applications. Collins AM capabilities in Singapore will include metal laser powder bed fusion, non-metallics, and Electron Beam Melting (EBAM) technologies.
Q – How is the Innovation hub contributing to the talent pool and creating a skilled workforce for the future?
Ans – As mentioned previously, the Aerospace Industry (and its available talent pool) is very conservative, especially to traditional forms of technology, so we had to tap into unique markets for its differential skills and capitalize on their expertise to advance the mission of the iHub. We have engineers who used be in banking, e-commerce, and other high-tech fields that have joined the team and contribute to our diverse mix. This synergy can be observed in the shared strategy on problem statements such as migrating bank ledgers from paper to digital with sound traceability and security, and applying these to the aerospace order workflow board, for example.
On top of these, we are currently working with Singapore’s Institutes of Higher Learning to regularly take in interns and students doing industrial attachments to have them familiarized with the current needs of the aerospace industry. We are hoping that this will encourage the next generation of talent to come back and continue the vision we have for the future of Collins Aerospace.
Q – Where do you see the future of the global aerospace industry in the coming decade?
Ans – Sustainability is a hot topic for the global aerospace industry and a key priority for Collins Aerospace. We are uniquely positioned to lead impactful advancements in sustainable solutions and practices based on our breadth and depth of capabilities across the platform lifecycle value chain and global footprint in aerospace. Aside from the current research on hybrid-electric propulsion, some insight into the future that are currently underway would include:
- Alternative power sources – more electric aircraft systems to replace traditional hydraulic and pneumatic systems, thus reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The breadth of Collins’ systems and technology across the aircraft also puts us in a unique position to collaborate with customers on hydrogen solutions.
- Connected Ecosystem – the use of real-time data and predictive technologies to optimize flight routes with less fuel consumption and developing artificial intelligence-based flight optimization and aircraft routing tools that leverage airspace information, atmospheric data, aircraft state and performance databases for dynamic route optimization. This will ultimately reduce the carbon footprint of air travel even further.
- Advanced structures – Creating lighter, more streamlined, and more fuel-efficient aerostructures by using technologies that include thin acoustic structures, low-drag liners, and environmentally friendly coatings to reduce drag.
For the iHub, digitalization has contributed a lot to this sustainability, not just by migrating the workflow and traceability from paper to digital, but by quickly identifying where bottlenecks or potential breakdowns are occurring in real-time and strategize the resources accordingly, thus contributing to improved efficiency and eliminating waste.
In addition, iHub’s Additive Facility is also doing its impact to sustainability by doing research on new production strategies to minimize material waste and promote its reuse
Q – This hub is Collins Aerospace ‘s first additive facility with titanium capability and features prototyping, development, tooling, and low-rate production of additive materials. Can you explain this in detail?
Ans – Due to copyright and NDA restrictions, we are not at liberty to disclose these in detail. What we can share is that the Additive Facility of the iHub in Singapore will be one of 3 Centres of Excellence with production capabilities for the technology across the (Collins’) global network, which includes metal laser powder bed fusion, non-metallics, and Electron Beam Melting (EBAM) technologies.
Q – Latest technology in MRO like robotics, AI, and Additive manufacturing is the future, however, this technology is yet to reach certain developing countries, does Collins have a roadmap for the global reach of these technologies?
Ans – Collins Aerospace has a very wide global reach, not just in the industrialized countries like Singapore or the US, but also in developing nations such as India, Indonesia, and the Philippines. One of the initiatives worth mentioning would be the one in the Philippines where they just completed their first batch of Technician Introductory Program (TIP) – small steps to help the community that can make a huge difference in the lives we touch, by providing an opportunity that can help people change their path.
Coupled with the mandate of the iHub to deploy Industry 4.0 solutions for the manufacturing processes, not just in Singapore, but across all of Collins network, these initiatives will surely make an impact to ensure that the technology development is not just concentrated in a small, selected group, but rather spread out in all of Collins entities across the globe.
Q – Did the pandemic impact the ongoing projects in the hub? How did you manage to cover up for the lost time?
Ans – The pandemic definitely made an impact, especially on the restrictions and limits imposed for being on-site, or the supply chain and logistical challenges that resulted early-on when the borders were closed, and the global movement of goods were severely limited. The schedule of projects had to be continuously re-evaluated to focus on the ones that were more feasible to kick-off, while coming up with unique solutions to circumvent these challenges – for example, one of our teams had setup an array of WiFi cameras to observe the testing process off-site so the development can continue without being physically present at the facility.
Q – What are your expansion plans going ahead?
Ans – We have a continuous commitment to the EDB to complete at least 40 proof of concepts (POCs) and deploy at least 8 of these POCs in Singapore by 2024. Even with the external challenges cited above, the iHub is stlll on-track to meet these, while continuously helping the different Collins’ business units around the globe who would want to embark on Industry 4.0 at different scales and scopes.
On top of these, there are firm plans to have the AM pillar to become one of the 3 Centres of Excellence with production capabilities for Additive Manufacturing as previously mentioned.
Q – What advice would you give to the young talent wanting to pursue their career in aerospace MRO
Ans – As with any airplane that is about to take off on a runway, the sky is the limit! Continue to strive onwards and upwards, always keep yourself up to the date with the latest trends and technologies to keep oneself relevant, and ultimately provide meaningful contributions to future of the industry.
