Honeywell has unveiled its ForgePerformance+ for Aerospace, a cloud-based platform that utilises AI and machine learning to help commercial aerospace manufacturing and MRO facilities modernise production and lower operational costs through digitalisation. This addition to the Honeywell Forge suite further supports the manufacturer's alignment with the megatrends of advancing automation and the future of aviation.

"During a time of increasing workplace complexity and operating costs, operators need to be able to leverage data to inform critical decision making and embrace automation," says general manager Karen Miller. "As the aviation industry grapples with issues such as ageing fleets, higher maintenance costs and ongoing supply chain challenges, Honeywell Forge Performance+ for Aerospace can help organisations achieve key outcomes such as quicker turnarounds, increased asset utilisation and decreased maintenance times."

Aerospace manufacturing and MRO operations face several challenges regarding operations and workforces. Many of these organisations need to increase operational awareness and improve asset management, such as quickly locating assets across a site, while also lowering operational costs. Organisations also have siloed data that cannot be effectively utilised in managing their businesses due to complex assets, facilities and workforces.

"Today's aerospace companies need to improve their operational efficiency and gain better visibility into their assets, but disconnected and manual processes hold them back," says Michael Rowe, vice president aerospace and defense at industry analyst Frost & Sullivan. "A smaller MRO team may have more than 1,200 open maintenance actions to tackle. Instead of focusing initially on work that seems easiest to complete, software solutions such as Honeywell Forge Performance+ for Aerospace can enable companies to first address those tasks with the highest impact on operations that improve productivity and decrease costly downtime."