A modification is a generic definition of high-level definitions of service bulletins, airworthiness directives and other sundry change or maintenance request definitions for an engine type (or a top-level part). A modification on a part might actually require different work activities and/or spare parts be used on the part, or on its components. The components that are impacted by a modification (because work is performed on them) are called affected parts. For example, a modification on a jet engine might require that work be done on the three main rotor hubs of the Fan Module subassembly. The modification is defined as being on the jet engine, with affected parts being the rotor hubs that are actually two or three levels down in the overall jet engine structure.
A modification might be defined with a comply and a
de-comply definition; the comply definition would describe how to perform the
modification while the de-comply would describe how to back out of the
modification after it was successfully performed.
Within IFS/Complex Assembly MRO, the handling of these modifications during an engine visit
would be handled through a series of repair shop orders generated during the
Disposition process. As parts are inspected during the Disposition process, the
inspector will also be noting any modifications in which the part being
inspected would be an affected part, and the inspector would be marking the part
to be handled for the modification. This would cause the Disposition process to
look at the modification definition in IFS Manufacturing to find the allocations
and/or operations needed to perform the modification on the affected part being dispositioned.
Because the data to create allocations and operations is not present in
IFS/Vehicle Information Management and
would only be used by shop orders, the intent is to take the modification
information in IFS/Vehicle Information Management and transfer it into IFS Manufacturing, so that
repair codes can
be associated to point out the allocations and operations needed to do the work.
This will require that application is able to identify modifications in
IFS/Vehicle Information Management that
are ready for transfer, is able to assign one or more modifications to one or
more sites, and transfer the modification and affected part information into the
site or sites selected.
Once this is done, information and link of repair codes to the modifications and
affected parts transferred into manufacturing is available. System would allow
to re-transfer VIM modification data into Manufacturing, to handle situations
where a modification has been created in IFS/Vehicle Information Management after the original transfer, or to
deal with changes to the definition of the modification after the transfer was
made.