Abstract

A fundamental shift is occurring in the Rolls-Royce away from the selling of products to the provision of services. The company now offers ‘power by the hour’ contracts, under which it leases engines to airlines while remaining responsible for their maintenance. This affects the design of new engines, which will need to have low and predictable maintenance costs, in addition to the previous requirements of reliability and low specific fuel consumption. In this context, the aims of the ongoing research are: firstly, to learn what information about in-service experience is conventionally used by designers of individual parts in a future engine; and secondly, to understand the new information requirements of designers about these service issues. Based on this understanding, the third important aim of the research is to develop the most appropriate theories and methods to support designers in understanding the service history of existing engines, presenting the information in a format which will help them to implement the most appropriate design changes in the next generation of engines. The results of research work carried out so far will be presented in the seminar, with the aim of obtaining ideas for improvements in the work carried out, and in the further work planned for the project.