SITA And Key Industry Partners Launch MRO Blockchain Alliance

The key industry has announced the launch of the MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul) Blockchain Alliance, the first industry-wide investigation into the use of blockchain to track, trace and record aircraft parts.

The new alliance comprises leading organizations covering every aspect of the Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) chain, from part manufacture and repairs to logistics and smart contracts. Members currently include Bolloré Logistics, Cathay Pacific, FLYdocs, HAECO Group, Ramco Systems, SITA, and Willis Lease Finance Corporation, supported by Clyde & Co. The alliance was first mooted in 2019 at a HAECO Group event with the aim of bringing the various stakeholders together to set a global standard around the use of blockchain to trace parts.

In the coming months, the alliance will launch a proof of concept to demonstrate the use of blockchain to digitally track and record the movements and maintenance history of parts across a wide number of players. These include airlines, lessors, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) such as engine producers, logistics suppliers, and maintenance providers.

This tracking information will be vital to managing a complex logistics value chain that can span several stakeholders over the lifetime of each individual part. Currently, there is no global database, incomplete data sharing, and only partial digitalization. The alliance believes that the use of blockchain will simplify and speed up parts tracking while enabling the secure sharing of information between industry stakeholders. 

For the African market, making technologies such as blockchain available on a wide scale will be vital to support the growth and development of the aviation industry.

Africa is predicted by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to become one of the fastest-growing aviation regions in the next 20 years with an annual expansion rate of nearly 5%. Yet, there are numerous challenges standing in the way of this growth, including inefficient infrastructure and systems. Technology could enable governments and aviation industry stakeholders in Africa to address many of the existing infrastructure challenges. Most notably, blockchain’s ability to securely store and share information on a digital ledger offers the opportunity for greater industry collaboration throughout the continent and to facilitate more efficient decision making.

The alliance will use blockchain to record and track two separate strands of information for each aircraft part: a digital thread and a digital passport. The digital thread provides the real-time status, chain of custody and back-to-birth track and trace of the part over time. The digital passport – like a human passport – provides the indisputable identity of a part and contains other vital data such as certification of airworthiness to prove ownership.

SITA’s role, as the air transport community’s IT provider, is to manage governance for the global alliance, support the working groups, deliver all required blockchain technology components compliant with SPEC2000 and SPEC42 standards and ensure proper alignment and validation with regulators and international standardization bodies.

The alliance will spend the next few months in the planning phase, with the aim of going live with the first proof of concept in the second quarter of 2020. The MRO Blockchain Alliance is a key element of SITA’s Global Blockchain Alliance, a wider SITA-led forum that is focused on the development of key blockchain-based applications for potential use in the air transport industry, including MRO, passenger identity and flight data.