Browsing by Author "Wilding, Stephen"

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    Additive manufacturing applications in Defence Support Services: current practices and framework for implementation
    (Springer , 2017-02-21) Busachi, Alessandro; Erkoyuncu, John Ahmet; Colegrove, Paul A.; Drake, R.; Watts, C.; Wilding, Stephen
    This research investigates through a systems approach, “Additive Manufacturing” (AM) applications in “Defence Support Services” (DS2). AM technology is gaining increasing interest by DS2 providers, given its ability of rapid, delocalised and flexible manufacturing. From a literature review and interviews with industrial and academic experts, it is apparent that there is a lack of research on AM applications in DS2. This paper’s contribution is represented by the following which has been validated extensively by industrial and academic experts: (1) DS2 current practices conceptual models, (2) a framework for AM implementation and (3) preliminary results of a next generation DS2 based on AM. To carry out the research, a Soft System Methodology was adopted. Results from the research increased the confidence of the disruptive potential of AM within the DS2 context. The main benefits outlined are (1) an increased support to the availability given a reduced response time, (2) reduced supply chain complexity given only supplies of raw materials such as powder and wire, (3) reduced platform inventory levels, providing more space and (4) reduced delivery time of the component as the AM can be located near to the point of use. Nevertheless, more research has to be carried out to quantify the benefits outlined. This requirement provides the basis for the future research work which consists in developing a software tool (based on the framework) for experimentation purpose which is able to dynamically simulate different scenarios and outline data on availability, cost and time of service delivered.
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    Advancing fault diagnosis through ontology-based knowledge capture and application
    (IEEE, 2024-07-25) Del Amo, Iñigo Fernández; Erkoyuncu, John Ahmet; Bulka, Dominik; Farsi, Maryam; Ariansyah, Dedy; Khan, Samir; Wilding, Stephen
    This article addresses a critical gap in the field of fault diagnosis for complex systems, focusing on the development and application of an ontology-based approach to capture and utilize expert knowledge. The key objective is to enhance fault diagnosis precision and effectiveness, specifically in challenging No-Fault-Found (NFF) scenarios, by harnessing the extensive, often implicit, understanding of seasoned professionals. The study uses a comprehensive methodology that includes creating a specialized ontology called DIAGONT, which captures the expert reasoning in fault diagnosis. Field experts contribute to the development of this ontology, ensuring its relevance and applicability. Real-world case studies and controlled experiments are used to rigorously validate the ontology. The goal of these experiments is to evaluate how effective the ontology is in enhancing fault diagnosis procedures when compared to traditional methods. Our case studies focused on two complex engineering assets, a loading arm and a helicopter mission system, due to their complexity and the frequency of non-functional failure scenarios. The analysis shows that using the DIAGONT ontology leads to improved accuracy and efficiency in fault diagnosis. A structured format allowed experts to successfully capture and reuse diagnostic knowledge, resulting in a noticeable reduction in NFF scenarios. The application of ontology-based approach exhibited potential in enhancing knowledge transfer between experts and less experienced technicians, potentially resulting in long-lasting improvements in maintenance practices. The results highlight how ontology-based systems can improve fault diagnosis in complex engineering systems.
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    Augmented Reality in Maintenance: An information-centred design framework
    (Elsevier, 2018-02-08) Fernández del Amo, Iñigo; Erkoyuncu, John Ahmet; Roy, Rajkumar; Wilding, Stephen
    Augmented Reality (AR) visualization capabilities can impact on maintenance. From enhancing performance to retrieving feedback, AR can close the information loop between maintenance information systems and the operations supported. Though, the design of AR applications is not aligned with current information systems, which prevents maintenance information to be used and improved properly. In this paper, industrial collaboration contributed to determine a framework for AR integration in maintenance systems. The framework describes information types, formats and interactions modes for AR to enhance efficiency improvements in maintenance of complex equipment. Semi-structured interviews and surveys with maintainers were conducted to determine the maintenance challenges and also to validate the framework proposed. Therefore, exposing future research in topics such as multimodal interaction, information contextualization and performance analysis to achieve the complete integration of AR in maintenance.
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    A conceptual framework to assess the impact of training on equipment cost and availability in the military context
    (Elsevier, 2015-10-27) Rodrigues, Duarte; Erkoyuncu, John Ahmet; Starr, Andrew G.; Wilding, Stephen; Dibble, Alan; Laity, Martin; Owen, Richard
    Designing military support is challenging and current practices need to be reviewed and improved. This paper gives an overview of the Industry current practices in designing military support under Ministry of Defence/Industry agreements (in particular for Contracting for Availability (CfA)), and identifies challenges and opportunities for improvement. E.g. training delivery was identified as an important opportunity for improving the CfA in-service phase. Thus, an innovative conceptual framework is presented to assess the impact of training on the equipment availability and cost. Additionally, guidelines for improving the current training delivery strategies are presented, which can also be applied to other Industry contexts.
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    Datasets: Ontology-based diagnosis reporting and monitoring to improve fault finding in Industry 4.0
    (Cranfield University, 2020-08-14 09:41) Fernández del amo blanco, Iñigo; ahmet Erkoyuncu, John; Farsi, Maryam; Bulka, Dominik; Wilding, Stephen
    This repository includes datasets on experimental cases of study and analysis regarding the research called "Ontology-based diagnosis reporting and monitoring to reduce no-fault-found scenarios in Industry 4.0".DOI:Abstract: "Industry 4.0 is bringing a new era of digitalisation for complex equipment. It especially benefits equipment’s monitoring and diagnostics with real-time analysis of heterogenous data sources. Management of such sources is an important research challenge. A relevant research gap involves integration of experts’ diagnosis knowledge. Experts have valuable knowledge on failure conditions that can support monitoring systems and their limitations in no-fault-found scenarios. But their knowledge is normally transferred as reports, which include unstructured data difficult to re-use. Thus, this paper proposes ontology-based diagnosis reporting and monitoring methods to capture and re-use expert knowledge for improving diagnosis efficiency. It aims to capture expert knowledge in a structured format and re-use it in monitoring systems to provide failure recommendations in no-fault-found conditions. This research conducted several methods for validating the proposed methods. Laboratory experiments present time and errors reduction rates of 20% and 12% compared to common data-driven monitoring approaches for diagnosis tasks in no-fault-found scenarios. Subject-matter experts’ surveys evidence the usability of the proposed methods to work in real-life conditions. Thus, this paper’s proposal can be considered as a method to bridge the gap for integrated data management in the context of Industry 4.0."
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    Review of the modelling approaches for availability contracts in the military context
    (Elsevier, 2015-05-14) Rodrigues, Duarte; Erkoyuncu, John Ahmet; Starr, Andrew G.; Wilding, Stephen; Dibble, Alan; Laity, Martin
    The defence context more recently has been experiencing a significant shift towards servitization. As competition has increased, commercial strategies are increasingly moving towards providing through-life solutions for complex engineering products such as submarines. Within such a context value for money is an essential driver in a life cycle sense for selecting a bid. The defence sector has largely been affected by this change in the business environment. Industrial Product Service System (IPS2) is a model of providing services that satisfy industrial customers and aims to reduce lifecycle impacts of products and services through product servicing, remanufacturing and recycling. This approach has proved to be an effective solution to enhance the services support in military projects. IPS2 offers client value by responding more efficiently to the client demands with reduced prices; it is delivered in the form of contracting approaches between Ministry of Defence (MoD) and industry; these contracts can differ in several aspects as risk sharing, application level, ownership policy and supportability specifications vary. This research focuses on Contracting for Availability (CfA), which is a particular approach of IPS2.The paper aims to present the review of literature in designing support strategies for CfA, identifying the good practices and challenges, and to propose a systematic approach to fill the industrial and academic gap towards an optimization of the current modelling process. This work starts by presenting a literature review in IPS2; it then moves into the optimization processes, describing how contractors currently design a long term service support contract in the military context with better value for money and high level of system readiness. The key cost and performance drivers are identified and a framework is presented to enhance the design process of CfA. The methodology of the paper relies on literature. This research aims to extend the work of several authors in predicting the cost of services in the military contracts.