Rolls-Royce – new inspection technique and tripled capacity to fix Trent 1000 troubles

Rolls-Royce has confirmed that on top of additional maintenance facilities the company is increasing its workforce in order to triple its capabilities to deal with current Trent 1000 engine problems which have currently grounded a number of Boeing Dreamliners, worldwide.

The principal problem lies with the compressor in the Trent 1000 Package C engines which has required inspections and the grounding of 787 Dreamliners as it has not lasted as long as anticipated.
The result has seen a number of complaints from Dreamliner customers who have been forced to lease alternative planes to cope with seasonal demand, the result of which has put undue pressure on Rolls-Royce to speed up inspections.

In an attempt to improve efficiency, Rolls-Royce has developed a new compressor inspection technique which does not involve the removal of each engine from the wing, with the intention of meeting the safety regulator’s deadline of June 9 for all initial inspections.

Currently about 30 aircraft are being grounded at any one time, though as inspection numbers peak, this is anticipated to reach 50. Airlines affected include British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Air New Zealand.

According to a company spokesperson, the company is: “drawing on resource from across Rolls-Royce and have redeployed engineers and other experts to address the issue, growing the team by more than 200 people.
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Rolls-Royce has advised that the cash hit from the Trent problems should hit a peak of £340M (US$452M) in 2018, though this will fall in 2019. The company anticipates that the cost of the extra inspections will be covered by cutting discretionary spending elsewhere.

Roughly 380 of the affected engines are in service, of which one-third of these require some form of repair work and which can take weeks, according to media reports.

Currently, engines that are given the all clear are subject to further checks under safety rules which only allow the engines to be flown a certain number of times before repeat inspections are required.