A year after opening an initial customer-service center (CSC) here in Singapore to serve the Asia Pacific (including the Indian sub-continent, Japan, and Australasia, but not Greater China), Rolls-Royce (Stand N23) has established a global chain of such units. In January, it opened three further CSCs aimed at improving responsiveness, local awareness, and customer proximity in the Americas (served from Washington D.C.), Greater China (Beijing), and Europe and Middle East/Africa (Derby, UK).

Following two years of consultation with owners/operators, the UK engine-maker has re-structured support activities that previously were centered mainly at its Derby headquarters, according to head of services marketing Alex Dulewicz. The moves constitute a major overhaul of aftermarket operations that includes rationalizing R-R’s engine MRO network and enhancing other services.

The Singapore CSC, described by Dulewizc as having “pushed the limits of possibility to test the waters,” has provided a “major step change, a real organizational move right into the operators’ location” to serve the Asia Pacific, and is said to have reduced by 65 percent the lead time to address local customer issues. Establishment of regional CSCs offers a faster response for customers (with support responsibility delegated locally), while providing increased OEM accountability for “issues” and giving R-R a better understanding of “cultural nuances,” according to Dulewicz.

He underlines the value of offering direct support in Singapore, eight hours ahead of Derby (although R-R’s civil large engines “Flight Deck” operations service desk is open 24 hours a day). This rationale does not extend, however, to the Americas CSC, which is located on the U.S. East Coast since Rolls-Royce North America is based there–rather than the more logical West Coast, which is both eight hours behind the UK and ahead of Singapore.

Dulewicz also acknowledged the value of a dedicated Middle East and Africa region for customer support, even though the related CSC is at Derby. Each CSC also will provide a hub for R-R's airline support teams.

Singapore also features in Trent engine MRO network developments that include rationalizing cross-shareholdings between two Asian R-R joint ventures (JVs), Singapore Aero Engine Services (SAESL) and Hong Kong Aero Engine Services (HAESL), and closure of Dallas-based Texas Aero Engine Services (TAESL). Ownership of SAESL now is shared 50-50 between R-R and SIA Engineering (SIAEC), while the manufacturer is an equal partner in HAESL with Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company.

TAESL, a 50-50 Rolls-Royce/American Airlines (AA) venture, saw dispatch of its last “old” Rolls engine last month. A further R-R/SIAEC JV – International Engine Component Overhaul, which overhauls aero-engine components in Singapore – has been absorbed into SAESL. 

Tripling Demand

Anticipating tripled demand for MRO service by 2030, R-R also has evolved the 10-strong network of company- and customer-owned approved maintenance centers (or “shops”) and JVs to create a more competitive model that transcends previous territorial rights. Each entity, plus N3 Engine Overhaul Services (a 50-50 R-R/Lufthansa Technik partnership) will compete to provide contracted Trent overhauls and basic MRO “time and materials” services, said MRO services director Simon Hutson-Smith.

The manufacturer also has appointed U.S.-based Delta TechOps, the world’s third-largest MRO, as the first independent maintenance center for Trent XWB and 7000 powerplants at a new 100,000-square-foot facility and test-bed, scheduled to open by 2020.

An early industry philosophy of “sell an engine, wait until it breaks, and then sell spares” had been “turned on its head” with the 1990s’ introduction of R-R’s TotalCare power-by-the-hour support, said customer strategy and marketing senior v-p Richard Goodhead. The program, which R-R claims covers 90 percent of the Trent fleet (with all support customers also choosing it for future engines), has mushroomed: the nine customers logging 1.2 million engine-hours/year in the late 1990s has grown to 85+ operators recording 14 million engine-hours annually, as R-R’s installed base has grown from 2,160 units to more than 4,500.

Meanwhile, customer expectations have increased and extended-range twin-engine operations (ETOPS) have become de rigueur. A 1980s’ engine “on-wing” life of 300 hours was acceptable, but today’s Trent 1000 target is 25,000 hours. The key requirement has been to eliminate unscheduled events and aircraft downtime, said R-R director of services Tom Palmer, while Goodhead emphasized that customer-support programs give both parties an interest in increasing on-wing time.

Fleet growth has been accompanied by an evolving TotalCare service with three variants: Term (fixed-period contract), Life (variable term accommodating change of engine ownership), and Flex (until retirement, or end of engine life). Increasing maturity among RB.211 and early Trent engines has spurred recent developments, and R-R has had to consider what customized services would best support them toward the end of life.

Accordingly, almost 20 years after its first such deal, R-R has come full circle with AA, the original customer, launching the latest SelectCare service offering for the same engines: RB.211-535s powering its Boeing 757s. The contract replaces current AA/R-R TotalCare and MRO Services agreements, the latter involving basic aftermarket reactive support with direct payment for engine-shop time and materials. SelectCare fits between R-R’s comprehensive pro-active TotalCare product and the MRO Services offer (as used by Japan’s All Nippon Airways for Trent 1000 support), according to Goodhead.

SelectCare introduces event-based pricing, fixed-price overhauls, engine exchanges, and customized work scopes, allowing customers to contract for required services over an agreed number of shop visits to match requirements and budget. R-R claims its knowledge of RB.211 and Trent engines, comprehensive service network and advanced engine-health monitoring differentiate SelectCare from other fixed-price overhaul agreements.