
Watch: Using technology to drive better outcomes in aviation fuel
Airlines must innovate and become more efficient while safely supplying aviation fuel by addressing the next generation of processes and technologies in the aviation fuel industry. Shell Aviation’s Global Technical and Quality Manager Rob Midgley talks about several steps on how airlines can adopt technology in their operations to stay ahead of the competition.
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Many are familiar with aviation fuel, but technological innovation is not the first thing that comes to mind. While aviation fuel is a global commodity, with 360 billion litres, digital technology is remaking the industry and delivering fuel safely and efficiently, according to Rob Midgley, Global Technical and Quality Manager of Shell Aviation.
Using Technology to Drive Better Outcomes in Aviation Fuel
Description:
Aviation industry expert Mike Farmery interviews Rob Midgley, Shell Aviation’s Global Technical and Quality Manager for Aviation Fuels. Rob will introduce Shell Aviation’s perspective and ambitions for the industry as it relates to incorporating sophisticated technology that will make airline operations more efficient in terms of time and costs.
Title: Using Technology to Drive Better Outcomes in Aviation Fuel
Duration: 5:18
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The Shell™ pecten logo appears, then fades. A three dimensional model of Earth rotates while white silhouettes of planes fly across the globe. On the right side of the screen, a shot of Rob Midgley talking with no audio.
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This episode: Using Technology to Drive Better Outcomes in Aviation Fuel
{Mike Farmery sits onscreen. Facing him is Rob Midgley. The camera alternates between speakers.}
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Mike Farmery
Aviation Fuel Expert
Mike Farmery:
Hello, I'm Mike Farmery, and I'm here talking with Rob Midgley, the Global Technical and Quality Manager for Shell Aviation.
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Rob Midgley
Global Technical and Quality Manager
Shell Aviation
Rob Midgley:
Hi Mike, it’s great to be here.
Mike Farmery:
Rob, what is the relationship between technology and fuel in the current world?
Rob Midgley:
When you design and build aircraft, then things that are safety critical are either duplicated or they're designed to fail to safe. Fuel is one of the few items that I can think of in a whole aircraft system that neither fails to safe or is duplicated. So, we need to make sure that the fuel is right every time when we put it onto an aircraft, because it's a safety critical item.
So, there's lots of touch points within there where technology has fundamentally driven the industry and the products that are used within the industry, and allows us to then have a commodity which is safely used. So, whilst the product itself is commoditised in many ways, it is also a special product and it needs technology insights and technology development to be able to make sure that that fuel is fit-for-purpose.
Mike Farmery:
How do you see technology helping to give that reassurance that we have good quality fuel, all the time, around the world?
Rob Midgley:
I think this is the interesting place about where we are in technology terms today, in that we're starting to see technology being developed, whether that's compositional profiling, or sensors, or being able to detect water and fuel at miniscule amounts. So, we can detect water and fuel down to single parts per million. So, to give you an idea, there might be 7 million people living in London, we're detecting seven of them.
And there might be things that we're not doing now that we could be doing more of. So, one example might be we don't monitor the failure rate of equipment. And so, if we can put sensors on, say, pumps, or in terms of valves, see if we can acoustically see if valves are leaking. We can detect whether they're working or not. And then, apply a regime of maintenance based on failure rates.
So, by challenging the systems in which we work and the standards in which we work, to achieve the outcome that we want, we can start to imagine how technology might come into that space to make the outcome achievable by using different processes and means.
Mike Farmery:
Rob, coming out of the pandemic how do you see technology affecting how we do inspections?
Rob Midgley:
There's a number of different ways that people have been trying to manage that. So we've been able to do that with camera systems. So, initially, that's been handheld cameras. We have the challenge of making the cameras that we all have available on phones and tablets and such safe for the environment in which we operate. So, we need to make sure they're intrinsically safe. But we've managed to do that.
Where we're working into next is can that be made simpler? Can we make them wearable devices, for example, on glasses, for example. So, the communications at airports is increasing so that we can then data stream and it allows that type of functionality. The next thing that goes from there is do we then implement this after the pandemic, because lots of people are seeing the pandemic as a survival mode.
So, that potentially comes from digital inspections, rather than remote inspections. What I mean by that is can we capture the data that we currently capture on paper at the airport the activity that happens day to day that the inspectors are going to look at on a sheet of paper once a year? Can we capture that electronically and see that remotely?
And so, the process stops being one of the inspector going and trying to find faults. It becomes a process that we're sending inspectors and expertise to the site to support and improve performance of the site. So, it's a positive feedback rather than a negative feedback.
Mike Farmery:
Rob, airline fuel buyers often take standards for granted. If you were talking to an airline fuel buyer now, what would you say to him about what the future might hold as far as standards go?
Rob Midgley:
So I think one of the things that we're going to need to consider as an industry is how do we go back to the first principle of what we're trying to achieve with the standard and give ourselves some flexibility in the approach that we might take to achieving a goal.
So let me give you an example. When we handle fuel, we have a standard that we allow a tank to settle for, and that's three hours per meter or 24 hours.
So, we have a standard which has a requirement to do something rather than looking at an outcome. When we apply technology to that, what we can do is to say, "Well, what's the outcome that we want," which is clean, dry fuel. So, instead of needing to have a tank settle for a certain period, we're then measuring whether the fuel is clean and dry. And if the fuel is clean and dry going in, you may not need to settle at all.
Typically, what we have within the standards is an activity-driven process. And what I'd like to see us moving towards is an outcome-driven process, and that will start to make us much more efficient.
Mike Farmery:
Well, Rob, thank you very much. I've really enjoyed the conversation and I've much appreciated the insights that you've given us.
Rob Midgley:
Thanks very much, Mike.
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How technology is making the aviation fuel industry more efficient
When you hear the words “aviation fuel”, technological innovation might not be the first thing that leaps to mind. After all, it’s just one of countless global commodities, with 360 billion litres of the stuff circulating around global markets every year.
But just like how digital technology is remaking every other facet of life, from education to entertainment, it also promises major improvements in how energy is delivered safely and efficiently to the aircraft that help keep the global economy aloft, said Rob Midgley, Global Technical and Quality Manager of Shell Aviation.
“Fuel is one of the few items that I can think of in a whole aircraft system that neither fails to safe nor is duplicated. So, we need to make sure that the fuel is right every time when we put it onto an aircraft, because it's a safety critical item,” Midgley said in an interview with aviation fueling expert Mike Farmery.
“Whilst the product itself is commoditised in many ways, it is also a special product and it needs technology insights and technology development to be able to make sure that that fuel is fit-for-purpose,” Midgley said.
For example, powerful new digital sensors can give fuel operators the ability to perform rapid and highly accurate compositional profiling of fuel, monitor and track vehicles and key parts, or detect water in fuel down to one part per million. That’s like scanning the entire population of London and detecting nine specific people.
The result, Midgley said, is that airlines can spend more time flying while improving quality and safety.
Changing the culture of inspections
Digital technology played a crucial role in allowing Shell customers to continue operating even during the most difficult days of the pandemic, when lockdown restrictions prevented many routine operations like in-person inspections, Midgley said.
By using a tablet with a built-in camera and secure meeting software, on-site operators could work virtually with remote Shell experts to inspect equipment and review procedures, he said.
“What we're working on next is how to make that even simpler. Can we use wearable devices like glasses, for example?” Midgley said.
There’s also a big opportunity to digitise many paper-based processes, which has the potential to lead to a sea-change in how inspections are ultimately conducted, he said.
“Can we [digitally] capture all the activity at an airport that happens day-to-day, which the inspectors are only going to look at on a sheet of paper once a year?” Midgley said. “Doing that would give us a few advantages. One is that the airport site manager could see the activities day-by-day on a real-time basis, see what is going well and what the site is not achieving, and then put a remedial action plan in place early.”
“The process stops being one of the inspector going and trying to find faults. It becomes a process of sending inspectors and expertise to the site to support and improve performance of the site. It's positive feedback rather than negative feedback. We're focusing on the outcome of what we're trying to achieve, rather than the process,” Midgley said.
Solving problems and redefining standards
Technology is also helping solve other pressing issues, such as phasing out the use of superabsorbent polymers (SAP) from fuel filters over the next two years due to safety concerns.
“Engine manufacturers have been clear that their tolerance for superabsorbent polymer is zero. So, we cannot afford to have an incident where any superabsorbent polymer goes on to aircraft. And the only way of achieving that is to eliminate it,” Midgley said.
Rather than using a substance like SAP that physically filters out water during fueling, new solutions including Shell Jet Protection use an electronic sensor to continuously monitor the flow of fueling, shutting it down if water is detected.
Eventually, technology may spark a rethink in how certain industry standards are defined, Midgley said.
For example, current fuel-handling standards say that a tank of fuel must sit for three hours per metre of depth to allow sediment and water to settle. Using sensors to monitor the fuel could fundamentally change that process, Midgley said.
“When we apply technology to that, what we can do is to ask what is the outcome that we want, which is clean, dry fuel. So, instead of needing to have a tank settle for a certain period, we're then measuring whether the fuel is clean and dry. And if the fuel is clean and dry going in, you may not need to settle at all,” Midgley said.
“So all of a sudden, we start to have a much more fit-for-purpose standard by looking at the outcome rather than the activity. Typically, what we have within the standards is an activity-driven process. And what I'd like to see us moving towards is an outcome-driven process, and that will start to make us much more efficient.”
A conversation with Rob Midgley
Recently, our Flightpath host, Mike Farmery, sat down with Rob Midgley, Shell Aviation’s Global Technical and Quality Manager for Aviation Fuels, to discuss how technology and innovation is affecting aviation fuel operations.
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The aviation sector is eager to return to the skies safely after more than a year of the COVID-19 pandemic. As airlines grapple with enormous uncertainty about the way forward, they also have the chance to embrace new opportunities that could make the industry more efficient and sustainable. Rob Midgley, Shell Aviation’s Global Technical and Quality Manager for Aviation Fuels, shared his thoughts on these topics and more.
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In response to COVID-19, unprecedented numbers of passenger aircraft have been grounded with fuel left standing in aircraft wing tanks. For many airlines, this creates the unfamiliar need to proactively monitor and manage the risk of microbial contamination. Shell expert, Robert Midgley, Global Technical and Quality Manager highlights the problem and response to microbe contamination which, if left unchecked, can lead to defuelling and clean-up, or worse, airframe corrosion and blocked fuel systems.
Navigating the pathway to sustainable aviation
The aviation industry is on its way to returning to the skies, and part of that return must include reducing its emissions. The current options are limited and complex, but with urgent action and collaboration from multiple stakeholders and consumer demand for sustainable aviation still strong, significant reductions in aviation emissions are possible.
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