What is Production Planning in Aviation?

Introduction

In aviation maintenance, Production Planning is the heartbeat of operational efficiency, ensuring that every aircraft maintenance event runs smoothly, safely, and on schedule.

It’s the process that brings together all the key elements required to perform maintenance:

Plane, Parts (and Tooling), Place, People, and Paperwork.

Effective production planning ensures that by the time an aircraft enters the hangar, every detail — from the availability of tools and materials to approved paperwork and skilled technicians — is ready and aligned with regulatory and operational requirements.

1. The Core Purpose of Production Planning

At its core, production planning is about readiness and coordination. Maintenance organisations operate in a time-critical environment where aircraft downtime directly affects revenue and schedules. The goal is simple but demanding — to ensure that the right resources are in the right place at the right time to perform the required work efficiently and compliantly.

A well-structured planning process helps to:

• Minimise aircraft ground time (TAT)

• Prevent material or tooling shortages

• Ensure compliance with approved maintenance data (ICA)

• Maintain control and visibility over ongoing work

• Support continuous airworthiness and operational reliability

2. The Five Pillars of Aviation Production Planning

1. Plane — Aircraft Readiness

Before maintenance begins, planners review the aircraft status, maintenance due lists, and any open defects. This ensures the work scope is fully understood and aligned with approved documentation such as the maintenance program, work packs, and engineering orders. Readiness includes confirming that the aircraft is appropriately positioned, powered, and accessible when required — avoiding costly hangar delays.

2. Parts — Material and Tooling

Availability of parts, consumables, and tools is one of the biggest challenges in production planning. Planners must verify that all required materials are in stock, serviceable, and correctly tagged. Special tools and equipment (such as test benches or jacks) should be booked and calibration checked. Shortages at this stage can delay maintenance, affect regulatory compliance, and increase costs.

3. Place — Hangar and Work Environment

Production planning also ensures the hangar space and support infrastructure are ready. This includes bay allocation, docking setup, ground equipment positioning, and coordination with other aircraft in the same facility for easy access. A clear and safe working environment enables teams to perform tasks without interference, reducing risk and increasing productivity.

4. People — Skilled Resources

The “people” element focuses on engineer availability, qualifications, and authorisations.

Production planners match work packages with appropriately licensed engineers and supporting trades. Shift patterns, manpower levels, and competency requirements must be balanced to meet both regulatory and operational demands.

5. Paperwork and Compliance

A crucial part of production planning is ensuring that all paperwork and approvals are ready before work begins. This includes:

• Work orders and task cards

• Job instructions and reference manuals (AMM, IPC, SRM, etc.)

• Regulatory and quality documentation

• Tool calibration and certification records

• Identification of any conflicting maintenance

Without these, maintenance cannot commence. Proper documentation also ensures traceability and compliance during audits; this is a key requirement under Part 145 regulations.

3. The Role of Technology

Modern aviation organisations use Maintenance Information Systems (MIS) and planning dashboards to manage scheduling, materials, resource allocation, and task tracking. These systems provide real-time visibility of maintenance progress, inventory, and workforce readiness — allowing planners to make data-driven decisions that improve turnaround time and reliability.

4. Why Production Planning Matters

A strong production planning function transforms maintenance from a reactive process into a strategic advantage. It ensures predictability, optimises resources, and enhances compliance — all of which contribute to safer, more efficient operations.

In short, successful production planning means the plane, parts, place, people, and paperwork are all synchronised — enabling maintenance organisations to deliver on time, every time.

Conclusion

At Jotore Aviation, we help maintenance organisations strengthen their planning and readiness capabilities. From tooling and resource forecasting to process alignment and compliance audits, our expertise ensures your maintenance operations run smoothly and efficiently.

📩 Contact us today: support@jotoreaviation.au to learn how we can optimise your production planning processes.

Stay safe,

Craig.