Rolls-Royce-TCS Look at a Digitized Future

                          

by Neelam Mathews

 - July 13, 2018, 9:00 AM

Pix R2 Data Lab in Bangalore is a partnership between Rolls-Royce and Tata Consultancy Services.

Rolls-Royce India (Hall 4, Stand 41394; Chalet Row D3), along with partner Tata Consultancy Services (TCS, Hall 1 1320), is expanding future data innovation opportunities in India with the establishment of R² Data Lab in Bangalore. “It looks at capturing, sharing, and analyzing data across Rolls-Royce so that new products and services can be developed to deliver further value to customers, improve existing services, and create new areas of growth,” Kishore Jayraman, president, Rolls-Royce, India and South Asia, told AIN. The workforce currently stands at 30 data scientists and engineers and eight application developers, and that number will be increased to 100 by year-end.

Rolls-Royce and TCS have been working in partnership on engineering services since 2010. TCS recently opened a new customer delivery center in Derby, the UK, dedicated to servicing Rolls-Royce. It will also provide support from its Global Delivery Centers Rolls-Royce sites across the UK, Germany, Nordics, Canada, Singapore, and India. 

Rolls-Royce's track record of data gathering and analyzing includes Engine Health Monitoring system that has helped improve management of engine fleet around the world, while significantly reducing disruption for its aerospace customers. Recent initiatives such as Intelligent Engine Lifing provide an accurate assessment of part life consumption and fast and frequent Maintenance Forecasting and Fleet Risk Assessment.

Neil Crockett, chief digital officer at Rolls-Royce, said at the launch: “This is an example of how we intend to unleash data innovation through collaboration. TCS is an outstanding partner with experience in delivering a flexible and agile platform capability across different markets.” The digital transformation for Rolls-Royce will be supported by TCS ‘Connected Universe’ Platform—a platform-as-a-service offering that accelerates the development and deployment of Internet of Things (IoT) applications. As part of the agreement, TCS will provide IoT digital platform capability, allowing data to be captured, shared and analyzed more quickly across Rolls-Royce so that new products and services can be developed at a fast pace. This will enable Rolls-Royce to use data to innovate within all of its businesses and collaborate more effectively with partners and customers.

Jayaraman said, “We are creating a ‘digital thread’ from design to manufacturing and through to in-service use to after-market, with the ultimate goal of catering to customer needs in a new and more efficient way."

Rolls-Royce has numerous projects aimed at implementing its digital strategy holistically. It is, for instance, upgrading its manufacturing sites worldwide and making use of augmented reality on shop floors to enhance safety, maintenance, and performance.

On another note, Tata Sons is consolidating businesses across aerospace and defense under a composite Tata Aerospace and Defense (Tata A&D). The new company will leverage capabilities across the group, bringing weapon systems, land mobility, sensors, and command, control, communication, and more under one umbrella.