Ann: Appendix 4E & Full Year Statutory Accounts 2017, page-19

In the lead up to the 11th International Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring (IWSHM, 12-14 September) which will feature Keynotes on CVM related to Embraer and FAA approvals, I thought it would be interesting to revisit Dennis Roach's Keynote address to IWSHM back in 2011.

Roach is a SHM zealot - it's not for nothing that SMS have him onboard - or that he's chosen to champion CVM. A number of the slides in his 2011 Keynote relate to a survey of 450 aircraft industry reps (OEMs, regulators, MROs, etc.) - I found one of particular interest...




Over 93% of the 450 experts surveyed about SHM said cracking was the most important issue they'd want to detect using (sensor-based) structural health monitoring. Good news for SMS and SMN holders, as CVM is the front-runner tech. for crack detection in aircraft and the only SHM sensor system approved by both OEM (Boeing) and the FAA for use on commercial aircraft.

Given the imperative for crack detection in aircraft among experts, and the challenges associated with current regimes for crack detection (esp. visual inspections, at times in awkward to access places - see below), and notwithstanding the need for a cultural shift in the industry towards SHM (which Roach identifies and I've discussed elsewhere), I'd expect a significant push in the short-term for CVM applications on 737-NG and other aircraft in areas where cracking is a known issue or of concern.



There are lots of great slides in Roach's 2011 IWSHM Keynote presentation (and in a later updated version of the presentation from 2016), including some excellent photos that show CVM being installed and in situ. These presentations make it clear just how passionate Roach is about innovations in SHM and how fortunate we are to have him representing SMS in negotiations to advance the global uptake of CVM. There are also a few slides (like the one above) that show Roach's sense of humour, something you'd surely need to have in dealing with the bureaucratic, regulatory and technical challenges along the way. Here's one more, this time from his potted history of SHM... GLTAH. R-7

PS I'd expect some stronger buyer interest in SMN after IWSHM from those who realise the implications of the Delta deal...