Global Team Leadership Award

Engine Life Management Team

Raytheon Technologies

For being an outstanding global leader and innovator; for building an agile and diverse team of engineers to support international engine centers; and for developing efficient, cost-saving solutions.

Aerospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies, established the Engine Life Management Team (ELMT) in 2018 to serve as an offshore hub in Singapore for an array of engineering support services. The ELMT in the Asia-Pacific region supports the engine centers in Singapore, New Zealand, Japan, and China on the maintenance of the company’s PW1100G-JM and legacy fleet. It is the company’s first engineering team outside of the United States and features original equipment manufacturer engineering design and aftermarket engineering repair capabilities.

With more than 60% of the company’s PW1100G-JM and legacy fleet serviced by engine centers in the Asia Pacific region, the demand to shorten aircraft engine overhaul turnaround time and expeditiously respond to technical inquiries presented by shops in the Asia-Pacific region is immense.

Pratt & Whitney tapped Yvonne Ong to set up the ELMT citing her strong technical and management expertise as well as cross-organizational skill. As associate director, Ong led a team of engineers and managers in Singapore and the U.S. selected for the breadth of diversity they offered, ranging from ethnicity and age to engineering background and technical expertise. Ong’s team was charged with managing and extending the lifetime estimates and capabilities of Pratt & Whitney commercial engines in production, including its newest platform, the PW1100G, for the maintenance, repair, and overhaul sector of the business. They also had to ameliorate the quality of engineering support and customer service.

Team members leveraged their experiences in other global companies and realized that effective communication and management were crucial to meeting their objectives and creating efficient operations. Ong established clear and well-documented processes and organized sessions to educate the engine centers about the requirements, which reduced the downtime while awaiting information.

In its first year of operation, the ELMT successfully achieved an improved turnaround time of 80%, with 100% on-time delivery on all technical queries raised by the Asia-Pacific engine centers.

Engine overhaul shop Pratt & Whitney Eagle Services Asia credits the ELMT for its delivery and availability in real time to handle inquiries related to the repair process. As a result, Eagle Services’ engine delivery turnaround time improved by 50%, making it the best in class within the network. Similarly, IHI Corporation, a global leader in the jet maintenance industry, cited the team’s technical knowledge and its ability to turn around delivery within 14 days, enabling IHI to meets its internal schedules. IHI is part of a network of engine centers in the Asia-Pacific region that support the PW1100G-JM platform.

Under Ong’s leadership, the ELMT has become the go-to team of choice for Asia-Pacific region engine centers. Within four years, the group accomplished a 50% year-on-year improvement in turnaround time and 100% on-time delivery, improving customer satisfaction significantly. Ong continues to assist her team via coaching and by offering employee training to help members achieve professional goals. She also keeps abreast of new technologies that can improve efficiency and help the company remain fiscally responsible.