Supportability-Driven Engineering BOM Structuring for S1000D-Based Aircraft Technical Publications

Engineering Bill of Materials (EBOM) structures in aerospace programs primarily represent a product’s functional and physical architecture, but may not adequately support S1000D-based technical publications, Integrated Logistic Support (ILS), and maintenance information. This misalignment can create inconsistencies in Illustrated Parts Catalogues (IPC), complicate configuration management, and weaken lifecycle traceability.This study proposes a supportability-driven EBOM architecture integrating Configuration Items (CIs), Design Solutions (DSs), maintainable items, and S1000D information structures. It incorporates maintenance boundaries, maintenance levels, and publication requirements into product structure definition and establishes traceable relationships between EBOM entities, S1000D Data Modules, and IPC structures.The architecture is assessed through a representative aerospace case study to examine feasibility and internal consistency. Explicitly representing an Organizational-Level Line Replaceable Unit (LRU) as an EBOM assembly node provides a structural basis for identifying maintainable items and mapping them to technical publication information.The study offers a proof-of-concept methodology for integrating engineering, configuration management, and technical publication activities. Further evaluation using multiple product structures, quantitative performance measures, and operational PLM/S1000D environments is needed.