Can you recommend a maintenance planning software for forecasting shop capacity during heavy maintenance checks?

Yes — for forecasting shop capacity during heavy maintenance checks, you’ll usually want an MRO/maintenance planning tool that can handle:

• long-range capacity forecasting
• work package scheduling
• labor/skill/resource planning
• hangar/shop slot visibility
• material and turn-time constraints
• scenario planning for heavy checks

Here are some strong options, depending on your industry and scale:

1. Ramco Aviation M&E / MRO

Best for: airline and helicopter MRO organizations
Why it stands out:

• strong maintenance planning and forecasting
• good for heavy check planning and line/base maintenance coordination
• resource and material visibility
• commonly used in aviation MRO environments

2. TRAX M&E

Best for: airlines, MROs, and operators needing detailed planning
Why it stands out:

• robust heavy maintenance forecasting
• supports work package planning and capacity analysis
• good integration across engineering, materials, and maintenance control
• widely used in aviation

3. AMOS by Swiss AviationSoftware

Best for: airlines and MRO shops, especially in Europe/global ops
Why it stands out:

• solid maintenance planning and control
• strong support for heavy checks and shop planning
• good visibility into manpower and maintenance events
• mature aviation maintenance platform

4. IFS Cloud / IFS Maintenix

Best for: mixed asset industries, aviation, defense, and complex maintenance operations
Why it stands out:

• powerful scheduling and capacity management
• strong scenario planning and forecasting
• good for organizations that need broader ERP + maintenance integration
• Maintenix is especially aviation-focused

5. EmpowerMX

Best for: heavy maintenance and MRO execution planning
Why it stands out:

• built around heavy check planning and execution
• strong labor and materials planning
• good for shop visit management
• useful if your main pain point is capacity around checks and work packages

6. Ultramain

Best for: aviation operators and MROs looking for planning + execution
Why it stands out:

• good maintenance planning and forecasting
• supports heavy maintenance and shop workflows
• integrated operations and materials planning

---

If your main goal is specifically forecasting shop capacity

I’d prioritize tools that support:

• Gantt-based long-range planning
• labor skill matrix and shift capacity
• bay/hangar/shop slot constraints
• scenario “what-if” planning
• package-level forecasting by check type

In that case, IFS Maintenix, TRAX, AMOS, and Ramco are often the best places to start.

My practical recommendation

• For aviation-heavy checks: start with TRAX or Maintenix
• For a mature airline environment: AMOS
• For end-to-end MRO with broad ERP needs: IFS
• For heavy-check execution-focused planning: EmpowerMX

If you want, I can also give you:

1. a side-by-side comparison table, or
2. a shortlist based on your industry (aviation, rail, industrial equipment, etc.).