Go Paperless with Digital Aircraft Technical Publications

Some providers erroneously assume that, given the technology involved, the switch to digital aviation technical publications would be too expensive and too distracting from the core focus of operating an airline. The following list of concerns are more generally the obstacle – most of which are not grounded in real-world experience or can be mitigated.

1. I already have a maintenance and engineering (M&E) system.

• A single system to do everything across an M&E operation is sought, but rarely achieved. Nor is it optimal. There are many reasons for this.
  • Specialized apps and plugins perform specific tasks better. No one software provider on any mobile, personal computer or laptop does everything well enough. That includes those with the largest market cap and resources.
  • Software is increasingly designed to integrate.
  • System integrations are more successful than ever in bringing together best-of-breed functionality and reusable data.

2. My workforce is not ready.

• Aviation’s aging workforce is retiring and being backfilled by younger technicians who are mobile ready and expect digital, mobile implementation of technical data.
• In a tight labor market where demand for technicians is high, whether an airline embraces technology may influence its ability to attract and retain the best talent.

3. Aviation technical publications work as they are.

• No, they really don’t. They’re just what we used first, so they have the comfort of familiarity.
• The benefits of digitally delivered aircraft information are many.
  • Helps operators remain current, unlike paper technical publications, which play an endless game of catchup with revisions to manuals (AMM, IPC, MPD, MEL, etc.).
  • Maintains the history of changes over time, eliminating the burden of revision management.
  • Offers ready availability of related data such as materials and tooling needs, required skill level, direct link to manual references, views and analysis of diagrams, interfaces to airline planning and material ordering systems.
  • Eliminates the burden of getting plans and tasks onto paper, getting the paper to the technician, rekeying data off paper, and storing paper.
  • Generates new data around the use of work instructions, manuals and insights.
  • Addresses human factors associated with the end-to-end process from manual production, revision, task packaging, planning/production control, task assignment, task execution for base/line/workshop locations, and signoff/certification.
  • Helps quantify human factors benefits, which require experience across multiple implementations.

4. The case must not be proven, or the industry would have acted already.

• The global pandemic necessitated a focus on case preservation and operational basics. Preceding periods of high demand reaped record profits, which led to investment in the highest value projects. For some airlines, that included adopting digital concepts and systems for routine work activity.
• Digital aircraft technical publications, while not a regulatory requirement today, have become the accepted best practice among aviation industry leaders.
• The push for sustainability in all areas of aviation operations creates a renewed sense of urgency for going paperless in the hangar.
• Success by the early adopters will cause many airlines to assess and embrace digital technical publications over the next five years. Projections call for most North American airlines to be operating with digital technical publications by 2030.