Aug. 14, 2024
Maintenance data tracking can significantly enhance the performance, safety and dispatch reliability of business aircraft and an NBAA Thought Leadership webinar, sponsored by Veryon, examined best practices for flight operations when migrating this critical data to another software provider.
The webinar – “Overcoming the Fear of Switching Maintenance Tracking Systems” – delved into the benefits of both automated tools and close oversight when changing over to a new maintenance tracking program.
Justin Linscomb, director of data quality at the company, and a former aircraft maintenance technician, noted systems differences are “the biggest fear” for many in that process. “Sometimes the mapping doesn’t work, or the coding is different,” he said. “There may be compatibility issues between how systems track life-limited components, penalty factors, creep rates and things like that.
“I’ve found that experimentation and [spending time] figuring out the system itself often cures a lot of those issues,” Linscomb added.
Kim Watney, an aviation data quality technical analyst at Veryon, described her experience at a past employer that implemented a two-week process to audit transferred system data including aircraft records, the accuracy of part numbers and other information, before going live with the new system.
“That really made the transition simple and easy,” she said. “I didn’t have to worry about updating to two systems. You do need to be prepared … because your screens are going to look different. That can be confusing.”
An existing digital tracking program also simplifies that process. Panel moderator Peter Mortimer recalled one customer who previously kept track of all their maintenance records, not on an Excel spreadsheet, but paper notecards.
“There was also questionable handwriting to go alongside that,” added Mortimer, Veryon’s head of sales and business development for the Americas and Asia-Pacific regions. “That’s not ideal when you’re trying to distinguish whether that’s an ‘S’ or a five in a serial number.”
The webinar also highlighted what Mortimer termed an industry “myth” that changing maintenance tracking programs can lower an aircraft’s value due to concerns about lost or missing records. “I think it’s seen as more of a positive,” he added, if such data is transferred accurately.
“A well-documented aircraft does increase the value of your aircraft,” Watney added. “I’ve seen aircraft sold with the cockpit full of records, and I have seen them without it. There’s a definite difference in price.”
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.