Airline operational dependency is a key airline efficiency measurement that can be impacted by a number of factors, such as ground crew jetway timeliness or being delayed by simple just-in-time aircraft maintenance. In such instances, employee inactivity and aircraft underutilization - all amounting to money being unnecessarily spent on stalled operations. One way aviation companies can improve operational dependency is through the use of the right document management system that includes vital functions designed to speed up processes for employees. In this way, time can be utilised on the important things.
Up to 45% of an airline's cost structure is spent on maintenance, ground handling, in-flight services, call centres and back-office flight support. All of these areas can influence aircraft downtime in some form or another and affect operational dependency. Airlines, therefore, need to apply lean approach to their operations in order to improve their dependability rates and increase the value of their operations.
Read the rest of the article to learn three examples of how useful document management system functions can improve your operational dependability.
1. Use of quick referencing
With an abundance of documentation required for pre-flight checks and ensuring you have the most up-to-date manuals on board, you need to be able to quickly search for these with ease. As an example, being able to instantly search and index link from the QRH or MEL to OEM maintenance procedures allows you to get to relevant information quicker pre-flight and satisfy pre-flight checks. Therefore, speeding up the entire process, saving time and ensuring staff (and passengers) aren’t being kept waiting.
2. The ability to manually filter and link
When you have an entire aviation library, consisting of hundreds of fleet, OEM and operational documents, you should be able to have the ability to cross-reference different documents and link across the entire library. This means you’ll be able to identify the correct information as and when required, even when you’re offline. Filtering and searching is a clearly identifiable time saver in the aviation flight operations sector.
Free Download: The Benefits of Using a Partnered Document Management System
3. System reliability and support
Having access to vital information and support at any time is incredibly important for the likes of an operational-passenger focused service. Airline organisations are, after all, in operation 24/7, 365 days of the year.
The right document management service should be able to provide a good level of customer service and support should there be any unplanned downtime. Downtime can have a massive impact in an airline’s operations if, for example, manuals or vital checklists aren’t able to be accessed for pre-flight checks. This could essentially result in flights being cancelled and will ensue a domino effect on the rest of the operations including potentially reimbursing passengers.
Document management systems shouldn’t just be a piece of software to store your documents in. A good document management system should allow you to improve your processes and procedures, allow you to access manuals with ease and be fully reliable during extremely busy periods.
The right document management system means you’ll be provided a better service at least cost - resulting in fewer factors affecting your operational dependability metrics. Even if your dependability could improve by 1%, this could have a significant impact in the long run. For instance, in a medium-sized airline, a 1% improvement could mean saving millions of dollars per annum. A larger airline could save hundreds of millions.
Learn the key benefits of using a partnered document management system and discover how it can help improve your airline's operational efficiency and dependency. Download the free interactive guide today.
Image by permission of Mika Baumeister
