Managing and maintaining flight operations manuals and other important documents can pose a challenge for airlines. For one, as technology advances, aircraft are increasingly becoming more complex. As such, due to legal requirements imposed upon aircraft manufacturers, the supporting OEM documents must be factually correct, which is why they are delivered in a structured format like XML. Additionally, this format also means that it can be integrated into on-board systems.
However, as things are constantly changing in the aviation industry and updated documentation being sent several times a year - airlines need to ensure they’re on top of them. Read the article to see the two different options that can help you stay on top of complex airline documents.
1. Invest in Your In-House Team
In order to manage the multitude of regulatory requirements for documentation delivery, airlines need to ensure their staff are fully equipped with the specialist training and knowledge in XML and publishing. It’s also vital that you invest in the right type of document management software that is able to handle the scientific, structured format of the documents that is also user-friendly. However, this type of software is hard to come by, and often causes more issues than it solves.
This level of investment in the long-run, while a perfectly logical option for your existing in-house team, can be costly. These costs can also build up when you take into account peak times where a vast amount of work is needed to meet strict deadlines and you need extra staff to cope - or else you risk penalties, non-compliance and grounded aircraft. Scaling up technically trained staff is hard enough, but when these peak periods cool down, scaling down staff can be even harder and you’re left paying for surplus costs.
2. Partner with Experts
The other option for airlines is to look to alternatives such as working with a document management supplier. The right supplier will specialise in XML, manipulation, publishing and delivery and aviation documentation and manuals - it’s what they’re built to do.
This solution would ensure your airline still holds ownership of all documents and data, but it will take the pressure off your in-house staff. Instead, your in-house staff can better utilise their time as subject matter experts, without having to worry about maintaining constantly changing documents.
Partnering with experts mean you won’t have to worry about spending surplus costs on underutilised staff, and instead have the full support of a extended team as and when you require their technical knowledge for your document updates and delivery.
Conclusion
Whichever option you choose, it’s safe to say that working alongside an airline document management supplier will be more beneficial for your airline in the long-term and can help:
- Save on costs on surplus staff and investment in software that doesn’t quite cut it
- Easing pressure off staff and improving efficiency gains
- Manage the complex and ever-changing nature of airline documents
Learn the current landscape of document management, why it got so complicated and how your airline can help further bridge the gap between aircraft manufacturers in our latest insight - download for free today.
