1999 q1-digital data products and services for commercial airplanes

8/13/2019 1999 Q1-Digital Data Products and Services for Commercial Airplanes

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Digital Data Products and Services for Commercial Airplanes

Boeing continues to expand upon technology-based solutions to supportcommercial airplane operators with maintenance management. Onesuch solution is to provide operators with digital information through asecure on-line delivery system for hangar maintenance and throughportable maintenance computers for time-critical problem-solving at the

gate. These digital data products and services help operators improveproductivity, reduce technical operational costs, and increase revenueby making additional flying time available.

he digital data products and services offered by Boeing are designed to provideoperators with the ability to efficiently search and retrieve maintenance andoperations information. The chief benefits operators can realize by using theseproducts include the ability to

ccess technical documents through a single point of entry. !treamline engineering and maintenance operations. "inimize technical interruptions such as delays and cancellations.

Boeing has been providing technical information in digital format since#$$% with the creation of the &eference 'ngineering (ata utomated&etrieval !ystem )&'(&!* )see pril-+une #$$ Airlinermagazine*.Operators engineering and maintenance personnel now use high-speedsystems with search-and-retrieval capabilities instead of flipping throughpaper and microfilm documents. The effort reuired to maintain currentand accurate technical libraries is significantly reduced. The time savingsallows for more engineering research )for example, developing repairprocedures* and more time for mechanics to spend in productive labor.

/ith simplified, rapid access to the most current data available, operatorscan reduce costs and ultimately increase revenues by returning airplanesto the revenue fleet sooner.

Boeing is partnering with its customers and suppliers to assess the long-term value of leading-edge digital information technologies. The goal inthis effort is to provide a unified set of applications based on ir Transport

ssociation )T* specification %#00. ccording to "oores 1aw,


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technology doubles every #2 months and product concepts currentlyconsidered feasible may uickly become obsolete. The Boeing approachin recognizing "oores 1aw is to create digital products that will easilyevolve into more powerful business applications as technology advances.This process includes transitioning operators )when reuested* to cost-

effective and more productive versions. The use of both existing andevolving T specifications is a key to maintaining the reuired stability.

The companys long-term strategy is to provide both digital data andsystems throughout engineering operations. This includes materielprovisioning management, maintenance training, engineering, planning,heavy maintenance, line maintenance, dispatch, and flight operations. Thedelivery and use of data across different computing systems form thefoundation for the growing Boeing family of digital data products andservices. 3roviding end-to-end support with a single point of contact for allaspects of systems management is the cornerstone of the Boeing

philosophy on digital products. The four primary products in the family are

#. Boeing On-1ine (ata )BO1(*.%. 3ortable "aintenance id )3"*4. 3ortable (ocument 5uery !ystem )3(5!*.6. !tandard 7eneralized "arkup 1anguage )!7"1*.

Boeing On-Line Data (BOLD)The digital data product Boeing On-1ine (ata )BO1(* is a secure globalon-line delivery system that provides the aviation industry with the mostaccurate, current information available to operate and maintain the

worldwide Boeing fleet. Through a single secure login, users have accessto a complete digital reference library of information previously availableonly in an operators central technical library of paper, microfilm, andaperture cards. BO1( makes access to information as close as thenearest networked /indows, "acintosh, or 89:; workstation )fig. #*. s aresult, the most current data is available at engineers and planners desksas well as on the shop floor for mechanics performing an overnight orheavy maintenance check.

Operators and maintenance repair organizations around the world haveused BO1( since its introduction in "arch #$$. !ince then, systemusage has increased to more than < million reuests per week from bothoperators and Boeing users, as roughly 2,000 users at over


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research time during heavy maintenance, allowing airplanes to return torevenue service sooner.

8sers of BO1( have access to information created by Boeing and itscomponent suppliers. To provide an integrated solution to all the data

needed to operate and maintain a fleet, engine manufacturer >?": hascontracted with Boeing to provide select engine maintenance data overBO1(. (iscussions and negotiations with other ma@or enginemanufacturers are underway.

(ata currently available on BO1( include

A 'ngineering and tooling drawings for all Boeing-designedcommercial airplanes, from the =0= to the ===. /ork is underway toscan the approximately #. million aperture cards that representdrawings for all (ouglas-designed commercial airplanes.

>ompletion is scheduled for mid-#$$$.A part-number index that correlates and links airplane parts andtheir associated installation drawings.

A irplane service bulletins issued since ugust #$$4 for Boeing-designed commercial airplanes and those issued since 9ovember#$$6 for (ouglas-designed commercial airplanes.

A irplane service bulletin index for all bulletins issued for thecombined Boeing and (ouglas fleet, with a link to the loadedbulletins.

A irplane service bulletin index for all bulletins issued for thecombined Boeing and (ouglas fleet, with a link to the loaded

bulletins.A >omponent maintenance and overhaul manuals for all Boeing and(ouglas components.

A >omponent maintenance and overhaul manuals for more than %40suppliers.

A Boeing part, materiel, and process standards.A :nformation that correlates airplane effectivity for an operators

Boeing fleet, allowing the user to uery information applicable to aparticular airplane.

Boeing has involved operators in the evolution of BO1( since itsintroduction. (irect feedback has resulted in additional content andenhanced functionality. !ome of the following have beenimplemented and others are under development

A 1ower network costs.A :mproved system performance.A "ore technical data.


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Lower network costsOperators told Boeing that network costs to reach the database in!eattle, /ashington, were too high. :n response, Boeing workedwith !:T to reduce costs for customers who use eronet, theprivate !:T network. Boeing established regional hubs around the

world to support users of the distributed client-server BO1(application. s a result, these users need only acuire a connectionto the hub site nearest their location, and Boeing purchases thenetwork connection back to !eattle. This high-bandwidthconnection is monitored and ad@usted to grow with the operatorsusage. >urrent hub sites include Cong Dong, 1ondon, !ingapore,and Tokyo. s new BO1( installations dictate, new hubs will becreated. 3lanned sites include Bahrain, "oscow, !Eo 3aulo, and!ydney. Operators are not limited solely to !:T for networkconnectionF BO1( supports standard T>3G:3 access from anynetwork provider, including the public :nternet.

!mproved s"stem performanceOne solution to improve system performance is to implement alocal BO1( server at the operators site. The commands that createthe images on the screen originate from the local server and aretransmitted across the operators local area network to the usersdisplay. 3rinting can also be served locally, further reducingdependence on external communication with the Boeing servers in!eattle or the nearest regional hub, thus allowing for uickersystem response.

nother significant improvement is local data caching. /hen a userfirst reuests to view a document in BO1(, the document isretrieved from the central repository in !eattle, sent across thenetwork, and loaded into a local cache on the operators server.9avigation within the document is served from the local copy./hen the document is reuested again, the system will perform auick currency check with the repository in !eattle to ensure thatthe local copy is the most recent. :f not, the local copy is replacedwith the newer version. Two types of caching, dynamic and static,are used. s documents fill the dynamic cache, the least accesseddocument is pushed out. (ocuments loaded to the static cache arenot pushed out unless deleted or replaced with a newer version.The static cache is configurable and expandable to whatever sizehard disk an operators system can support )typically # terabyte*.The dynamic cache is limited to % gigabytes.

companion to local caching is a function called Hpublish andsubscribe.H 8sers can be notified of new or updated documents andreuest these to be automatically cached in their local server. ?or


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instance, an operators service bulletin engineer can choose to benotified whenever bulletin activity occurs. ctivity can be as broadas all Boeing bulletins or as narrow as bulletins applicable to aparticular T chapter for a particular airplane model. /hen a newor revised bulletin is released, the system issues an e-mail

notification and automatically downloads the bulletin to the localcache. The operator may designate the time that file transfersshould occur to take advantage of off-peak hours, when rates arelowest.

#ore tec$nical dataThe greatest value of BO1( as a global on-line delivery solution,however, lies in the technical data offered. s part of an integratedBoeing digital data solution, BO1( will serve as the on-line deliverymechanism for other Boeing products. 'xamples include the3ortable "aintenance id )3"* and 3ortable (ocument 5uery

!ystem )3(5!* discussed later in this article. Both will be deliveredby BO1( with their associated documents and functionality. Thisadded functionality addresses operators reuests to Boeing for theadditional data they need to support their business processes. Thiswill include the following Hbig sevenH documents

A ircraft maintenance manual.A ?ault isolation manual.A ?ault reporting manual.A :llustrated parts catalog.A /iring diagram manual.

A !ystem schematic manual.A !tructural repair manual.

BO1( will also contain engine manufacturer maintenance data.>?": has contracted to deliver its service bulletins, engine manual,and illustrated parts catalog ):3>* for the >?"


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1astly, BO1( is migrating to an ob@ect-oriented architecture. Thiswill allow Boeing to offer a common ob@ect reuest brokerarchitecture application programming interface to customers whowould like to bypass the BO1( interface and access the datadirectly. s part of this technical migration, BO1( will move from its

current ;-/indowG "otif interface to a +ava applicationincorporating /eb technologies. BO1( is scheduled to becomeavailable on the /eb in mid-#$$$. The drawings for heritage(ouglas products and the traditional Boeing engineering andtooling drawings will become available on-line at that time, as willservice bulletins and the Hbig sevenH documents described in thisarticle. 1ater, component maintenance and overhaul manuals,engine manufacturers data, and Boeing part, materiel, and processstandards will also become available through BO1( on the /eb.

Porta%le #aintenance Aid (P#A)

Boeing has developed the 3ortable "aintenance id )3"* tostreamline the often time-consuming process of troubleshootingmodern, complex airplanes. The 3" provides all the necessaryline maintenance documentation in digital format along with apowerful search capability. The application includes specializedprocess-oriented features tailored to how each document is used.&eferences within and between documents are hyperlinked tofurther minimize cross-referencing time.

/ith an off-the-shelf notebook personal computer )3>* and the3", troubleshooting information is now at the mechanics

fingertips )fig. %*. The 3" interface )fig. 4*is intuitive and reuiresminimal training, even for users with no computer experience. The3" currently contains customized versions of the followingdocuments

A ?ault isolation manual.A ircraft maintenance manual.A :llustrated parts catalog.A /iring diagram manual--euipment list.

:t also includes the following supporting documents

A >ombined index.A "aintenance tips, service letters, and in-service activity

reports.A (ispatch deviation procedures guide for the =4=-


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?uture 3" expansion plans include addition of other manuals,such as the structural repair manual, wiring diagram manual, andsystem schematics manual, and integration with other Boeingdigital products. Boeing will also continue to tailor the 3" toprovide more efficient troubleshooting by using state-of-the-art

diagnostic tools such as intelligent decision aids and intelligentgraphics. :ntelligent decision aids combine engineering design,mechanic knowledge, and in-service data to help diagnoseproblems on complex airplane systems. :ntelligent graphicstechnologies provide improved navigation and text searching onillustrations.

The 3" is currently available for the =4=-400G-600G -00G-


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3(5! complements processes and procedures that are optimizedfor conventional documentation and is the ideal solution forstandalone 3>s. 3(5! takes advantage of the industry-standard

dobeJ crobatJ portable document format )3(?* to provide theconvenience of digital information storage. 3(5! offers many

document navigation and information retrieval features, including

A KiewGzoom.A !earch.A 3rint.A >opyGpaste.A Bookmarks.A Thumbnails.A Temporary revisions.

3(5! is a >(-&O"-based product compatible with /indowsJ $

and is I%D compliant. :t reuires a 62:TT* group :K tag image file format )T:??* image forthe graphics, in conformance with T specification %#00 for digitaldata interchange.


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Summar"s modern commercial airplanes grow increasingly complex,operators will need faster, more efficient ways to accessmaintenance and operations information about them. :n response,Boeing will continue to refine and enhance its line of existing digital

products--including BO1(, 3", 3(5!, and !7"1--and developnew products to meet emerging needs.

By offering digital technologies that provide long-term value, Boeingcan help operators achieve the following

A &educed overhead costs associated with managingtechnical information.

A :mproved line maintenance and technical operations.A &educed parts inventory and associated management costs.A :ncreased airplane availability.

(etails on Boeing digital data products and services are availablefrom (igital (ata >ustomer !upport by

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icardo Benavides!ystems nalyst -3ortable (ocument 5uery!ystem (evelopment*ec$nical Data


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Products and ServicesBoeing >ommercial

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:nformation !trategy*ec$nical DataProducts and ServicesBoeing >ommercial

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Denice Carna$an"anager*ec$nical DataProducts and ServicesBoeing >ommercial

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Sam #allos3roduct "anager -Boeing On-1ine (ata*ec$nical DataProducts and ServicesBoeing >ommercial

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#ic$ael #aple!enior "anger#arketingBoeing >ommercial

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Steve #iller3roduct "anager -3ortable "aintenance id*ec$nical DataProducts and ServicesBoeing >ommercial

irplanes

1999 q1-digital data products and services for commercial airplanes

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