Avtrac

Avtrac WA Pty Ltd is a Perth-based company which provides maintenance tracking systems for corporate jets and commercial aircraft.

On Track and on the Go

Overview

  • Avtrac WA Pty Ltd is a Perth-based company which provides maintenance tracking systems for corporate jets and commercial aircraft. To manage aircraft maintenance schedules Avtrac WA manager Paul Carey had developed an inhouse FileMaker solution, Avtrac Pro. Aircraft maintenance managers were asking for better tools to help them co-ordinate staff and manage schedules. Interactive on-site access to schedule information was a top priority.

Industry

  • Aviation

Solutions

  • The updated FileMaker 12 version of Avtrac Pro allows maintenance managers to track schedules quickly and accurately on an iPad in any location. As data is entered it is automatically time-stamped and schedules update instantly. A static paperwork system has been replaced with a dynamic paperless process which includes on-site signature capture.

Benefits

  • Maintenance managers have all up to date information on site.
  • Maintenance staff on-site can communicate in real time with office staff.
  • Greater efficiency through reduction of paperwork
  • Schedule tracking is done more quickly with less likelihood of error.
  • Signature capture on the iPad streamlines certification by removing the need to sign on paper.

To manage their in-house maintenance schedules Paul Carey, manager of Avtrac WA, was able to develop his own system – Avtrac Pro – using an early version of FileMaker Pro. As he says:

I joined Apple user groups but primarily was self-taught –
a testimony to the ease of use of FileMaker.

Paul has progressively upgraded Avtrac Pro over the years using improvements in each FileMaker release to accommodate more complex maintenance demands. He is convinced it was the release of FileMaker Go 12 that provided the quantum leap. He continues the story:

When FileMaker Go 12 was released, I downloaded it directly to my iPad. I then e-mailed Avtrac Pro to the iPad. I was able to open and use it immediately.

It didn't take Paul long to customise the new FileMaker Go version:

The buttons were way too small for my fingers, so I spent a couple of hours on an iPad version of our system, making bigger buttons and removing all unnecessary layouts and features. I had a working version on my iPad within hours. I was amazed.

Paul then offered Avtrac Pro as a trial to his major client. He had it up and running quickly and was very impressed. Keeping the data up-to-date is just as easy.

Avtrac

When we update the in-house Avtrac Pro file, we simply e-mail the new file to the client. They delete the old file first in FileMaker, then open the new file for use.

Avtrac

This breakthrough has also been taken up by Paul's other clients who use Avtrac Pro to plan and schedule their daily maintenance. Paul has no doubt that the free version of FileMaker Go sealed the deal:

FileMaker Go on the iPad was the key. The fact that we can give our clients a free FileMaker 12 Go download, and get them up and running in minutes is impressive.

A key position in an aircraft operator's organisation is the Head of Aircraft Airworthiness and Maintenance Control (HAAMC). Their responsibility is to plan and schedule maintenance. Paul had found that HAAMCs wanted better tools to help them co-ordinate staff and manage schedules with a preference for tools they could use on-site. With a current copy of the Avtrac Pro data on their iPad, HAAMCs can now do their maintenance tracking quickly and accurately in any location. Replacing the tedious paperwork of the previous static PDF file system, Avtrac Pro allows landings and maintenance cycles to be entered and automatically time-stamped. The sorted lists then adjust to the new data and update the schedules.

Maintenance staff using iPads in aircraft hangars can now interact in real time with the HAAMC, and with office staff using FileMaker Pro, to discuss maintenance schedules. As Paul says, it's a win-win situation:

Our clients love the iPad app, and are very interactive with our staff when work is required on the jets.

Avtrac

Spurred on by the new possibilities created by the FileMaker 12 platform Paul could see another exciting development on the horizon – a significant step towards the paperless office:

Most of our business has migrated to digital, but the regulatory compliance side is still on paper – because of the certification process and signatures. With the signature capture ability of FileMaker Go, we can develop a template that can be e-mailed to the Maintenance Organisation who will perform all certifications and capture all maintenance actions on the iPad.

 

 

Summing up the experience, Paul said:

It has been exciting for us as a company. To be able to respond quickly to customer needs through the latest technology available has given our services added value. It's pretty cool as well to demonstrate the technology to new clients and to the aviation industry in general.

The latest version of Avtrac Pro is an impressive example of how the FileMaker 12 platform can bring greater functionality and mobility into existing FileMaker solutions that have been in use for many years.

Thank you to Paul Carey from Avtrac WA for sharing his story with us.

For FileMaker:

Vuki Vujasinovic
Click PR
+61 2 8006 0132
filemaker@clickpr.com.au

For Avtrac:

Paul Carey
Manager Avtrac WA
(08) 9477 5205
pc@aeromanagement.com.au
www.avtrac.com.au

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