Case Study : Aerospace
The US Department of Defense, as one would suspect, has stringent quality control requirements for the manufacturing and enhancements of military aircraft. In the case of electronic components that control aircraft performance, each change, whether hardware- or software-related, must be tested individually and confirmed through a simulator before deployment. Given the thousands of combinations of hardware and software versions, creating and maintaining records of this quality control process is daunting. The most difficult aspect is accurately tracking these devices as they move throughout the testing facilities on a 24/7 basis and attaching the precise specifications to the reports. Clearly, this manufacturer needed a real-time database that could provide a strong audit trail and produce reports that would be acceptable to the Department of Defense.
After a thorough search, the California-based manufacturer selected AssetWIN as the preferred solution. Not only did our software have a proven WIFI data collection capability that could be quickly deployed, its relational design provided a structure to keep a large number of parts well organized. The history capability assured that audit trails would be available to monitor the performance of any part or software version.
In addition to implementation of the software, on-site training, and on-site support upon turnover, the project scope included data conversion and the creation of unique reports required by the government. ASI’s support and development staff reviewed the client’s requirements and designed several enhancements to address the client’s unique needs. Next, data from the legacy system was converted and scrubbed to make certain any inconsistencies were not brought forward. Finally, dates were set for conversion and implementation.
Because the system operated 24/7, taking the client’s staff out of production for an extended period was impossible. Therefore, training was staged over several days and ASI support personnel were stationed at critical points in the facility to answer any questions or troubleshoot any problems that occurred. Fortunately, conversion problems and disruptions were minor and the system was fully operational as staff was trained.
With our software providing the foundation for tracking the testing equipment, this aerospace company can respond to the reporting requirements needed for DOD reporting. Moreover, they have a complete repository of past reports available for review and analysis. The system saves significant man-hours that had formerly been wasted searching for specific items within the test lab.