Founded in 1973 as Aircraft Technical Publishers, ATP started as the resource for operators, maintainers and maintenance providers to access all of the technical publications required for compliant and safe aircraft operation. As technologies evolved, ATP evolved, allowing ATP to embrace digitization, the personal computer and then cloud technologies with the introduction of the Aviation Hub. In 2016, ATP expanded into the maintenance and diagnostics arena with the acquisition of CaseBank and its software solution products ChronicX and Spotlight. In the summer of 2020, ATP continued its growth trajectory with the acquisition of SaaS provider Flightdocs LLC. The Flightdocs integrated product line supports aviation maintenance management and tracking, inventory control and flight operations.
Flightdocs was founded in 2003 by Rick Heine in the Long Island, New York area. Heine saw an opportunity for flight departments to move their maintenance tracking away from server-based platforms and embrace the opportunities presented with web-based services and optimized processes. Flightdocs Maintenance was introduced in 2003, Inventory in 2016 and Operations in 2019. The Enterprise version, which was introduced in 2016, was a build from scratch developed to harness the power of the cloud, mobile technologies and the highest levels of security and reliability. The evolution of Flightdocs Maintenance saw the addition of native-built mobile applications and the first fully-compliant eSignature embedded in maintenance tracking.
Benefits & Features
The Flightdocs platform takes a modern approach to the overall application interface and user experience, enabling users to have quick and actionable access to maintenance and aircraft information clearly and concisely – whether from their desktop or the convenience of their mobile device. Fully-automated workflows deliver on efficiency and allows users to adopt a fully-compliant paperless operation. Information can be started, tracked, sent, completed and audited from a desktop or via mobile device.
“Having an advanced technological infrastructure ensures companies have the most efficient, accessible and secure tools for managing their data and operations,” explained Mike Profit, chief operating officer at ATP. “Our dedicated in-house development team allows for agile and continuous improvement of our applications, resulting in better technology – both today and in the future.”
Flightdocs syncs in real-time, allowing for effective and streamlined communication across all departments and teams within an organization. “With Flightdocs, customers experience a 25% decrease in time spent on ineffective communication while increasing transparency and oversight,” said Profit.
Support is readily available for Flightdocs users. In-house experts offer a premium customer support experience, whenever needed. According to Stephanie Hart, senior vice president of services and operations at ATP, “live customer support is available 24/7/365 with agents committed to answering in two rings or less.”
Each version of Flightdocs offers a number of useful features, but most important to our readers is Maintenance. Flightdocs Maintenance offers an optimized dashboard view to evaluate the status of aircraft and equipment. Whether managing a single aircraft or an entire fleet, Flightdocs allows the user to get real-time visibility on aircraft total time, items due, discrepancies, open logbooks/work orders and workflows. Speaking of workflow, eWorkflow and eSignature offers easy to create compliant electronic logbooks and has numerous options for customization, which makes for creating compliant logbooks quick and easy, states Kent Pickard, senior director of product management for the Flightdocs platform.
Whether a pilot or technician, non-routines can be captured with a mobile device and enhanced with real-time photos and videos, eliminating the reliance on paper write-ups. The user can quickly report, track and correct discrepancies, MELs, NEFs and CDLs in real-time.
Flightdocs Maintenance is a single source for tracking the progress of a maintenance event with the ability to automatically manage the planning and execution, record maintenance, inventory and workforce information. The user can create customized reports and views used for real-time insights into reliability, utilization, maintenance records, work orders and discrepancies.
The native mobile application allows for efficient and instant access to view and utilize the Flightdocs platform. One can access the maintenance dashboard, work orders, electronic logbooks, non-routine reporting, inventory access, checklists, electronic compliance, tech data, reports and pilot tools via the mobile format.
As for the other web-based platforms under the Flightdocs umbrella, Flightdocs Inventory includes a quick search catalog, streamlined request functionality, an inventory dashboard with color coded status tiles, order tracking, customizable reporting and full maintenance integration in order to reduce errors. Flightdocs Operations includes flight scheduling, real-time maintenance status data, flight logs, personnel tracking, an internal messaging platform and a pilot/crew application with flight assignments and trip details which can be send directly to mobile phones.
Pickard says the latest trends driving this market revolve around the customer experience. “Customers expect robust applications that allow for them to work effortlessly between the hangar and the field. They expect integrated features and modern mobile applications,” he mentioned. “Customers are looking for tools that allow for maximizing business intelligence and data analysis. ATP is consistently responding to these requests today and the future.”
