• The toolchain ensures the best equipment in the aviation sector
• XR/aviation and ARC-Desk for compiling and managing documents
• DocBrowser for up-to-date availability

The best equipment for pilots and flight crew: Condor Flugdienst GmbH is now using the complete solution provided by gds GmbH and IT Flight Ops Solutions AB for managing and delivering documents. To this end, the editorial management system, XR/aviation, and the web-based application, ARC-Desk, provided by gds are used to compile documents. Content is exclusively handled electronically via the DocBrowser Suite from IT Flight Ops.

“Airlines are required to provide their personnel with legally prescribed information in the form of various manuals. Pilots and the entire flight crew must be prepared for a wide variety of situations ranging from the pre-flight checks to a woman giving birth on board. This information must always be up-to-date and correct,” says Klaus Fenchel, Senior Consultant at gds GmbH. The information is only made available and used electronically – hardcopy documentation is a thing of the past. “Our complete solution provides personnel not only with all the documents at all times but also reliably with the most up-to-date version of the documents. Furthermore, new information and changes are visible at first glance so that full security is ensured.”

If a change must be made to a document today, or if a new document must be added, technical experts on behalf of Condor will specify the required additions. For this they are using the ARC-Desk application provided by gds. ARC-Desk replaces several former input channels for change requests such as comments in PDFs or MS Word files, emails or phone calls; offering a standard management platform for all suggested changes. These are transmitted to the editorial management system, XR/aviation, from gds where technical writers can make the changes. Using ARC-Desk, it is possible to see whether any changes were suggested for a given document - if so, how many, and if they have already been implemented. This way, technical writers are guided through the document via the unprocessed comments, so they can easily and quickly make the changes.

“Typically, our technical experts are not specialized in technical writing,” explains Lutz Kohlert, Aviation Auditor of the Quality and Compliance department at Condor Flugdienst GmbH. “By technical experts working in the web-based environment of ARC-Desk, comments and change requests can be compiled without having to deal with the various and even complex functions of an editorial management system. This simplifies our processes significantly.” 

Personalized documents for flight crew members

All employees use the iDocBrowser distribution solution from IT Flight Ops so that the Condor flight crew receive all changes instantly. The web portal established by pilots for pilots is connected to XR/aviation via an interface. Whenever a document is finished and approved, it can be uploaded to the web portal at the push of a button. The iDocBrowser app will automatically download all the revised documents to the tablet and locally save these as soon as the flight crew members connect their tablets to WiFi services before taking off or after landing. Any addition or new information is highlighted in color, and so readily recognizable by the pilots. The information that is sent is targeted, so employees only receive the documents that they need to carry out their work. . This way, no Airbus pilot needs to view manuals from Boeing and, likewise, there is no need for cabin crew members to view the training manuals for the cockpit crew.

“Our toolchain provides a complete solution from the point where content is compiled to the point where content is delivered to the end user,” explains Patrick Sävström, Managing Director of IT Flight Ops Solutions AB. Effective collaboration between both partners has been vital to the success. “Thanks to the professional integration and comprehensive support services offered by gds to our customers, airlines are optimally equipped to meet the challenges of their sector.”

For more information, see www.gds.eu