109_MTCEIT (1)

A
ircraft Commerce has
extensively examined and
explored innovations in
aviation, such as wearable
technology, radio frequency identification
(RFID), e-enablement and big data
analytics. The expectation throughout the
industry is that these innovations will
enable paperless and electronic
operational and maintenance processes to
become standard. This has remained the
founding requirement to allow any of
these technologies to flourish. Paperless
aircraft operations (PAO) are not just
something that airlines can adopt
overnight and independently, however.
New aircraft already use a wide range of
digital technologies, although not many
airlines have fully implemented them.
Paperless processes need the buy-in,
acceptance and confidence of every key
participant in the industry for them to
become mainstream. It will help smooth
the exchange of data and information
between all industry stakeholders, and so
improve efficiencies overall.
The key participants or stakeholders
are maintenance, repair and overhaul
organisations (MROs), original
equipment manufacturers (OEMs),
aircraft lessors, parts suppliers, airlines,
logistics providers, and technology
vendors. Regulatory authorities need to
authorise, audit and approve certain
processes. As ever in aviation, this
cultural shift takes time.
The International Air Transport
Association (IATA) is focused on unifying
and aligning these groups, while
establishing key goals and frameworks
that will in time achieve paperless
processes. IATA’s PAO initiative was
launched in 2011, with the aim of
installing core paperless operations across
the industry by 2020. The initiative is
centred on near-, medium- and long-term
goals that will facilitate the mainstream
use of electronic processes (see picture,
page xx). The IATA programme
comprises a number of working groups,
some of which are formal and have
regularly scheduled communication and
actions, while others participate on an
ad-hoc basis to address specific issues.
“We strive to replace paper by using
paperless technologies where they are
available and appropriate,” says Chris
Markou, head of operational cost
management at IATA.
This move to electronic processes
starts with those at the top of the chain in
the industry. “For instance, we would like
all documentation provided with an
aircraft at delivery to be electronic, so
that it can be entered seamlessly into an
airline’s maintenance information system
(MIS), or enterprise resource planning
(ERP) system,” says Markou. “From that
point on, the airline is responsible for
keeping up with the aircraft records.
“Aircraft documentation provided at
initial delivery is one area that can
become paperless and fully electronic,
along with a database standard to allow
harmonisation in the structure between
the maintenance programmes of various
manufacturers,” he adds. This will be
expanded on under ‘paperless aircraft’.
A number of electronic processes have
been widely adopted in recent years, but
they are not yet universal. “For example,
maintenance approvals can be done
electronically, work cards can be read and
signed off on mobile devices, ‘paperwork’
can be inspected on-line, and MRO
flowcharts can be updated automatically
as work is completed with the use of
sensor or ID technologies,” continues
Markou. “While some stakeholders have
begun to implement them, these
standards now need to apply to the whole
aircraft supply chain.
“We do not simply propose replacing
paper with a paperless technology,”
continues Markou. “The focus of this
programme is to encourage stakeholders
to revisit all their processes and, if
applicable, redesign them and remove
activities that no longer add value from
either safety or operational perspectives.”
IATA has released White Papers in
recent years that detail processes that
need to be overhauled in order for the
industry to become paperless, including:
Aircraft Identification and Authorisation
System (AIAS), Guidelines on introducing
RFID into Airline Technical Operations,
and Best Practices for Loadable Software
Aircraft Parts (LSAPs).
Paperless aircraft
With the arrival of various new
generation aircraft, there is a growing
emphasis on electronic systems and
increasingly ‘e-enabled’ aircraft.
Examples include the 787 (see The 787’s
on-board fault diagnosis & line
maintenance capabilities, Aircraft
Commerce, August/September 2015, page
53), A380 and A350XWB, and the
Bombardier C Series. On-board servers,
integrated electronic flight bags (EFBs),
more sophisticated fault diagnostics,
airframe health monitoring (AHM), and
wireless data transfer represent a fraction
of the new technologies seen on aircraft.
There needs to be alignment between,
technologies used by these aircraft and
the regulations that govern their use.
Through the introduction of installed
EFBs, for instance, flightcrew can now
access briefing packs and manuals
electronically via integrated systems on-
board. Faults can also be reported
electronically through the use of an
electronic technical log (ETL), eradicating
the need for paper forms in the majority
63 I MAINTENANCE & ENGINEERING
ISSUE NO. 109 • DECEMBER 2016 / JANUARY 2017 AIRCRAFT COMMERCE
Electronic processes are developing in such a way, that software and
hardware vendors are promoting paperless operations. These innovations,
whether exhibited by an aircraft or an IT system, can only become so
successful. IATA’s programme to make paperless processes industry-wide
is explored here.
The paperless aircraft
operations initiative

of processes. ‘Paperless aircraft’ are
starting to emerge.
Moreover, the sophistication of these
aircraft is a natural progression of the
design, development and delivery
processes promoted by OEMs. If the
aircraft is designed to be paperless, its
operators and lessors will become more
inclined to adopt a follow-on approach.
“When an airline is taking delivery of an
aircraft from the manufacturer, the airline
does not get the full detailed list of parts
installed on the aircraft,” explains
Markou. “While main assemblies and
critical components are reflected within
delivery documents, many other aircraft
parts are installed without initial
documentation; something that may
cause a problem during aircraft transition
to another operator.
“Very often, the identification of such
parts happens only when they are first
removed for scheduled or unscheduled
maintenance, within current processes,”
continues Markou. “This issue is mainly
related to leasing and other commercial
agreements that request ‘back-to-birth’
traceability of parts. Paperless
technologies will ensure that all aircraft
parts are recorded in an accurate and
timely fashion, and airlines can trace their
history if necessary.”
Paperless operations begin during an
aircraft’s design and manufacture, after
which they are incorporated into the
supply chain. “Format of the information
has to be structured and standardised so
that the aircraft operator can ‘feed’ it into
the airline’s maintenance and engineering
(M&E) systems, independently of
manufacturer or aircraft type,” he adds.
“This will allow the airline to have a fully
functional aircraft configuration from the
time of delivery, instead of building this
over the years as parts come off the
aircraft and are replaced.
“Linking certain elements of design
and production to the operational side in
the airline environment would be highly
beneficial to both OEMs and operators,”
comments Iryna Khomenko, manager of
operational efficiency at IATA.
“New aircraft types have more and
more paperless technologies. For
example, the A350XWB is assembled
with the help of RFID technology,”
continues Khomenko, who works with
Markou on implementing efficient
technologies, including radio frequency
identification (RFID). “RFID tags assist
Airbus to improve their aircraft assembly
performance and the accurate and timely
completion of the Aircraft Inspection
Report (AIR); something that airlines
have demanded. The RFID tags, once
installed to enhance the manufacturing
process, stay on board and can be used
by the aircraft operator going forward.
“Many new types, including but not
limited to the 777, 787, A380, A350, and
C Series, are offering ETL (eLogbook)
solutions on board,” says Khomenko.
Although integrating those new
applications into IT system might be a
challenge, airlines recognise efficiencies
and benefits presented by ETLs and EFBs.
These technologies have been given time
to mature and flourish, and the number
of airlines using these particular e-
processes has increased in recent years.
The standardisation of most
electronic manuals passed to operators by
an OEM is imperative. To promote a
truly e-enabled and electronic aircraft, the
data standards and formats used by the
manufacturers must be harmonised as
much as possible, so that the operator’s
or lessor’s IT systems can be configured
correctly to handle software updates,
modifications, service bulletin (SB)
updates, and a myriad other changes
throughout an aircraft’s lifetime.
This documentation includes aircraft
flight manuals (AFM), illustrated parts
catalogues (IPC), minimum equipment
list (MEL), and crew training manuals.
While RFID technology was not used
in the production or delivery process for
the Bombardier C Series aircraft, the C
Series has been designed and configured
with paperless operations in mind. “The
C Series aircraft offer an EFB that airlines
can use for electronic flight operation
documentation including electronic
logbook (ETL) application,” explains
Todd Young, vice president and general
manager of customer services, at
Bombardier Commercial Aircraft.
“Supplemented with aircraft connectivity
features, the on-board systems can
synchronise and self-update.
“The C Series aircraft also provide a
sensed electronic checklist, that can be
customised by airlines to their operation.
This removes the need for paper
checklists,” continues Young. “Moreover,
AIRCRAFT COMMERCE ISSUE NO. 109 • DECEMBER 2016 / JANUARY 2017
IATA’s roadmap illustrates key areas of focus that
are integral to the paperless initiative. Each area
has various steps that will help achieve
paperless processes, and these are attributed
near, medium and long term timeframe.

the aircraft’s flight operations and
maintenance publications are electronic
and accessible via web-based tools. In
addition, the On-board Maintenance
System (OMS) for the C Series aircraft
provides for a clear, simple description in
English of the system’s health status that
removes the need for maintenance
documentation to interpret the system
health.” This is unlike legacy aircraft, for
which hefty paper-based troubleshooting
manuals had to be consulted. This time-
consuming manual process is made more
efficient using electronic processes. “Last,
the C Series aircraft also provides for
wireless transmission of post-flight
summary maintenance reports, removing
the need to print on paper,” says Young.
The main issue is that data standards
and formats have evolved over the
decades, meaning that older aircraft in
operation may have electronic manuals in
SGML format, which follow an ATA 100
or Spec2000 data standard (see M&E
and CMS systems’ ability to manage data
for new generation aircraft, Aircraft
Commerce, April/May 2016, page 72).
Documentation for the 787, A350
and Bombardier CSeries has been issued
in S1000D and XML format, to make it
possible to establish fully electronic
maintenance processes. The different
electronic documentation formats used
across different aircraft types are a hurdle
to be overcome in creating industry-wide
paperless processes. Furthermore, these
standards cannot be used to their full
potential by many operators’ and lessors’
maintenance IT systems, which makes it
harder to be completely electronic.
According to IATA, manufacturers
and airlines are also working on
addressing connectivity issues, and trying
to streamline operational data as it is
created, aggregated and transmitted to
the ground. Combining these elements,
data standards, formats and connectivity,
helps to create a real-time picture of an
operating aircraft. “Electronic and
paperless operations on an aircraft will
allow an operator to immediately derive
an aircraft’s exact configuration, establish
enough information to react to its faults
and maintenance needs in a timely
fashion, and predict the future scope of
maintenance based (and other elements)
on information from its on-board
systems,” summarises Markou.
Paperless operations fully complement
the concept of a fully e-enabled aircraft.
“In an increasingly digital world, we need
to be taking advantages of the enormous
potential digital technology offered in all
areas,” says Markou.
Configuration management
The most important objective of
Configuration Management (CM) is to
guarantee that there is compliance
between the aircraft, parts and software,
and the continuing airworthiness tasks
that are established by OEMs and
aviation authorities. “CM ensures that
the right work has been done on the
aircraft to meet airworthiness standards,”
outlines Markou. “Therefore, to be able
to effectively manage the configuration of
an aircraft, a few key factors are
required.” These include:
l The exact knowledge of an
aircraft’s parts composition at delivery.
“This is known as a ‘birth record’,”
continues Markou. “The design and
production stages for new aircraft have to
become more advanced in recording the
serial numbers of all parts installed on the
aircraft in order to achieve this.”
l The operator must be able to
identify what parts are eligible as
substitutes in case of interchangeability,
replacements and interoperability. “They
also need to be able to identify as and
when software versions must be uploaded
or updated,” says Markou.
l Automatic follow-up to the
manufacturer’s and regulator’s updates to
the maintenance programme and their
incorporation in a timely fashion into an
airline’s maintenance schedule, including
airworthiness directives (ADs), and SBs.
l The real-time monitoring of
maintenance tasks performed and record
of the components inspected, removed,
replaced and installed. “With a paper-
based system, keeping track of parts
changes can be a real issue,” continues
Markou. “If a part is replaced today and
the paper documentation recording this
replacement comes to the maintenance
planning department a week later, front
line operation departments (such as line
and base maintenance) may not be aware
of such a change, and additional time
may be needed for the proper
identification of the part. The use of e-
task cards and work packs that instantly
update an MIS eradicates this problem.”
It is clear that the use of electronic
records by the MROs, lessors and airlines
remains the key. If all data is generated
electronically by the 787 and A350, yet is
converted into paper records on the
ground, then the paperless process is
disrupted. The culture shift remains as
vital as technology promoted by OEMs
and software vendors. IATA is developing
new industry guidelines that overcome
issues, and encourage confidence in
disruptive technology and processes.
One key issue when promoting
electronic-over-paper operations is
proving and ensuring optimum data
integrity, reliability and security.
AIAS
The ‘Aviation Identification &
Authorisation System’ (AIAS) White
Paper released by IATA in 2015 outlined
several key goals or ‘steps’, that will
enable paperless operations. It focuses on
a common framework to electronically
sign off aircraft-related paperwork.
“Although we accept a signed paper
document, and we almost never question
an ink-coloured signature and stamp on a
piece of paper, we are still very reluctant
to accept an electronic signature that
always provides full traceability to the
Legacy aircraft, such as the 737 Classic, were not
developed with paperless operations as a
priority. This was because of the technology
available at the time. As such, paper manuals
have been traditionally carried on-board.

person e-signing the document (among
other tracing details),” says Markou.
“The White Paper is trying to provide a
common approach to accept e-records,
signed electronically, worldwide. This is
the cornerstone of e-documentation and
moving to a paperless world.”
The White Paper provides a common
framework for identity management and
electronic signatures as crucial elements
in the transition to paperless aircraft
operations and mobile application
platforms. The White Paper on AIAS
focuses on electronic identification and
authorisation of the person or entity
performing a role (such as a mechanic
carrying out a maintenance task).
A paperless industry
IATA has identified medium-term
targets, formally identified as ‘enablers’,
that will ultimately help to make the
transition to paperless operations
possible. “While not every enabler is
known at this stage, we are working on
those that have been identified to
progress operational efficiencies for
airlines,” explains Khomenko. These
‘known’ enablers include:
l Auto-ID/RFID aircraft parts tracking
and as alternative means of
compliance.
l Digital signature in technical
operations.
l Electronic support of airworthiness
compliance.
l Electronic maintenance record
keeping.
l IATA standardized maintenance
agreements.
l Aircraft leasing best practices for
delivery/re-delivery and maintenance
reserves.
l Electronic regulatory documents
(XML FAA 8130-3/EASA Form 1 /
TCCA Form 1 and others).
IATA’s roadmap
The Paperless Aircraft Transition
Roadmap developed by IATA (see image,
page 64), outlines the ‘focus areas’ that
must be addressed to achieve the goal of
paperless aircraft operations.
It is thought that the enablers listed in
‘a paperless industry’ will aid progression
of these goals. The focus areas identified
in a roadmap by IATA are:
a) Aircraft design, production and
certification. Along with these
follows the CM of the aircraft.
b) Aircraft ownership and registration.
c) Maintenance-related processes to
ensure continued airworthiness
(linked also to CM above).
d) Maintenance planning.
e) Direct work done on the aircraft and
its components (from e-technical
logbook to e-manuals, e-task cards
etc).
f) Supply chain and inventory
management.
g) Aircraft and parts transfers (linked
also to ownership above).
Current status
Focusing on the enablers established,
IATA says that the success of each
medium-term goal varies. A brief status
of each goal is given below:
1. Auto-ID/RFID aircraft parts
tracking and as an alternative means of
compliance.
“This technology is slowly entering
maintenance operations,” commences
Khomenko. “RFID is an efficient tool to
achieve cost savings. Some airlines are
already using it. The A350XWB is an
example of an aircraft where the OEM
has incorporated RFID into the
manufacturing process.”
The RFID working group formed by
IATA is working to address various issues
presented by airlines, OEMs, regulators
and RFID tag and software suppliers.
These issues include performance
standards, such as read range, speed,
accuracy and the link between aircraft
part and RFID tag at delivery. Other
issues highlighted include the installation
and orientation of the tag; tag testing
requirements; OEM integrated name
plates (including guidance on the need
for, and use of, them); and additional
identification requirements.
2. Digital signature in technical
operations.
The industry has advocated for this to
enable electronic task sign-offs and
electronic maintenance records’ creation
and storage. “While some airlines have
introduced their own solutions, the
transferability of the document (along
with the part) to another owner/operator
remains in doubt,” says Markou. “The
industry needs a global standard of
electronic signature to enable acceptance
of an electronic record created by one
entity and received by another, regardless
of jurisdiction.”
The PAO programme explores
concepts and approaches to bring this
enabler to life. Recently, in addition to
conventional public key infrastructures
(PKI) which have been used for decades
in the banking system, the initiative
started exploring electronic authorisation
and signature, based on the Domain
Name System Security Extensions (DNS
SEC) and using the DANE (DNS-based
Authentication of Named Entities)
protocol. “This concept is still in
development, but some solid work has
been done in this area in other industries
and needs to be taken to the next level in
aviation applications,” says Markou.
“Some scientists estimate that
quantum computing cryptography could
also be an option within 10-20 years,”
adds Khomenko. This may offer
encrypted algorithms in a system that
could promise greater security behind the
use of an e-signature.
The use of an electronic techlog (ETL) is
considered one of the key developments in
allowing paperless processes over recent years.
EFBs and the application of an ETL erase the
need for paper briefing packs and airport charts
to be carried.

3. Electronic support of airworthiness
compliance.
“Some civil aviation authorities
(CAAs) have implemented acceptance of
electronic processes and elimination of
paper,” says Markou. “We encourage the
sharing of such experience through IATA
members and their CAAs. The main goal
is to ensure 100% adoption of such
practices. The regulator is heavily
involved in this task and therefore needs
to be on board from the beginning.”
IATA is continuing to work with
regulators via the International Civil
Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and IATA
framework, to encourage them to
implement such tools for document
revisions and ensuring compliance.
4. Electronic maintenance records.
“Electronic record-keeping refers to
the one-time generated paper document
in a digital format, usually a scanned PDF
or image,” explains Markou. “The
absence of global recognition of the
electronic signature results in an
inefficient process: the document is
created electronically, printed out,
manually signed, and scanned again.
“The goal is to remove the paper link
in this chain, while maintaining the
opportunity for the user to create a paper
document at any stage of the record if
needed. We are not quite there yet,” says
Markou. This requires industry-wide
agreement to give up the intermediary
paper step in favour of electronic
documents throughout their lifecycle.
5. Electronic aircraft lease transfers.
A handful of airlines has carried out
fully electronic aircraft deliveries or
redeliveries. “Technologies, like scanning
and optical character recognition (OCR),
have facilitated some progress in this
area,” says Markou. “This has created
some small efficiency gains.
“In an electronic environment, each
document would be electronically signed
(e-signed) and placed into an airline’s
web-based portal, allowing instant and
accurate search of documents. This could
take place in an office and on board an e-
enabled aircraft,” continues Markou.
6. IATA standardised maintenance
agreements.
Two new templates have been
developed and published during the
initiative.
1) The Master Airframe Maintenance
Agreement (AMA). This is intended to
facilitate negotiations on aircraft heavy
maintenance checks.
2) The Master Engine Maintenance
Agreement (EMA). This is designed to
simplify negotiations during engine shop
visits or overhauls.
IATA introduced these agreements in
2014 and 2016 respectively to provide
single-format agreements, simplifying the
process of negotiation for industry
stakeholders. “The AMA was
downloaded more than 300 times in its
first year of publication, and we continue
to receive positive feedback and
comments,” says Khomenko. “The EMA
is new and has yet to be used by the
industry.” Both documents are available
on the Paperless Aircraft Operations web
page (www.iata.org/pao) for free
download. A broader range of agreement
templates on leasing and maintenance,
jointly created by IATA and partners, is
available on the IATA Legal Committee
web page. These templates include
warranty assignments, aircraft purchase
agreements (APAs) and lease agreements.
These templates still require the buy-in of
most stakeholders to reach full potential,
and allow IATA to harmonise processes.
IATA says some airlines have
expressed interest in standardized Service
Level Agreements (SLAs) and component
maintenance agreements, such as Time
and Material or power-by-the-hour
(PBH). “A further requirement for IATA
is to keep our documents up to date once
published,” says Khomenko.
7. Aircraft leasing best practices for
delivery/re-delivery and maintenance
reserves.
IATA is preparing its 4th Edition of
the Guidance Material and Best Practices
for Aircraft Leases, produced through the
IATA Aircraft Leasing Advisory Group,
comprising relevant stakeholders. It is
regularly updated with respect to latest
practices. “The 4th edition will include a
stepwise approach to aircraft redelivery
process, and a checklist of the aircraft
documents required during an aircraft
transfer,” describes Markou. “We are also
engaged with ICAO and other industry
stakeholders to simplify and streamline
the cross-border transfer of aircraft.”
Also, IATA is working on finalising
Standardisation and Harmonisation of
the aircraft redelivery records, the
Incident Clearance Statement (ICS) to
replace the so-called Non-Incident
Statement (NIS) and the Life Limited
Parts ‘back to birth’ traceability template.
8. Electronic regulatory documents
(XML FAA 8130-3 / EASA Form 1 /
TCCA Form 1 and other).
The electronic authorised release
certificate has long been recognised as an
important step in allowing electronic
maintenance records and records for
parts transfer. There is also the potential
for an RFID tag to hold such information
as the technology becomes further used in
the industry. “It has been a few years
since the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) approved the electronic use of
8130 Airworthiness Release Certificate
form, which has been reflected in the
Order 8130.21G as of 26 October
2009,” says Khomenko. “Similarly, the
European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)
approves an electronic Form 1. The XML
format of this document, however, is not
being used in commercial aircraft
maintenance, mainly due to the absence
of commonly recognised and used
electronic or digital signature formats (e-
New-generation aircraft such as the Bombardier
CS100 and CS300 are encouraging operators to
introduce paperless processes into operations.
This is due to better connectivity capabilities,
integrated electronic flight bags (EFBs) and
on-board access to digital maintenance and
flight manuals.

signatures). There also remains a lack of
awareness about its existence.”
“We need to ensure that an electronic
signature and global authorisation
standard is adopted to enable the usage
of these XML documents in this area,”
adds Markou. Loadable software aircraft
parts (LSAPs) are new aircraft parts that
can be administered via an electronic
ARC. LSAPs can now be provided by
suppliers to the operator or MRO with
either an electronic FAA 8130 or EASA
Form 1 in XML format. “An airline will
need to generate a huge network of
connections to make e-Enablement
happen,” adds Markou. “This is in
addition to vastly increasing data-
processing capacity within its systems.”
LSAPs
Electronic aircraft, such as the 787,
which have a higher portion of electronic
rather than conventional hydraulic or
electric systems, use more LSAPs in their
various systems than before. LSAPs
feature components that can be changed
via software upgrades, either directly
onboard or during routine line
maintenance. LSAPs therefore avoid the
need to physically change a part or
component when upgrades are required,
thereby minimising investment in new
parts for operators. According to
Bombardier, there are about 65 different
Field Loadable Software (FLS) on the C
Series family of aircraft. “These include
aircraft systems control software,
configuration software and aeronautical
databases,” says Young.
Further examples of LSAPs on board
next generation aircraft include: auxiliary
power units (APUs); cabin management
systems (CMSs); air data modules
(ADMs); condition monitoring systems;
flight data recorders (FDRs); the primary
flight computer (PFC); satellite
communication system (SATCOM); and
electronic flight instrument systems
(EFIS).
According to IATA, LSAPs, and the
CM behind them, have become more
complex. The development of LSAPs
outstrips the relatively archaic systems
seen on older aircraft types, so the use of
LSAPs may not prove economic for
operators of the 737 Classic, for instance.
The role of LSAPs in making line
maintenance processes more efficient and
ultimately economically viable for
airlines, however, means that they will
continue to have a growing presence in
new generation aircraft. Managing the
required upgrades needed by all LSAPs,
however, means that software
management systems need to be adapted
to monitor and implement software
modifications or updates. Navigational
databases, for example, are updated at
least once a month by airlines, and
represent just one of hundreds of LSAPs
on board modern aircraft.
An airline’s CM processes needs to
ensure that all revisions to an LSAP are
documented electronically, including as
and when SBs or ADs arise. IATA’s White
Paper, Best Practices for Loadable
Software Management, suggests these
processes will need to address the
following: software change assessment;
procurement and production; receipt and
distribution; configuration control;
quality audits; and the management of
software libraries to monitor software
upgrades. LSAPs are updated via time-
consuming methods, such as uploading
new software via floppy discs, compact
discs (CDs) and USB memory sticks.
Updates are still tracked using paper; new
systems will allow software
configurations to be uploaded efficiently.
Developed by Teledyne, the enhanced
Airborne Data Loader (eADL) can be
retrofitted on the 757, 767, 747-400 and
the 737NG, and A320 family. It negates
the need to physically insert and swap
discs for uploading: LSAP updates are
uploaded to the eADL via a USB stick.
Limitations
Each enabling step identified by IATA
has encountered hurdles that must be
overcome before the focus areas
mentioned in the paperless maintenance
ISSUE NO. 109 • DECEMBER 2016 / JANUARY 2017 AIRCRAFT COMMERCE

operations transition roadmap can be
fully addressed. These limitations range
from ensuring data security, universally
adopted data formats, and establishing
the universal AIAS. Industry-wide
adoption of new technology also
continues to remain an issue, and one
which will take time to overcome.
“Hurdles are area-specific,” begins
Khomenko. “With RFID we have multi-
stakeholder issues, such as the presence of
the 2D barcodes on the 8130/Form 1 for
simpler RFID tag initiation, lack of clarity
as to flammability testing requirements,
and no established tag performance
airline requirements.
“Stakeholder buy-in has to be
explored and achieved in the area of
electronic signature by reaching a
consensus. Cyber security is always a
concern, and we have only just begun to
address this topic. This is mainly because
so many processes are still paper-based.”
Expanding further, Markou adds that
further areas to be addressed in enabling
a fully electronic aircraft are:
a) Regulatory acceptance in electronic
forms and the means of authorising them,
from e-records to e-signatures.
b) Development of universal data
standards, to facilitate data and
information exchange between
stakeholders, thereby simplifying the use
of electronic records.
c) Participation of Original Aircraft
Manufacturers (OAMs). This is emerging
via the introduction of e-enabled aircraft.
d) Value proposition for the industry
and its stakeholders, so that participants
can be assured that time and investment
in overhauling and radicalising processes
will yield significant long-term benefits.
The next step
While working to ensure the medium-
term enablers are achieved by 2020, IATA
also intends to establish a target
framework that will facilitate and
manage electronic credentials by
developed data security standards as
outlined by the AIAS White Paper. “This
has not been fully developed yet and
IATA is exploring ways to address this via
our working groups to crystallise a
universal standard ” says Markou.
“Achieving this is quite challenging,
because airlines are moving quickly,
mainly driven by the introduction of so-
called electronic aircraft entering service.
“The inability to arrive at an
industry-supported standard could lead
to a series of individual solutions that will
be difficult to harmonise or bridge once
they are implemented.”
Everyone supports paperless
operations, but the devil is in the detail.
Issues that need to be addressed include
concerns over the required airline IT
investment and IT support for the
project, projected timelines, and achieving
global regulatory acceptance of electronic
records and electronic signatures.
“We believe the most important step
is to have the OEMs and airlines work
together to ensure that all the paperless
features offered by new generation
aircraft can be implemented by
customers,” concludes Young. “In some
cases,infrastructure at an airline can make
it difficult to implement the paperless
options the aircraft provides, so it is
critical to work together to make this
possible. To this extent, moving to a
completely paperless process also requires
the support of regulators worldwide.”
“We are just at the beginning of the
journey, carefully exploring the available
concepts and technologies, and getting
the buy-in from airlines, technology
providers, standard-setting organisations
and regulators,” summarises Markou.
“We have to make sure that the
innovation will be integrated smoothly, at
the minimum cost and with maximum
return on investment (ROI) and adoption
by states and airlines.” -CLD
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like this, visit:
www.aircraft-commerce.com

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