Recently, a prominent airline approached us to help them with their testing and tagging data management workflows. Their main pain points were similar to ones that other geographically-dispersed organisations had experienced before engaging PATorganiser as their single source of truth for portable electrical asset test data.
The airlines’ problems were largely caused by the incumbent single instance install software they utilised to manage their test and tag data. Platforms like these invariably require users to complete their testing in the field before returning to the office to import the data which can impact workforce mobility. At a higher management level key compliance and audit executives were in the dark when it came to internal compliance regarding portable electrical assets as data is not able to be accessed remotely from these types of platforms. As a result executive-level oversight was only possible when reports were manually generated and sent by field staff or mid-level management. This type of manual workflow creates more work and increases the potential for steps to be missed which can lead to a heightened risk to employees across the business.
In addition to the restrictive nature of the previous platform the airline used data importing and data sharing, as well as the ability to see data in real-time across multiple locations was compromised as the test data was siloed on one PC. This restricted repository impacted the visibility of the data sets and compromised the airlines’ ability to get a snapshot of their self-defined compliance status. When a particular type of electrical asset class, which was also deployed in other locations across the business, failed in the main hangar the airline experienced difficulty in determining the test status of all the other assets from the same asset class that were spread across the business in a timely manner. This failing exposed employees to unnecessary safety risks.
To manage these types of issues when they occur the airline now utilises the asset register capabilities of PATorganiser. The asset tracking feature allows the user to find assets and check the test status, location and asset history of the entire asset fleet. If a common asset type fails a user can quickly gauge where the asset type is deployed across the business which helps to manage the risk to staff.
Field staff can now import data from most devices onto a tablet, PC or laptop from the field which has helped to improve mobility. Using the read-only user profile, executives can access the data immediately, from wherever there’s an internet connection, to validate where they stand in relation to internal audit and compliance standards without accidentally compromising the data sets.
The automated reporting scheduling available in PATorganiser allowed the airline to remove manual steps when it came to reporting processes. Compliance and audit staff now receive automated monthly reporting which guarantees that the relevant reports are sent to the appropriate stakeholder within the airline. This democratic top-to-bottom approach that PATorganiser enables ensures that the airline doesn’t expose its staff to unnecessary risks.
Post-engagement the airline was able to immediately address the issues it was experiencing when it came to risk management at their various hangars, offices and other key locations. Staff mobility has been increased, automation has replaced manual processes and stakeholders from all levels of the organisation benefit from the democratisation of the data which is a key capability of PATorganiser.