Aircraft maintenance program manager

• US 6,606,546 B2
• Filed: 12/01/2000
• Issued: 08/12/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Fleetmx Aviation Solutions, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Sinex Holdings LLC
• Inventors: Sinex, Barry
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): To, Tuan C
• Application Number:
  US09/728,579
• Publication Number:
  US 20010032114A1
• Time in Patent Office: 984 Days
• Field of Search: 701/29, 701/30, 701/31, 701/103, 701/35, 340/439, 340/500, 340/945, 340/971, 395/50, 395/60, 395/614, 395/615, 705/26, 707/103, 707/104, 235/375
• US Class Current: 701/29
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/025 Coordination of plural reservations, e.g. plural trip segments, transportation combined with accommodation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0875 Itemisation or classification of parts, supplies or services, e.g. bill of materials
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1097 Task assignment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/12 Hotels or restaurants
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/80 Management or planning
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99955 Archiving or backup

Abstract

A system for managing an aircraft maintenance program for an aircraft operated by an operator includes means for extracting maintenance tasks for the aircraft from at least one aircraft maintenance document, means for sorting the maintenance tasks into initial maintenance task groups having common control points, and means for guiding the airline operator to organize the maintenance tasks and initial maintenance task groups into a plurality of maintenance task groups.

Claims

1. A method for managing an aircraft maintenance program for an aircraft operated by an operator, the method comprising:

extracting maintenance tasks for the aircraft from at least one aircraft maintenance document, each maintenance task having a control point which specifies an interval at which the maintenance task is to be performed;

sorting the maintenance tasks into initial maintenance task groups having common control points;

guiding the airline operator to organize the maintenance tasks and initial maintenance task groups into a plurality of maintenance task groups; and

guiding the airline operator in assigning user-specified control points for each of the plurality of maintenance task groups.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one aircraft maintenance document comprises a Maintenance Review Board document.

3. The method of claim 1 and further comprising the step:

alerting the airline operator of any tasks having a control point less than the user-specified control point for the maintenance task group in which the task is grouped.

4. The method of claim 1 and further comprising:

tracking accumulated usage data of the aircraft;

tracking task accomplishment data for each maintenance task;

determining a maintenance due point for each maintenance task, the maintenance due point being based upon the control point and the accomplishment data of the maintenance task;

identifying maintenance due tasks as those maintenance tasks for which a difference between the maintenance due point of the maintenance task and the accumulated usage data of the aircraft is less than a user-defined critical value; and

reporting maintenance due tasks.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the task accomplishment data includes a maintenance date on which the maintenance task was completed, as well as a number of flight hours and flight cycles accumulated on the aircraft by the maintenance date.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the method is operated over a communication medium operably connected to a plurality of input/output devices each having means for inputting and outputting information.

7. The method of claim 7 wherein the communication medium is a digital communications network.

8. A system for managing an aircraft maintenance program for an aircraft operated by an operator, the system comprising:

means for extracting maintenance tasks for the aircraft from at least one aircraft maintenance document, each maintenance task having a control point which specifies an interval at which the maintenance task is to be performed;

means for sorting the maintenance tasks into initial maintenance task groups having common control points; and

means for guiding the airline operator to organize the maintenance tasks and initial maintenance task groups into a plurality of maintenance task groups, each of the plurality of maintenance task groups having a user-assigned control point.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein the at least one aircraft maintenance document comprises a Maintenance Review Board document.

10. The system of claim 8 and further comprising:

means for alerting the airline operator of any tasks which have a control point less than the user-specified control point for the maintenance task group in which the task is grouped.

11. The system of claim 8 and further comprising:

means for tracking accumulated usage data of the aircraft;

means for tracking task accomplishment data for each maintenance task;

means for determining a maintenance due point for each maintenance task, the maintenance due point being based upon the control point and the accomplishment data of the maintenance task;

means for identifying maintenance due tasks as those maintenance tasks for which a difference between the maintenance due point of the maintenance task and the accumulated usage data of the aircraft is less than a user-defined critical value; and

means for reporting maintenance due tasks.

12. The system of claim 8 wherein the task accomplishment data includes a maintenance date on which the maintenance task was completed, as well as a number of flight hours and flight cycles accumulated on the aircraft by the maintenance date.

13. The system of claim 8 wherein the system is implemented over a communication medium operably connected to a plurality of input/output devices each having means for inputting and outputting information.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the communication medium is the digital communication network.

15. A system for managing an aircraft maintenance program for a fleet of aircraft owned by an operator, the system comprising:

means for extracting maintenance tasks for each type of aircraft from at least one aircraft maintenance document, each maintenance task having a control point which specifies an interval at which the maintenance task is to be performed;

means for sorting, for each aircraft type, the maintenance tasks into initial maintenance task groups having common control points; and

means for guiding the airline operator to organize, for each aircraft type, the maintenance tasks and initial maintenance task groups into a plurality of maintenance task groups, each of the plurality of maintenance task groups having a user-assigned control point.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the at least one aircraft maintenance document comprises a Maintenance Review Board document.

17. The system of claim 15 and further comprising:

means for alerting the airline operator of any tasks which have a control point less than the user-specified control point for the maintenance task group in which the task is grouped.

18. The system of claim 15 and further comprising:

means for tracking accumulated usage data of the aircraft in the fleet of aircraft;

means for tracking task accomplishment data for each maintenance task;

means for determining a maintenance due point for each maintenance task, the maintenance due point being based upon the control point and the accomplishment data of the maintenance task;

means for identifying maintenance due tasks as those maintenance tasks for which a difference between the maintenance due point of the maintenance task and the accumulated usage data of the aircraft is less than a user-defined critical value; and

means for reporting maintenance due tasks.

19. The system of claim 15 wherein the system is implemented over a communication medium operably connected to a plurality of input/output devices each having means for inputting and outputting information.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein the communication medium is the digital communication network.