WallStreetReporter Interviews Microneering CEO about Electronic Work Instructions(EWI) for Aerospace Industry.

Microneering Inc. provides mission critical software solutions for Fortune 500 companies. Electronic Work Instructions(EWI) from microneering are used to assemble aircraft components worth billions of dollars each year. Microneering's Electronic Work Instruction Solution Enables Honeywell Space Systems to Send Paper-based System Into Orbit

Wall Street Reporter

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All-Important Document Control

Honeywell Space Systems' modern production facility in Phoenix, Arizona is built specifically to meet the demanding requirements of making high-reliability space applications. More than 33,000 square feet of space are dedicated to assembly, inspection, and testing.

The facility's shop floor assembly process is based on work instructions, which are translations of engineering prints into readable and viewable directions. Work instructions are a vital piece of the manufacturing documentation used to build quality products. Access to and maintenance of these documents are key elements in ensuring consistent results.

However, Honeywell's paper-based work instruction process was unwieldy and labor intensive, with more than 3,000 paper documents on the production floor at any one time. "Our manual and paper-based manufacturing documentation systems were outdated and cumbersome, along with being wasteful and prone to human error," says Honeywell Manufacturing Manager Ed Banas.
Soon, Honeywell concluded that the paper-based process no longer could be improved. It was time to migrate to an electronic work instruction system.

Improving the Process

Due to the need for compatibility with legacy systems, flexibility for expansion, and user friendliness, Honeywell's requirements for the new system centered on the use of proven technologies. Because the application is needed to support a critical production process, the solution also had to be reliable.

Honeywell knew that only a client/server architecture could deliver the power and reliability it required.

As for the work instruction system itself, Honeywell went to trade shows, searched the Internet, reviewed magazine articles, and evaluated the few off-the-shelf packages available. But it still could not find a solution that met its needs.

In the end, Honeywell chose J-PLAN as its electronic work instruction system because it not only met the company's requirements but also was flexible enough to be integrated with current and future manufacturing computer applications.

"Some key reasons for choosing J-PLAN were its compatibility with all operating systems used at Honeywell and its ability to be viewed by our standard Internet browser, which is Internet Explorer 4.0," explains John Livingston, a senior business consultant at Honeywell.

"J-PLAN is an application that we can build on," adds Manufacturing Technical Analyst Doug Upshir. "We can link to our current legacy systems and we can add new systems such as Quality Information, Product Support, and who knows what else. The sky is the limit."