Performance Support Software Helps Apache Helicopter Technicians Troubleshoot Aircraft Survivability Equipment 50% Faster

Army aircraft technicians who use MaintenanceMax performance support system (PSS) software to help them perform troubleshooting on Apache helicopters work 50% faster than technicians who use standard Electronic Technical Manuals, according to a recent test conducted at the United States Army Aviation Logistics School (USAALS) located in Fort Eustis, Virginia.

(PRWEB) September 3, 2005 -- Army aircraft technicians who use MaintenanceMax performance support system (PSS) software to help them perform troubleshooting on Apache helicopters work 50% faster than technicians who use standard Electronic Technical Manuals, according to a recent test conducted at the United States Army Aviation Logistics School (USAALS) located in Fort Eustis, Virginia.

USAALS always strives to provide its war fighters with the best in cutting-edge maintenance training technology to ensure that our graduates exhibit exemplary levels of performance when deployed. The performance support system represents a way for us to extend the reach of our schoolhouse into the field by deploying an interactive job aid containing refresher training clips directly at the point of maintenance," states Mark Jones, Deputy Assistant Commandant at USAALS.

The USAALS maintenance technicians used MaintenanceMax to identify and diagnose faults in AH-64A Aircraft Survivability Equipment (ASE), mission-critical systems that allow Apache air crews to suppress and defeat incoming missile threats.

MaintenanceMax provides Apache maintainers with standard troubleshooting instructions integrated with interactive wiring diagrams, animated training clips, component location diagrams, and technical tips from subject matter experts, all delivered on small, rugged computers.

When ASE gear malfunctions in a combat zone, troubleshooting and repair speed are paramount. This USAALS test proves that performance support software can decrease the time required to return Apache ASE gear to mission capable status by half.

These test results are consistent with other performance support projects that REI Systems has implemented in the past. A properly-developed performance support solution deployed in an Organizational Level military maintenance environment should produce, at minimum, a 30% productivity boost and a verifiable return-on-investment within 6 months," according to Roger LaPlante, MaintenanceMax Program Manager. Years of research and software development and the low cost of high-powered handheld computers have finally made cost-effective, large-scale deployment of performance support solutions like this possible."

This USAALS test also validates the fact that maintenance technicians prefer workflow-oriented performance support systems over reference book-oriented Electronic Technical Manuals (ETMs). Because MaintenanceMax performance support software meets the Apache technicians requirements for rapid data access, 100% of the test participants indicated that they would prefer to use the technology instead of standard ETMs.

It is anticipated that the Army National Guard and Reserve will receive all of the Armys remaining A model" Apache helicopters as the active Army transitions to the Longbow" model (AH-64D). The Guard and Reserve, which receive fewer opportunities for aircraft maintenance training than the active Army, will benefit from MaintenanceMax, which provides refresher training and advice from expert technicians at the point of work.

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