Context

NHV Helicopters is a large special flight operator focusing on offshore and onshore services. It is based in Belgium with bases in Europe and Africa. NHV use Rusada Envision as their MRO system to manage the maintenance of their fleet of 60+ Helicopters.

Description of the challenge /
customer problems

The person responsible for creating bespoke ad-hoc reports from Envision was leaving and there was no one else in the organization with the skills required to take over this role. NHV needs these reports to plug the gaps in the off the shelf system and they are an important part of streamlining their processes and reducing unnecessary duplication. It is worth noting that the Envision database like all large MRO systems is very complex (2300+ tables), and an ability to understand its internals as well as having specialized aviation knowledge would be key to extracting data and reporting on it. To train someone to be proficient in this role would be time consuming with a high risk of failure. NHV contacted Output42 to see if it could support them with their requirements in this area. They knew of the expertise that Output42 had in dealing with large aviation maintenance systems. It was important to them that Output42 could provide frictionless support but also maintain control of the requests being made and the costs incurred. NHV estimated that they would require 1-2 reports per month and may also need support in the areas of system integration and data extraction. Unless there was an urgent request then a lead time of 2-3 weeks for a report would be acceptable.

Process

After the first contact and a general agreement to proceed the following happened:

1. Sign NDA

2. Establish from a technical aspect how support can be provided, the main points being:

1. Technical roles and responsibilities on NHV and Output42 sides

2. Customer system access (test and production)

3. Process for deploying reports to test and live systems

4. Ensuring security of data and systems

3. Establish from a business process aspect how support can be provided

4. Establish who the points of contact are from a technical and business perspective on both sides

5. Agree rate

6. Agree contract terms and sign agreement to cover the interaction

Solution

It was agreed that report and data extraction requirements could be submitted by the NHV team members in the form of Requests For Service (RFS) via email. Output42 then provides a guide estimate for the work along with any clarifications needed and the RFS is submitted back to NHV for approval. Once approval is gained the work proceeds. A test version is published to the NHV test system and is checked by the person requiring the work, any changes needed are made and once the person requiring the work is satisfied the report is published to live. The actual expended on the work are tracked and invoiced at the end of each month.

Effect

The effect is that the engineering team at NHV have the ability to have the reports they need to simplify their processes quickly, securely and accurately. It is extremely cost effective as the approval process is frictionless and there is very little overhead in terms of meetings and non-productive work.